Following from our January event with UNDP SDG Impact Standards Workshop, the first draft of the Standards is out for public consultation. The second workshop was held on 16th July 2020 successfully to discuss the SDG Impact Standards for SDG Bonds and the latest changes to the SDG Impact Standards for Private Equity Funds. The workshop is co-organized by ADM Capital Foundation (ADMCF), Hong Kong Green Finance Association (HKGFA), and Sustainable Finance Initiatives (SFI).
The webinar was well supported with audiences joining from around the world, consisted of a panel discussion with a lineup of panelists: Ms. Rosemary Addis AM, Senior Advisor, SDG Impact, Ms. Elizabeth Boggs-Davidsen, Director, SDG Impact, Ms. Lisa Genasci, CEO, ADM Capital Foundation, Ms. Caitlin Medley, Portfolio Manager, QBE Insurance, Ms. Fabienne Michaux, Standards Expert, UNDP SDG Impact Initiative. Feel free to read the highlights or watch the webinar below.
Webinar of UNDP SDG Impact Standards Workshop – SDG Bonds & Private Equity Funds
16 July 2020
Speakers:
- Ms. Rosemary Addis AM, Senior Advisor, SDG Impact
- Ms. Elizabeth Boggs-Davidsen, Director, SDG Impact
- Ms. Lisa Genasci– CEO, ADM Capital Foundation
- Ms. Caitlin Medley, Portfolio Manager, QBE Insurance
- Ms. Fabienne Michaux, Standards Expert, UNDP SDG Impact Initiative
Key takeaways from the webinar
- SDG Impact Standards (the Standards) are crucial in providing a framework for investments to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which requires collaboration from the public and private sectors.
- The Standards outline an impact management system that supports the adoption of other existing frameworks and tools, which helps to inform better decisions and drive investment capital to where it is needed, paving the path of innovations to where we need to see going forward.
- The Standards could serve as a common language with transparency and consensus-achieving to assist decision-making for various stakeholders such as investors, analysts, PE fund managers, etc.
Ms. Rosemary Addis AM, Senior Advisor, SDG Impact explained that the standards are not a taxonomy, but rather to outline an impact management system that supports companies to embrace various reporting frameworks and sustainable goals. The standards are also crucial to investors as they could be transformed into questions in which investors could use to stress test and analyze their investments.
Ms. Elizabeth Boggs-Davidsen, Director, SDG Impact hoped to engage more public and private sectors in contributing to the SDGs through the standards. She stated that the Standards aim to unlock more capital and act as tools to provide a logic for higher-level principles to guide various frameworks and systems. Thus, catalyze more investment capital towards the SDGs.
Ms. Lisa Genasci, CEO, ADM Capital Foundation expressed high hopes that the SDGs are an important road map for humanity as a collective pathway to a more sustainable and robust planet. She felt positive that the pandemic in recent situations has opened more gaps and opportunities to accelerate the growth of sustainable finance development.
Ms. Caitlin Medley, Portfolio Manager, QBE Insurance shared her experience with the impact investing initiative premium of the company. She stated that a part of the premium of their insurance customer would be invested in securities with additional social or environmental objectives, to create a link between financial investments and demand for social investments. Such a scheme also creates positive impacts on the company to advance the sustainable agenda.
Ms. Fabienne Michaux, Standards Expert, UNDP SDG Impact Initiative introduced the focus in this draft. The SDG Impact Standards embedded 4 core design elements: the SDGs, stakeholder engagement, the Impact Management Project, and interoperability. She added that continuous sharing of accurate and transparent data and information with the public is essential in figuring out where the market is in short of capital, helping to guide capital to the needed areas in the future.
(From Top to Bottom) Ms. Lisa Genasci, CEO, ADM Capital Foundation; Ms. Leonnie Kelly, Partner, Sustainable Finance Initiative; Ms. Rosemary Addis AM, Senior Advisor, SDG Impact; Ms. Caitlin Medley, Portfolio Manager, QBE Insurance; Ms. Elizabeth Boggs-Davidsen, Director, SDG Impact; Ms. Fabienne Michaux, Standards Expert, UNDP SDG Impact Initiative