Directing Sustainable Capital Towards the UN SDGs

“There is an estimated USD$4-trillion financing gap in emerging and developing markets, relative to where we need to get to in terms of financing to deliver on the SDGs,” said John Murton, Senior Sustainability Advisor at Standard Chartered Bank, speaking at DP World’s COP28 panel session: Directing Sustainable Capital Towards the UN SDGs.

At the mid-way point of achieving the 17 SDGs by 2030, the latest SDG stocktake shows only 15% of the goals remain on track. 

While the volume of capital managed by sustainable investors continues to increase, failure to achieve these goals could be catastrophic for the planet and every living thing on it, including humans.

One focus of the session was the launch in April this year of the Impact Disclosure Taskforce, which aims to address the funding gap.  

The impact disclosure taskforce

Session delegates explained how the taskforce is a network of public and private financial institutions and stakeholders, set on delivering forward-facing targets and guidance to help financial institutions and investors identify specific funding gaps in the markets in which they operate. 

By leveraging the principles of impact measurement and monitoring, the initiative will help direct sustainable capital where it’s most needed, so investments have a real impact on meeting the UN SDGs.

The framework will enable companies to show their intention of doing good, said Bertrand Millot, Head of Sustainability at CDPQ.

Holistic investments

For ports and terminal operators like DP World, customers are often governments, explained Ayla Bajwa, Senior Vice President Sustainability at DP World.    

“Governments ask you, what are you going to do for my country? And so when that becomes the question, you are no longer a project investor, you are an ecosystem investor,” she said. 

This means moving beyond the port or terminal asset to include investing in coastal systems, the environment, people in local communities and the full gamut. 

“We're investing for returns for our investors, but we do want to create products that are supporting the emerging economies and that are facilitating the flow of capital to the projects and the businesses that need the money,” said Bajwa.

DP World continues to invest in initiatives aimed at conserving marine environments, including preserving mangrove forests and regenerating coral reefs. Recently, the company’s Our World Our Future sustainability pillar has directed investment at Berbera in Somalia.

Obtaining more financing from sustainable financiers and their partners will help more companies direct investment towards achieving the SDGs.