Standard Chartered is a leader in mobilising capital for sustainable development in emerging markets. Find out how we are helping close the capital gap by getting finance to where it is needed most.
The world must act now if it is to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
Yet according to a UN report, just 60 per cent of the financing needed to achieve the 17 goals in low and middle-income countries is being met. In Africa, this is as low as 10 per cent.
We are determined to use our expertise to direct capital to the markets that need it. Our footprint in Asia, Africa and the Middle East includes some of the markets worst hit by environmental and social challenges. We want to make the world a better, cleaner and safer place and minimise the negative impact of our financing.
Case study: Delivering finance where it matters most
In 2019, we launched the world’s first Sustainable Deposit. Every dollar deposited is referenced against sustainable assets that support the delivery of the UN’s 17 SDGs, which form a global blueprint for a more sustainable world. Corporate and institutional clients in London, Singapore, Hong Kong, New York and Dubai along with Private Banking clients in Singapore, can now put their money to work in addressing some of the world’s biggest threats, including climate change, financial exclusion, and lack of access to health and education.
The Bank’s Green and Sustainable Product Framework sets out qualifying themes and activities aligned to the SDGs and is the governing document for our Sustainable Deposit product. Liquidity raised from the deposits will provide financing for microfinance institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises, and the development of sustainable infrastructure and services including clean energy, water improvements and health and education services in middle- and low-income countries. The deposit is just one of the ways we are mobilising private capital to where it is needed most.
We provide financial products and services to people and businesses to help drive sustainable development, economic growth and job creation. Our sustainability aspirations set out how we aim to promote social and economic development through our core business of banking.
Find out more about our sustainability aspirations.
We are creating sustainable finance products to support sustainable development. Our frameworks, developed in collaboration with Sustainalytics, the leading provider of ESG and corporate governance research, set out what qualifies as ‘sustainable’ and ‘green’ products. Learn more about our green and sustainable product framework.
While we are a leading international bank, 91% of our sustainable finance assets are located in emerging markets where the need for finance to be a positive catalyst is greatest. Our sustainable finance impact report highlights Standard Chartered’s unique contribution to tackling climate change and the financing of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Read our latest Sustainable Finance Impact Report.
The $50 Trillion Investor Panel
The panel is made up of asset managers from the world’s top 300 asset management companies. With combined assets under management (AUM) of more than USD50 trillion (the equivalent to half of global GDP), how the asset managers in our survey choose to invest will have a huge impact on humanity’s ability to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. This study is based on in-depth interviews with the panel, conducted between July and August 2020.
Looking specifically at the SDGs: Just over a quarter of the $50 Trillion Investor Panel indicated that they do not measure their investments against the SDGs, but will nevertheless have investments that contribute to the SDGs. For example, one could be investing in SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure) without actually measuring this as a contribution towards meeting the SDGs. Without this measurement it is impossible to know the extent of that contribution, therefore this research uses the majority who do measure their SDG investments as a proxy for their peers. While the majority of investors do measure their investments against the SDGs, it is worth noting, as the report makes clear, that only 14 per cent go as far as using the SDGs as a framework for their investments.
The following graphic shows the panel broken down by AUM, role and location, all of which ensure it is representative of the global top 300 asset managers.
