Together with the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), the GISD Alliance is launching a new Model Mandate to provide asset owners with guidance that facilitates the alignment of their portfolios with long-term investment in sustainable development and with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To procure a shift from short-termism to long-termism within the finance sector, and thereby supporting the achievement of the SDG goals, the incentives within the investment chain should be adjusted. The working group behind this report has reviewed and assessed key actors along the investment chain as presented in the picture below. The review has been done with the aim to identify a handful of recommendations that are actionable and capable of having a meaningful and speedy impact of providing impetus for long termism across the financial sector.
We, the members of the Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD) Alliance, reaffirm our support for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – which sets out a vision for a prosperous future for people and planet, underpinned by sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic development.
As one of its first deliverables, the GISD Alliance set a common norm for investing in the SDGs. The resulting Sustainable Development Investing (SDI) definition has since been a foundation for much of the alliance’s work.
The GISD Alliance issued a statement vowing greater action to confront the global economic crisis driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and keep the SDGs on track.
The GISD Alliance at its launch in October 2019 commited to scale up investment and its impact for the achievement of the SDGs.
The GISD Call to Action for COVID-19 Bond Issuance encourages companies and governments to support high-priority activities and projects related to the pandemic in alignment with the SDGs.
Investment platforms and instruments can play a critical role in addressing the challenges to channeling resources to countries and sectors most in need. New platforms and instruments need to tackle specific market failures and spur the engagement of relevant stakeholders to be effective. For example, new instruments can strengthen risk sharing between the public and private sectors in situations where financial markets do not provide solutions. Such instruments will:
The lack of investment-ready projects is a serious challenge for attracting and channeling private investments to countries and sectors most in need. Developing investment-ready projects require significant planning and capacity during the pre-investment and implementation phases that address the financial, legal, technical and sustainability-related challenges associated with a project. Identifying a feasible risk-sharing mechanism at the development phase is critical to ensure that a project will be viable for investors.
