Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) hosted on Friday a global summit in London about Environmental, Social and Governance in emerging markets, involving over 40 world leaders, global CEOs, international investors, thought leaders and heads of sustainability.
In his opening speech, Richard Attias, CEO of the FII Institute, reminded the audience that the planet is suffering from major climate problems due to the destruction of nature, peace and security, stressing that environmental, social and corporate governance are important tools to guide capital to meet various problems and challenges.
Attias added that it is estimated that efforts to address climate change and achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 are underfunded with a value of 5 to 7 trillion dollars annually.
Given this funding gap, it is unlikely that governments alone will address the urgent priorities of the planet.
According to Attias, it is also estimated that investor demand in environmental, social, and institutional sustainability criteria will continue to grow rapidly from total assets of $41 trillion to $53 trillion by 2025.
“Central to our work at FII Institute is to increase awareness about the weaknesses in current ESG standards and their impact on global sustainability prospects, and to advocate for an inclusive and equitable application of ESG through driving real action by key players globally,” said Attias.
“ESG has been one of the fastest-growing investment strategies over the past few years, accounting for one-third of all assets under management. But this growth is not even. Working with our partners at EY, we identified and removed the barriers to ESG investment in emerging markets, which are often overlooked,” he added.
“By launching the Inclusive ESG Framework and Scoring Methodology, investing in a global sustainable solutions company, and publishing our recent ESG white paper — we are making tangible actions to create a better future for humanity. And we are confident that our partners around the world will help us drive those actions further.”
The FII event in London also unveiled a new inclusive ESG framework and scoring methodology to inform and accelerate investments in emerging economies.
