On September 25, 2015, 193 UN Member States adopted the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The agenda is a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs), it includes 169 targets and over 230 indicators. This agenda not only replaces but builds upon the UN’s previous 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which ran their course in 2015.
Under a global partnership, the 2030 Agenda is a plan of action for people, and the planet to promote peace and prosperity for all. The UN Declaration states, “Never before have world leaders pledged common action and endeavor across such a broad and universal policy agenda.”
The collection of Sustainable Development Goals is fully integrated and indivisible. The UNSSC Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Development says that “Contrary to what many believe, the SDGs do not represent the agenda in their entirety. They are not a summary of the agenda, but rather focus on areas necessary to achieve sustainable development.”
According to Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development A/RES/70/1 the agenda is simply, “A call for action to change our world.” These SDGs build upon decades of work both by individual countries, and the United Nations. The agenda acts as an urgent call for action for all countries and stakeholders.
Arguably, the specific targets set forth by the 2030 Agenda go hand-in-hand with private stakeholders who wish to create their own set of Environmental, Social, and Governance policies, or ESG policies. According to ESG.org, “ESG covers a wide range of issues that may have a direct or indirect impact on financial relevance.” ESG policies, along with the UN’s 2030 Agenda provide, “A to-do list for people and planet, and a blueprint for success,” according to the UN’s Secretary-General.
Since the announcement of the UN Declaration, early adopters like 1839 Ventures®, have chosen to support the UN’s global partnership and created their own sets of ESG policies based on these SDGs. Originally published in November of 2015, 1839 Ventures® and the series of 1839 Venture Funds™ have operated following the guidelines outlined within our updated ESG Investment Policy Statement. This policy summarizes our commitment to ESG investing and the SDGs.
These policies have led to the development of a set of quantitative and qualitative metrics. These metrics first gauge the attractiveness of a potential investment. They then allow our team to continually monitor our investments based on a specific set of ESG criteria. In addition to ESG investment criteria, the policy statement outlines our approach to sustainable investing. The policy includes exclusionary screening surrounding based on ethics and sustainability. These criteria are known as Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) which are key components of impact investing.
In early 2016, the founder of 1839 Ventures® was asked to join a delegation from the United States State Department to explore opening up bilateral trade and increasing foreign-based investing in a developing market in South Asia. In October 2017, just before the start of the program’s second delegation, 1839 Ventures® announced its inaugural venture capital fund to invest in promising early-stage companies across the technology sector.
Our initial fund’s focus areas, or primary ESG goals, were to reduce inequalities and to further spur economic growth within both countries. We recognize that generating economic growth across key sectors creates an enabling environment across all levels.
The efforts of these two delegations, along with the directives from the UN emphasized that international public finance plays an important role in complementing the efforts of countries to mobilize public resources domestically, especially in the poorest and most vulnerable areas. After all, was said and done, the 1839 Ventures® team assisted with the negotiations of financing for seven early-stage technology companies equaling approximately $27 million in total financing.
The UN’s 2030 Agenda alongside sound ESG and sustainable investing policies, challenges investors to think creatively, leverage innovative approaches, and reconsider the way their investments solve today’s issues both overseas and domestically. It truly becomes the blueprint for success.
