Heads-up Startups: Investing for Positive Social and Environmental Impact Will Continue to Grow — Impact investments are investments made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. Interest and attention on impact investing has been growing steadily since the term was first coined 15 years ago. Even with this narrow definition, measurements of impact investing assets under…

Series Article 8: Follow the StartingUpGood Magazine to keep up with the many advances — and acronyms — in global ESG disclosure standards. — There are so many acronyms associated with ESG — starting with the name itself. But there are also many important advances happening in the world of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) regulation and legislation— especially as they relate to climate disclosures.

Key insights on emerging pools of capital, innovations in the Global South, the Blue Economy, the biodiversity/ climate intersection, and implications of artificial intelligence on impact investing — Founded in 2009, the Global Impact Investing Network (the GIIN) remains the preeminent authority on impact investing worldwide. This expertise was on display at the GIIN’s recent Impact Forum. …

Global Goals Week 2023 is over, but you can still catch up on its content. — The 2023 UN General Assembly featured thousands of conferences, sessions, and events related to the Sustainable Development Goals. By our count, nearly 1,750 individual sessions and over 2,500 presentations occurred during UNGA78 related to the SDGs! Many of these events focused on private sector participation, which we have long known…

Social Entrepreneurs and startups spotlighted at the 2023 Clinton Global Initiative Meeting, MIT Solve Pitch Competition, Business Fights Poverty Global Goals Summit, and Gates’ Goalkeepers Awards. — The importance of innovation and entrepreneurship was clearly on display during September’s United Nations General Assembly and connected side events. Brave and visionary entrepreneurs are spurring the most exciting and practical on-the-ground solutions to advance the SDGs.

Latest SDG Research from the United Nations, Force For Good, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UN Global Compact, Accenture, and the International Finance Corporation — The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is not just a time for meetings and conversations. It’s also an opportunity for organizations to release findings from new research and surveys. These reports are a critical component of SDG messaging. They allow us to set a baseline for measuring progress, growth, and change…

Insights from Gillian Tett, Financial Times; Jeremy Hillman, Mastercard; and Matthew Bishop, Sorenson Impact Institute — Thousands of people from around the world descended on New York City last week for the UN General Assembly meetings (UNGA78) as well as the associated events focused on global sustainable development. For those not able to travel to NYC, recordings of many of the informative sessions are available online…

Series Article 7: Pitchbook and EY surveys show the importance of corporate responsibility — Using the term ESG to describe the consideration of such factors as climate impact, sustainability, fair pay for employees, and diversity on decision-making has been the topic of much scrutiny and (undeserved) derision of late. …

Business-Focused Events at the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) Included the SDG Global Business Forum — It was always envisioned that the private sector would play an important role in the implementation and success of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Indeed the role of businesses in achieving the SDGs is not just significant, but indispensable. …