The Force for Good, a project of the F4G foundation, has been mobilising capital and solutions to address the greatest issues we’re facing & build a better, safer future. Since the world is interconnected all the more, anything happening at the far end of the planet could adversely affect the rest. What we set out to do today determines the possibility of a better future. More than ever, we, the collective us, are in great need to look deeply into sustainable finance.
Environmental, Social, and Governance
“Sustainable finance is defined as investment decisions that take into account the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors of an economic activity or project.”
Any government or non-governmental, global financial organisation, when undertaking an activity or a global project, should evaluate the ESG factors attached with those projects. They should mobilise and deploy the funds as a force for good towards the ESG factors to achieve a better tomorrow.
Force for Good initiative engages the world’s leading financial institutions and directs them towards complex and interrelated challenges like climate change, sustainable development, social inclusion, etc. Force for Good helps them understand the ESG factors associated with resolving these projects.
The Force for Good - Identifying & Bridging the Gap
When the United Nations Organisation (UNO) adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, also known as Global goals, it was deployed with a massive vision of ending global poverty by 2030. It was brought into action after evaluating the social and environmental factors of the project.
Even though the concept has been around for a while, the world has been waking up to it only now. As more and more awareness is created about sustainable finance, the global institutions, NGOs, and other stakeholders are looking for genuine finance professionals like the Force for Good to guide them through the ESG factors.
According to the Force for Good’s ‘Capital as a Force for Good’, 2021 report, 2020 saw a huge surge in ESG commitments exceeding US $35 trillion. It is roughly 1.5 times more when compared to 2016.
Capitalism for a Sustainable Future
When people see/hear the numbers, they misunderstood that it means directly contributing to the sustainable development goals funding. But it merely focuses on turning the investment capital towards projects that don't harm the SDGs goals. Also they contribute capital to address renewable and climate-related projects.
The Force for Good carries these responsibilities on its shoulders and navigates the industry towards a sustainable future. The initiative engages the key stakeholders, publishes thought leadership, conducts research, and has developed an outreach program to global financial institutions.
To Conclude
According to the ‘Capital as a Force for Good,’ report, we cannot achieve the UN's SGDs by 2030. Even though there is an increase in intense engagement between the governments and the finance sector, we still have a lot to do. The Force for Good has been working tirelessly associating with multiple global organizations to infuse a profound, multi-dimensional change in the world.
All this may not be enough, but we are on the right track with the Force for Good & sustainable finance.