The need for sustainable finance and investment in developing countries to achieve the SDGs is enormous. Three barriers are standing in the way of progress: greenwashing concerns; not enough funds making their way to developing countries; and actual investment in SDG sectors in the poorest countries remains weak. To mitigate these three issues, we need: better sustainability reporting to promote informed investment decisions; alignment of all actors in financial markets towards sustainability; and attracting the largest institutional investors in developed and developing countries to invest in concrete SDG assets and projects.

Developing countries are under pressure to fully implement international sustainability reporting requirements. Nevertheless, there is a risk that additional complexities and new requirements lead to challenges for countries with weak accounting and reporting infrastructure. This project will support 2 countries in Asia and 2 countries in Latin America to build the sustainability reporting capacity of stakeholders in the public and private sectors. It will support these countries to strengthen their sustainability reporting infrastructure to be able to implement international requirements, and it will promote the exchange of lessons learned and best practices through the Regional Partnerships for the promotion of sustainability reporting. Moreover, this project will enhance the capacity of institutional investors on sustainability integration to help them better align their investments with sustainable outcomes and contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. Through regional activities, the project will also support over 67 countries.