What are the SDGs?
The UN Sustainable Development Goals are a democratically agreed upon vision for the world in 2030 linked to 17 development goals. Each goal identifies an ESG risk or opportunity that can affect long-term shareholder value. The goals are interconnected and encompass micro risks at the company or industry-level as well as macro trends related to market failures and systemic risk. To achieve the United Nations SDG Agenda from 2015 - 2030 will require global investments estimated at $90 trillion, with most of this amount expected to come from the private sector.
Why the SDGs?
There are two key reasons to integrate SDG factors into your investment decision-making processes. First, achieving the SDGs will be a key driver of global economic growth, which long-term investors acknowledge as the ultimate source of reliable financial returns. Secondly, individual companies and sectors who build more sustainable business practices into their operations, products, and services will generate new investment opportunities. An additional driver of investor action on the SDG Agenda is the downside risk of not achieving the goals, which would augment systemic risk across regions and asset classes. These risks could materially reduce portfolio returns for universal investors.
Key questions
- Assessing investability & integration with existing asset allocation strategy
- What taxonomies are leading investors using to map the investable universe of SDGs?
- How can SDG themes be aligned with existing portfolio strategies?
- How will SDG-related research be integrated within the investment process and how should lead this internal work?
- Stewardship and market awareness raising
- Strategies for aligning existing engagement with SDGs
- Is there a role for investors to play in educating companies on the SDG agenda?
- How can SDG-related engagement add value for investors?
- Metrics, benchmarking, and public reporting
- What metrics are investors asking companies to report on with reference to the SDG impact of their business?
- Should investors use an existing set of SDG impact indicators or construct a bespoke framework?
- How can investors measure their progress against SDG targets at the company and portfolio level?
- Practical takeaways from the SDG product development process
- What parts of the research can be done in-house and when is external expertise necessary?
- How can investors select products in fixed income and listed and private equity that align with their existing investment strategies
- Is an SDG strategy right for you?
Dates and cities
