SDGs will fail without private sector alignment: SDSN Report

This week, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) published the seventh edition of its annual Sustainable Development Report, which includes the 2022 SDG Index, the 2022 International Spillover Index, and Dashboards.

The report warns that “[f]or the second year in a row, the world is no longer making progress on the SDGs.” It shows that the “multiple and simultaneous” crises spanning the areas of health, climate, biodiversity, and geopolitics have hit poor and vulnerable countries hardest, and presents a global plan to finance sustainable development.

This year’s report reveals a decrease in the global average country score on the SDG Index for the second year running. The report’s authors – SDSN President Jeffrey Sachs, Christian Kroll, Guillaume Lafortune, Grayson Fuller, and Finn Woelm – highlight the need to scale up partnerships and innovations involving the private sector in order to stimulate progress.

Minerva knows the importance of the SDGs to the financial sector. Governments alone cannot achieve the Goals, the financial sector has always been critical to their success by spurring innovation and targeting impact.

As responsible investors dig deeper into ESG and sustainability considerations, the standard practice of negative screening for ESG norms is losing its efficacy. Now, investors are increasingly looking for the positive impacts they can have through their investments, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals potentially offer a more comprehensive approach to making this a reality.

You can read the full SDSN report for more information. If you are an investor just starting your journey towards SDG-aligned stewardship, watch the below Minerva Briefing, which introduces the importance of the SDGs to your fiduciary duties and how Minerva can help you include them in your stewardship efforts.