Sustainability and social impact of finance: what do these terms really mean and, above all, how are they measured? The topic is hotter than ever after the intervention by the president of the ECB herself, Christine Lagarde, who accused the EU of making few green investments and above all of abusing the term "green" by associating it with some bonds in an improper way, just like "a fig leaf". In practice, according to Frankfurt, many, too many companies and institutions in Europe practice the so-called "green washing": "Most of green finance does not go in the right direction". This will also be discussed in a cycle of three webinars entitled “Impact Integrity”, organized by Social Impact Agenda for Italy, the public-private network for social impact investments founded in 2016 and chaired by Giovanna Melandri.
The event is sponsored by Enel and the first meeting, on Wednesday 21 October at 15 pm (link to register) has as its title “Impact Weighted Accounts Initiative” and will see among the speakers the president of the Human Foundation, Giovanna Melandri, who will speak together with the professor George Serafeim of Harvard Business School. The theme of all the meetings will be precisely that of discussing a parameter for measuring the social impact of financial instruments (green bonds but not only), and specifically the mission of the "Impact Weighted Accounts Initiative" is to integrate the financial accounting social and environmental dimensions, in order to support investors and companies in making more sustainable business decisions.
Just on the eve of the first meeting came the news that Unicredit was nominated by Capital Finance International (CFI.co) magazine as Best Social Impact Bank in Europe in 2020. Speaking of parameters, the jury highlighted UniCredit's determination to "make a difference and have an impact" as well as the efforts made in times of pandemic to involve its stakeholders, addressing their concerns and needs and promptly adapting its policies and the product offering. The bank's commitment to creating a diversified and inclusive work environment as well as the "important and significant corporate social responsibility policies" were also rewarded.
The second webinar will be held on 13th November, to present the “Impact Management Project”. The keynote speaker will be Clara Barbie, CEO of Impact Management Project (IMP). Filippo Montesi, Secretary General of Social Impact Agenda for Italy will intervene. "Measuring social impact is proving to be a fundamental dimension of impact investing, which however requires greater rigor and consistency," explains the site presenting the event. “For this, IMP provides an internationally shared framework for social impact measurement, aimed at both investors and companies. IMP's work is conducted by a network of international organizations, including GIIN, GRI, GSG, OECD, UNDP, etc”.
The third and final meeting will be held on 30th November from 13.00 to 14.30. The webinar will be dedicated to “SDG Impact standards for Bonds & Equity funds”, which they will discuss Elizabeth Boggs Davidsen, SDG Impact Director at UNDP, and Rosemary Addis, Board Trustee of the GSG. Prof. Mario Calderini, POLIMI and President of the Scientific Committee of SIA will speak. In fact, there are less than 10 years left before the deadline that the global community has given itself to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals. To this end, investors are working towards achieving results that are not only financial, but also social and environmental. UNDP, in partnership with IMP, has developed a series of standards to strengthen the link between the SDGs and the issuance of bonds and equity funds, with particular attention to transparency, measurability and comparability of the impact measured.
Encounters are all free, open to the public and are held in English.
