Dutch institutional investors embrace Sustainable Development Goals

Institutional and private investment capital is critically needed to help finance the $5-7 trillion that is needed each year to finance the 2030 Agenda.

On December 7th, eighteen Dutch financial institutions, which collectively manage over €2.8 trillion in assets, have invited the Dutch government and Central Bank to continue to make a concerted effort with them in support of the SDGs. The Initiative is the first in the world to bring together national pension funds, insurance firms, and banks around a shared SDG investment agenda.

Board representatives of the Signatories will present their call for further cooperation and collective action to Lilianne Ploumen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, at the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)’s conference in front of over 700 investors.

The consortium believes that it is not only of societal importance, but also in the interest of their investors and business relations, to consider the largest social and environmental challenges of our time in their work and investments. In their report ‘Building Highways to SDG Investing’, its signatories recommend priorities for maximizing ‘SDG investing’ (SDGI) – at home as well as abroad.

The SDGI agenda is a result of a six-month consultation process with more than 70 fellow investors, government representatives, and expert practitioners. In their report the signatories offer concrete ways in which to accelerate and scale investing in the SDGs. Further conversations will take place over the course of December, including a cross-sectoral stakeholder consultation at the Dutch Central Bank on the 14th of December.

The Signatories look forward to collectively build Dutch ‘SDG investment highways’ in the years ahead. Per Herman Mulder, co-facilitator of the SDGI Agenda: “In today’s tumultuous world, public-private action is ever more important as a driver for positive change. The 2030 Agenda offers not only a challenge, but also an opportunity to collectively do well by doing good.”