This weekend sees the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by the UN. They are important because they are a globally agreed set of seventeen goals for all humanity. They range from ending poverty and hunger to reducing inequality and providing peace and justice. It is refreshing that development is described in terms other than simple progression of GDP, because we all know that while the economy and business is important it is not all encompassing. Nevertheless the SDGs do recognise the important part that investors and companies can play in delivering them.
This fits with the ethos behind the Sustainable Future funds. Since their launch in 2001 we have held that certain companies are part of the solution to sustainable development. That companies providing products in healthcare, energy efficiency, pollution control, and healthy nutrition will be successful and profitable precisely because they are benefiting society. And that by providing capital to these companies investors in the Sustainable Future funds are helping to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable economy.
So we welcome the launch of the SDGs and see clear parallels between them and our four themes of Climate Change, Sustainable Consumption, Quality of Life, and Resilience.
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