Resource List

The CFO Principles on Integrated SDG Investments and Finance guide companies in aligning their sustainability commitments with credible corporate finance strategies geared towards contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Implement: Integrate impact management and SDG contribution into the organisation’s corporate finance function.

The Equator Principles are a financial industry framework for determining, assessing and managing environmental and social risk in project finance

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Identify: Understand potential environmental and social risks/impacts, including those related to human rights, climate change and biodiversity.
• Measure, assess and value: Conduct an appropriate assessment process to address the relevant environmental and social risks, as well as the scale of the potential impacts, of the proposed project.
• Implement: Prepare an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) to address any issues raised in the assessment process, and to incorporate the steps required to comply with the applicable standards.

The Green Bond Principles (GBP) seek to support issuers in financing environmentally sound and sustainable projects that foster a net-zero emissions economy and protect the environment.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Implement: Use global guidelines that outline best practices when issuing bonds serving social and/or environmental purposes.
• Verification, assurance and certification: Illustrate alignment with the four core components of the GBP.

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are a set of guidelines for states and companies to prevent, address and remedy human rights abuses committed in business operations.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Strategy: Commit to preserving human rights, observing the states’ duty to protect human rights and corporations’ responsability to respect human rights.
• Governance: Embed human rights considerations into decision-making policies and processes.
• Implement: Set up human rights due diligence.

The Impact Standards for Financing Sustainable Development (IS-FSD) is a framework for donors, development finance institutions (DFIs) and their private partners to make financial decisions that maximise their positive contribution to the SDGs. The Standards are harmonised with the UNDP SDG Impact Standards.

This is a cross-cutting resource, meaning that it supports the internal impact management process as a whole, rather than one or a few of the Actions of Impact Management.

The Integrated Thinking Principles are a set of guidelines promoting integrated thinking in corporate reporting. Integrated thinking encourages organisations to consider how financial, as well as environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are interconnected and affect long-term value creation.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Communicate: Provide disclosures that explain how financial and non-financial factors are considered in decision-making processes and contribute to long-term value creation.

ISO’s governance standards are a cluster of standards that provide guidance on organisational governance. The standards are applicable to all organisations regardless of type, size, location, structure or purpose.

ISO’s management system standards define how an organisation can manage the interrelated parts of its business in order to achieve its objectives. These objectives can relate to a number of different topics, including product or service quality, operational efficiency, environmental performance, health and safety in the workplace and many more. The management system standards help organisations improve their performance by specifying repeatable steps that they can implement to achieve their goals and objectives. They can also help to create an organisational culture that engages in a continuous cycle of self-evaluation, correction and improvement of operations and processes, such as through heightened employee awareness, and management leadership and commitment.

ISO’s measurement and monitoring standards comprise a series of international standards that provide guidance and frameworks for effective environmental management. These standards cover various aspects of environmental management, including environmental policy, planning, implementation, monitoring and continuous improvement.

ISO’s pathway and transition standards support users in tackling climate change at a strategic, governmental and organisational level, through to tactical applications at the project and product levels. These standards in the ISO 1406x series provide the tools for organisations to develop programmes that can control and eliminate GHG emissions. They focus on integrating organisational adaptation plans by illustrating the impacts and uncertainties of climate change and how they can inform decision-making.