We are pleased to announce that Walden has signed the Stockholm Declaration in support of the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). See the full press release here.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
In September 2015 the 193 nations of the UN General Assembly unanimously approved the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs articulate 17 goals and 169 sub-targets that provide a global framework for sustainable development through 2030. The SDGs supersede the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that helped reduce the number of people living in extreme poverty (defined as living on less than $1.25 a day) by more than 50 percent from 2000 to 2015. The SDGs set forth ambitious goals to end poverty, reduce inequality, protect the natural environment, and pursue peace and stability. The 17 SDGs are listed here: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/.
The Stockholm Declaration
In October 2017 Walden Asset Management/Boston Trust joined leading European investors as a signatory to the Stockholm Declaration. The Declaration took form during a meeting in May 2017 on investing for sustainable development and impact hosted by GRI (formally the Global Reporting Initiative) and the UN Global Compact. The Declaration communicates investor support for the SDGs, and calls for a reliable reporting framework so that companies, other issuers, and investors can better articulate their contributions to the goals. Signatories also commit to working with the “Action Platform,” a multi-stakeholder initiative to guide corporate reporting on the SDGs. The initiative is co-led by the UN Global Compact and GRI, and supported by the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The Declaration can be viewed here: https://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/Stockholm-Declaration.pdf.
The SDGs are a call to action that investors should not ignore. The goals seek to tackle and mitigate environmental and social issues that present a risk to the long-term value of our clients’ investments. Since their inception, Walden has been assessing how our work incorporates the SDGs and where opportunities exist to advance their objectives through investment decision-making and active ownership. Signing the Stockholm Declaration is a natural extension of our current efforts.
William Apfel
Executive Managing Director, Walden Asset Management/Boston Trust