An estimated $5-7 trillion a year until 2030 are needed to realize the Sustainable Development Goals worldwide, including investments into infrastructure, clean energy, water and sanitation and agriculture.

The Positive Impact Finance Initiative seeks to address the SDGs financing gap.

“Positive Impact Finance is that which verifiably produces a positive impact on the economy, society or the environment once any potential negative impacts have been duly identified and mitigated.”

Positive Impact Manifesto (May 2017)

The Positive Impact Working Group (PIWG)

The Positive Impact Working Group (PIWG) involves banks and investors that seek to address two key challenges to the financing of the SDGs:

The lack of market clarity: multiple definitions and objectives are being communicated to date on impact. The Positive Impact Finance Initiative seek to create an overarching, holistic and impact-based framework that includes the environment, social and economic development and that allows the current methodologies and definitions to meet under one umbrella: the Principles for Positive Impact Finance. The Principles aim provide a common language that can guide providers of financial services and all relevant stakeholders in their efforts to contribute achieving the SDGs.

The lack of business (supply of bankable assets): projects, entities and individuals which need to be financed do not seem able to comply with the risk/return profiles that make the markets.. Moreover, business and financing models do not reach the level of funding and scale demanded to achieve the SDGs. In partnership with PWC and the WBCSD, the PIWG is producing a Grounding Paper that will assess the SDG financing needs and will identify innovative business and financing models.

See more information about the Positive Impact Finance Initiative and sign up for the Positive Impact Newsletter.