The 60 CFOs in the UN Global Compact CFO Taskforce committed to invest more than $500 billion over the next five years towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as they try to promote further integration of the SDGs in corporate finance.

The task force also committed to link almost 50% of all corporate financing to sustainability performance, with plans to issue new sustainable finance instruments, including sustainability-linked bonds. 

“With this commitment, we set a necessary milestone on a journey which began in December 2019 when a small group of CFOs started working together towards a vision of boosting the integration of sustainability within business operations,” said Alberto De Paoli, CFO of Enel and co-chair of CFO Taskforce. “Now, we aim to increase awareness even further and help create the necessary environment to attract more capital towards sustainable development.”

Targets related to SDG investments are set to grow as the UN Global Compact CFO Taskforce looks to recruit hundreds of companies to adopt similar corporate strategies and commitments.

If successful, the finance chiefs and their corporations could potentially mobilize trillions of investment dollars annually in support of the SDGs, in areas such as sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, and food and agriculture.

“The demand for sustainable investment is growing among our clients and we are encouraged by the proactive stance that companies are taking to bring investment opportunities to the market,” said Scott Mather, chief investment officer of U.S. core strategies at PIMCO and co-chair of the CFO taskforce.

“The CFOs in our taskforce can already be credited with key developments in the market for sustainability-linked bonds and we expect their leadership to support growth in the sustainable debt market, potentially reaching between $10 to $20 trillion in the next five years.”