To save billions of people from hardship we must urgently put social and environmental impact at the heart of our economies
Global Steering Group for Impact Investment 2020 Impact Summit: Leaders’ Declaration for a just and sustainable future, addressed to G7 and G20 Leaders, Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
The Covid-19 Crisis has created an urgent need for a just, impact-led recovery that serves all people and preserves our planet. It presses us to change our ways, so that we can better address the great social and environmental challenges ahead of us. To save billions of people from greater hardship, it is urgent that we bring impact to the heart of our economies and put the following into action:
1. Scale impact investment to combat unemployment, reduce inequality and preserve the environment
Introduce incentives to accelerate impact investment, which seeks social as well as financial returns in order to create sustainable jobs, advance education, improve healthcare, and fund the expansion of non-profit organizations that support the most vulnerable.
Spur investment into small and medium-sized impact-driven businesses and high-growth impact ventures in developed and developing countries, to create millions of new jobs. Since many large companies are streamlining their operations and eliminating jobs, impact growth ventures and SMEs provide the best route to creating new jobs and supporting the recovery.
2. Mandate impact transparency for companies
Establish impact transparency by mandating that companies publish audited financial accounts that reflect their social and environmental impacts. This will provide ESG investors and consumers with the transparency they need to hold businesses accountable for the harm they cause and reward them for the positive impact they create.
3. Introduce legislation to empower companies and investors to pursue impact
Shift our economies away from profit alone to profit and impact. Amend legislation and regulations to allow companies, pension funds and charitable endowments to base their decisions on return and impact.
We are at an historic crossroad. Our future is in our hands. There has never been a greater need or a greater time to transform our economies so they better serve society and preserve our planet. We call on everyone – governments, citizens, consumers, investors, companies and philanthropists – to support implementation of these measures and pave the way to a fairer and more sustainable world.
Please take action to help achieve a just and impact-led recovery, by signing the declaration here.
Signatories:
Sir Ronald Cohen, Chair, Global Steering Group for Impact Investment |
Cliff Prior, CEO, Global Steering Group for Impact Investment |
Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation, GSG |
Dame Elizabeth Corley, Impact Investing Institute, UK |
Ibukun Awosika, Chair, First Bank of Nigeria |
Emmanuel Faber, Danone |
Mauricio Macri, Former President of the Argentine Republic |
Juan Yermo, OECD |
His Eminence Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral HumanDevelopment |
Lord Jacob Rothschild |
Ngaire Woods, Dean, Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford |
Willemijn Verloop, GSG Netherlands |
Herman Wijffels, Former Dean, Rabobank |
Sir Harvey McGrath, Big Society Capital |
Baroness Minouche Shafik, Director, London School of Economics |
Frank Heemskerk, Former Minister and Secretary General, European Round Table for Industry |
Sir Michael Barber, Delivery Associates |
Brigitte Mohn, Bertelsmann Foundation |
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Former Minister of Finance, The Netherlands |
Paul Polman, IMAGINE (formerly Unilever) |
Bertrand Badré, Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital (Formerly World Bank) |
Carolina Stanley, Former Minister, Argentine Republic |
Sir Roger Gifford, UK Green Finance Institute |
Wouter Bos, Former Minister and Invest-NL |
Ilse Treurnicht, Triphase Accelerator |
Amit Bouri, Global Impact Investing Network |
Ludovic Subran, Allianz |
Michele Giddens, Bridges Fund Management |
Jim Sorenson, The Sorenson Group |
Isabel Mota, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation |
Horacio Pavez, The Impact, GSG Chile |
George Serafeim, Harvard Business School |
Karen Karniol-Tambour, Bridgewater |
Laura D’Andrea Tyson, Former Dean, London Business School, Haas School of Business at Berkeley |
Christophe Itier, French Minister |
Elizabeth Boggs Davidsen, UNDP |
Ray Dhirani, World Wildlife Fund |
Nick O’Donohoe, CDC, GSG UK |
Prinz Max of Liechtenstein, LGT |
Sir Harry Solomon, Portland Trust |
María Eugenia Vidal, Former Governor, Province of Buenos Aires |
Urs Wietlisbach, Partners Group |
Sir Mick Davis, Portland Trust |
Don Gips, Skoll Foundation |
Halla Tómasdóttir, B Team |
Carsten Stendevad, Bridgewater Associates |
Ross Piper, Christian Super |
Catherine Clark, Duke University |
Celia Cruz, Instituto de Cidadania Empresarial, GSG Brazil |
Paul Brest, Former Dean, Stanford University Law School |
Giovanna Melandri, GSG Italy, Human Foundation, Former Minister |
Mike Kubzansky, Omidyar Network |
Mario Quintana, formerly Cabinet Office, Argentine Republic |
Mairi Mackay, British Council |
Patrick Gaspard, Open Society Foundations |
Vikram Ghandi, Harvard Business School |
Dr. Amel Karboul, Former Minister, Tunisia |
Stephan Chambers, London School of Economics |
Dolika Banda, Education Outcomes Fund |
Matt Bannick, Stanford Graduate School of Business, GSG USA |
Kate Byrne, President, SOCAP |
Nicola Cobbold, GSG UK |
Ashish Dhawan, Ashoka University |
Linda Broekhuizen, FMO Investment Management |
Masataka Uo, Japan Fundraising Association, GSG Japan |
Laurie Spengler, GSG UK |
Rosemary Addis, Impact Strategist, GSG Australia |
Maria Laura Tinelli, Acrux Partners, GSG Argentina |
Sarah Gordon, Impact Investing Institute UK |
Tracy Palandjian, Social Finance USA |
Yael Almog, Former CEO, IFRS Foundation |
Nick Hurd, Former Minister, UK, GSG |
Andrés Pesce, Ideas Impact VC |
Clara Barby, Impact Management Project |
Sultana Afroz, Prime MInister’s Office, Bangladesh |
Christian Heller, Value Balancing Alliance |
Andrew Kassoy, B Lab |
Ulrich Grabenwarter, European Investment Fund, GSG |
Eric Rice, BlackRock |
Nigel Kershaw OBE, The Big Issue Group and The Big Exchange |
René Karsenti, ICMA |
Dr François Bonnici, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship |
Fran Seegull, U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, GSG |
Steven Serneels, EVPA – European Venture Philanthropy Association |
Kieron Boyle, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity |
Tony Burdon, Make My Money Matter |
Gerbrand Haverkamp, World Benchmarking Alliance |
Dr. Andy Kuper, LeapFrog Investments |
Elias Masilela SOB, DNA Economics, GSG South Africa |
Alejandro Preusche, Almado, GSG Argentina |
Mario Calderini, Politecnico di Milano, GSG Italy |
Marilou van Golstein Brouwers, BLab Europe, GSG Netherlands |
Sebastian Welisiejko, National Ministry of Social Development, Argentina, GSG |
Charles Conn, Patagonia |
Nick Robins, London School of Economics |
Sean Hinton, Open Society Foundations |
All signatories to the declaration can be viewed here