Sustainability Performance and Metrics
Date and Time: Wednesday 13th November 13:30 – 14:15 (Baku time)
Venue: Buta (Special Events Room), Blue Zone
Organized by: AE4RIA and SDSN Global Climate Hub
Context and Background
In 2015, the United Nations launched the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, introducing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 targets. These goals were embraced by all 193 UN member states, aiming to integrate economic, social, and environmental sustainability. To monitor progress toward achieving the SDGs, the Sustainable Development Goals Index and Dashboards (SDG Index) was introduced in 2016 and now covers 162 countries. To further aid local governments, several frameworks have been created to adapt SDG metrics to sub-national and regional levels.
Achieving sustainable societies and economies also requires identifying financing strategies to support Agenda 2030. Addressing financing gaps is crucial for effective SDG implementation at both regional and local scales, helping stakeholders and policymakers bridge these gaps and prioritize sustainable development.
Session Description
This session will address tools and methods for measuring, monitoring, and assessing SDG performance across sectors and scales. Experts will discuss the effectiveness of various reporting frameworks and their role in guiding decision-makers toward successful SDG implementation at national and international levels. Innovative approaches to downscaling SDG measurement to sub-national scales, such as regional, city, company, and organizational levels, will be highlighted to support a broader application of these frameworks.
Strategic Goals and Expected Impact
- Mainstream SDGs Locally: Integrate SDGs into regional policies and empower local stakeholders.
- Identify Implementation Gaps: Recognize areas requiring improvement in SDG progress.
- Measure SDG Progress: Support policymakers with data-driven insights into their SDG achievements.
- Accelerate Transition to Sustainability: Emphasize the need for identifying financing gaps and strategies to support Agenda 2030 and regional policy integration.
Additional discussion will focus on frameworks that enable the SDG mainstreaming process by downscaling metrics to:
- Sub-national Levels: Adapt methodologies for administrative regions, incorporating climate adaptation and financing complexities.
- Institutions: Develop SDG/ESG metrics that accommodate the unique characteristics of institutions like universities.
- Companies: Showcase the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) for tracking ESG and SDG impacts across corporate value chains.
- Financial Portfolios: Introduce tools for assessing financial portfolios’ ESG/SDG footprint using an Arbitrage Multifactor Pricing Model Framework to identify related risks in global stock markets.
Innovative Solutions Showcased
This session will feature the AE4RIA Metrix tool, an innovation that facilitates downscaling UN SDSN frameworks to measure companies’ ESG and SDG impacts in accordance with sustainability standards.
Agenda
Moderator:
Prof. Phoebe Koundouri
Athens University of Economics and Business & Technical University of Denmark; President, World Council of Environmental and Resource Economists Associations; Chair, SDSN Global Climate Hub; Director, AE4RIA
Panelists:
- Andrei Geica, Chief Impact and Policy Officer, Sporos
- Sergio Fernandez de Cordova, Executive Chairman, PVBLIC Foundation
- Arvea Marieni, Director Ecological Transitions Solutions BEAM CUBE; International Affairs, Homes4All
- Markus Müller, Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer of ESG & Global Head of Chief Investment Office, Deutsche Bank
- Ketan Patel, Co-founder and CEO, Greater Pacific Capital
- Ismail Serageldin, Founding Director Emeritus, The Library of Alexandria; Former Vice President, World Bank