UN Global Compact Rolls Out CFO Coalition to Accelerate Private Sector Investments Towards Sustainable Development

The UN Global Compact, a non-binding United Nations pact to foster businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable policies, has announced the launch of the Chief Financial Officers' (CFOs) Coalition for sustainable development initiatives while it was hosting the Annual Local Network Forum in Dubai.

The recently launched platform will help global CFOs and other corporate executives collaborate with investors, financial institutions, peers and UN agencies to design frameworks, principles and recommendations to incorporate Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in corporate finance. 

It comprises a CFO Leadership Group to guide the work within the coalition and several signatories in line with the CFO Principles on Integrated SDG Investments and Finance.

According to the UN, the world needs to invest between $3 trillion and $5 trillion every year to target SDGs goals by 2030. The cost has been increased due to the COVID-induced repercussions.

The coalition focuses on the following aims:

• To increase the CFO Leadership Group participants from 70 to 100 by 2022. 
• To create a $10 trillion market for SDG-directed finance by 2030.
• To support a group of 1000 CFO Signatories to the CFO principles on Integrated SDG Investments and Finance by 2024.

Chief Financial Officers in the CFO Leadership Group can lead or co-lead workstreams and working groups to provide proposals, frameworks, and best practices to direct business investments toward the SDGs. Signatories to the CFO Principles on Integrated SDG Investments and Finance have access to the CFO for the SDGs Coalition's guidelines and resources, as well as the UN Global Compact Local Network's events and activities.

Marie Morice, Head of Sustainable Finance and Co-Lead of the CFO Coalition for the SDGs at the UN Global Compact said: "Through our new CFO Coalition for the SDGs, we look forward to welcoming new participants who will collaborate with us and support us as we look to create new financial tools and shape policy to move trillions of dollars of private investment towards sustainable development.”

Jerome Lavigne-Delville, Senior Advisor, Sustainable Finance and Co-Lead of the CFO Coalition for the SDGs at the UN Global Compact said: "CFOs have a leading role to play in setting and aligning sustainability and financial targets. This will not only help us secure a better future but it’s also good business — research increasingly shows companies who commit to sustainability targets regularly outperform those that do not. The CFO Coalition for the SDGs is at the vanguard of a new movement which recognises CFOs as the architects of long-term value creation.”

Alberto De Paoli, Chief Financial Officer, Enel Group and co-chair of the CFO Leadership Group said: “The launch of the CFO Coalition for the SDGs represents a new milestone in our journey, which we began in December 2019 together with a small group of CFOs who shared a vision to boost the integration of sustainability within business operations. With this new phase, we aim to engage thousands of CFOs, to scale up our global community, which will play a critical role in mobilizing trillions in corporate investments to close the financial gap needed to meet the SDGs and create sustainable shared value for all.”