Share:


The role of sustainable finance in achieving Sustainable Development Goals: does it work?

    Magdalena Ziolo   Affiliation
    ; Iwona Bak   Affiliation
    ; Katarzyna Cheba   Affiliation

Abstract

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund reported that the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires an escalation of development finance. The report Scaling Finance for the Sustainable Development Goals highlighted the urgency of the efforts to realize SDGs in encouraging financial innovation to move quickly. Even if the role of finance in achieving SDGs is unquestionable, few scientific studies have addressed these issues. We tried to fill the existing research gap. In this study, we examined the link between sustainable finance and SDGs based on European Union countries belonging to the OECD. We present a new and the original research approach. We assumed that the sustainable finance model plays a fundamental role in implementing SDGs (all SDGs were analysed except for SDG 6 and SDG14, due to lack of statistics were not analysed) and ensuring that social and environmental sustainability are reflected in SDGs. The results of this study show that the more sustainable the finance model, the better the achievement of SDGs in the group of analysed countries. We found a strong link between sustainable finance model and social sustainability (SDG1, 3, 4, 5, 10, 16); environmental sustainability (SDG11, 12, 13, 15) and economic sustainability (SDG8, 9, 17).


First published online 3 December 2020

Keyword : sustainable development goals, SDGs, Agenda 2030, sustainable finance model, the correspondence analysis

How to Cite
Ziolo, M. ., Bak, I. ., & Cheba, K. . (2021). The role of sustainable finance in achieving Sustainable Development Goals: does it work?. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 27(1), 45-70. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2020.13863
Published in Issue
Jan 18, 2021
Abstract Views
16697
PDF Downloads
10948
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Alm, K., & Sievänen, R. (2013). Institutional investors, climate change and human rights. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 3(3), 177–183. https://doi.org/10.1080/20430795.2013.791139

Andersen, E. B. (1991). The statistical analysis of categorial data. Springer-Verlang. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-97353-6

Apergis, N., Eleftheriou, S., & Payne, J. E. (2013). The relationship between international financial reporting standards, carbon emissions, and R&D expenditures: Evidence from European manufacturing firms. Ecological Economics, 88, 57–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.12.024

Aspinall, N. G., Jones, S. R., Mc Neill, E. H., Werner, R. A., & Zalk, T. (2018). Sustainability and the financial system. Review of literature 2015. British Actuarial Journal, 23, e10. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1357321718000028

Bąk, I. (2013). Statystyczna analiza aktywności turystycznej seniorów w Polsce. Wydawnictwo Uczelniane ZUT w Szczecinie.

Bąk, I., Szczecińska, B., & Cheba, K. (2019). The impact of transport on the quality of the environment in cities in Poland – a statistical analysis. Transport Research Procedia, 39, 24–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2019.06.004

Barroy, H., Kutzin, J., Tandon, A., Kurowski, Ch., Lie, G., Borowitz, M., Sparkes, S., & Dale, S. (2018). Assessing fiscal spacefor health in the SDG era: A different story. Health Systems & Reform, 4(1), 4–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/23288604.2017.1395503

Burchardt, T., & Vizard, P. (2007). Definition of equality and framework for measurement: Final Recommendations of the Equalities Review Steering Group on Measurement. CASE paper 120. LSE.

Buse, K., & Hawkes, S. (2015). Health in the sustainable development goals: Ready for a paradigm shift? Global Health, 11, 13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-015-0098-8

Centemeri, L. (2009). Environmental damage as negative externality: Uncertainty, moral complexity and the limits of the market. https://doi.org/10.4000/eces.266

Chen, S. (2013). Green finance and development of low carbon economy. In F. Chen, Y. Liu, & G. Hua (Eds.), LTLGB 2012. Proceedings of International Conference on Low-carbon Transportation and Logistics, and Green Buildings. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-34651-4

Čihák, M., Demirgüç-Kunt, A., Feyen, E., & Levine, R. (2012). Benchmarking financial systems around the world (Policy Research Working paper 6175, pp. 1–56). https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-6175

Clausen, S. E. (1998). Applied correspondence analysis: An introduction. Sage Publications.

Climate Bonds Initiative. (2018). The Green Bond market in the Nordics 2018. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjm7azb___sAhUDxYsKHcebCeYQFjAAegQIAxAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.climatebonds.net%2Ffiles%2Freports%2Fcbi-nordics-final-03b.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0BUeY1pOUhGrV9XtAEaMbY

Collste, D., Pedercini, M., & Cornell, S. E. (2017). Policy coherence to achieve the SDGs: Using integrated simulation models to assess effective policies. Sustainability Science, 12(6), 921–931. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-017-0457-x

Development Finance International, & Oxfam. (2015). Financing the sustainable development goals: Lessons from government spending on the MDGs (report). Government Spending Watch. Retrieved June 5, 2020, from http://www.governmentspendingwatch.org/

Discover the SDGs. (2015). https://www.sdgindex.org/reports/sustainable-development-report-2019/

Edmans, A. (2011). Does the stock market fully value intangibles? Employee satisfaction and equity prices. Journal of Financial Economics, 101(3), 621–640.

Elder, M., & Olsen, H. O. (2019). The design of environmental priorities in the SDGs. Global Policy, 10(S1) Special Issue: Knowledge and Politics in Setting and Measuring SDGs, 70–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12596

European Communities. (2002). European social statistics. Income, poverty and social exclusion (2nd report). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/coded_files/KS-BP-02-008-EN.pdf

FAO. (2020). Retrieved July 27, 2020, from http://www.fao.org/3/y4137e/y4137e02b.htm

Ferreira, M. C., de Carvalho, R., Amorim, S. V., Kimura, H., & de Moraes Barboza, F. L. (2016). A systematic review of literature about finance and sustainability. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 6(2), 112–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/20430795.2016.1177438

Fullwiler, S. T. (2015). Sustainable finance: Building a more general theory of finance (Working Paper No. 106). Binzagr Institute for Sustainable Prosperity.

Gain, A. K., Giupponi, S., & Wada, Y. (2016). Measuring global water security towards sustainable development goals. Environmental Research Letters, 11, 124015. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/12/124015

Gambetta, N., Azadian, P., Hourade, V., & Reyes, M. E. (2019). The financing framework for sustainable development in emerging economies: The case of Uruguay. Sustainability, 11(4), 1059. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041059

Gerster, R. (2011). Sustainable finance: Achievements, Challenges, Outlook. Gerster Consulting, Richterswill.

Gompers, P., Ishii, J., & Metrick, A. (2003). Corporate Governance and equity prices. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(1), 107–156. https://doi.org/10.1162/00335530360535162

Goodman, L. A. (1986). Some useful extensions of the usual correspondence analysis approach and usual log-linear models approach in the analysis of contingency tables. International Statistical Review, 54(3), 243–270. https://doi.org/10.2307/1403053

Grabiński, T. (2003). Taxonomic analysis from regional perspective (translated from Polish). Wydawnictwo Akademii Ekonomicznej w Krakowie.

Greenacre, M. (1984). Theory and applications of correspondence analysis. Academic Press.

Greenacre, M. (1993). Correspondence analysis in practice. Academic Press.

Greenacre, M. (1994). Multiple and joint correspondence analysis. In M. Greenacre & J. Blasius (Eds.), Correspondence analysis in social sciences. Recent developments and applications (pp. 141–161). Academic Press.

Greenacre, M., & Hastie, T. (1987). The geometric interpretation of correspondence analysis. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 82(398), 437–447. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1987.10478446

Gupta, J., & Vegelin, C. (2016). Sustainable development goals and inclusive development. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 16, 433–448. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-016-9323-z

Hajer, M., Nilsson, M., Raworth, K., Bakker, P., Berkhout, F., De Boer, Y., Rockström, J., Ludwig, K., & Kok, M. (2015). Beyond Cockpit-ism: four insights to enhance the transformative potential of the sustainable development goals. Sustainability, 7(2), 1651–1660. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7021651

Hebb, T. (2013). Impact investing and responsible investing: what does it mean? Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 3(2), 71–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/20430795.2013.776255

Heeks, R., Mirta, A., Nishant, S., & Kintu, R. (2013). Inclusive innovation: Definition, conceptualisation and future research priorities (Development Informatics Working Paper no. 53). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3438439

International Monetary Fund. (2015). From billions to trillions – transforming development finance, post2015 financing for development: Multilateral development finance. DC2015-0002. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr15170

International Monetary Fund (2019). Fiscal policies for Paris climate strategies: From principle to practice (IMF Policy Paper). Washington, DC.

Jeucken, M. H. A. (2004). Sustainability in finance – A retroductive exploration [PhD thesis. Erasmus University Rotterdam]. Eburon, Delft.

Kahn, M., Mohaddes, K., Ng, R., Pesaran, H., Raissi, M., & Yang, J. Ch. (2019). Long-term macroeconomic effects of climate change: A cross-country analysis (Working Paper). Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Globalization Institute.

Kedir, A., Elhiraika, A., Chinzara, Z., & Sandjong, D. (2017). Growth and development finance required for achieving SDGs in Africa. African Development Review, 29(1), 15–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8268.12230

Kharas, H., Prizzon, A., & Rogerson, A. (2015). Financing the post-2015 sustainable development goals. A rought map. Overseas Development Institute, London. https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/9373.pdf

Klees, S. J. (2017). Financing education and all the other SDGs: Global taxation is needed. In Education, training and Agenda 2030: What progress one year on? NORRAG NEWS 54. https://www.norrag.org/fileadmin/Full%20Versions/NN54.pdf#page=118

Kumar, S., Kumar, N., & Vivekadhish, S. (2016). Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Addressing unfinished agenda and strengthening sustainable development and partnership. Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 41(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.4103/0970-0218.170955

Le Blanc, D. (2015). Towards integration at last? The Sustainable Development Goals as a network of targets. Sustainable Development, 23(3), 176–187. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1582

Lebart, L., Morineau, A., & Warwick, K. M. (1984). Multivariate descriptive statistical analysis. Correspondence analysis and related techniques for large matrices. John Wiley & Sons.

Lee, K. H., & Min, B. (2015). Green R&D for eco-innovation and its Impact on carbon emissions and firm performance. Journal of Cleaner Production, 108(Part A), 534–542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.114

Lin, B., & Li, X. (2011). The effect of carbon tax on per capita CO2 emissions. Energy Policy, 39(9), 5137–5146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.05.050

Long, C., & Miller, M. (2017). Taxation and the Sustainable Development Goals. Do good things come to those who tax more? Shaping policy for development. ODE Briefing note.

Nerini, F., Tomei, J., & To, L. S. (2018). Mapping synergies and trade-offs between energy and the Sustainable Development Goals. Nature Energy, 3, 10–15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-017-0036-5

Nikolakis, W., Cohen, D., & Nelson, H. (2012). What matters for socially responsible investment (SRI) in the natural resources sectors? SRI mutual funds and forestry in North America. Journal of Sustainable Finance and Investment, 2(2), 136–151.

Nilsson, M., Chisholm, E., Griggs, D., Howden-Chapman, P., McCollum, D., Messerli, P., Neumann, B., Stevance, A. S., Visbeck, M., & Stafford-Smith, M. (2018). Mapping interactions between the sustainable development goals: lessons learned and ways forward. Sustainability Science, 13, 1489– 1503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0604-z

Nilsson, M., Griggs, D., & Visbeck, M. (2016). Map the interactions between Sustainable Development Goals. Nature, 534, 320–322. https://www.nature.com/news/policy-map-the-interactions-betweensustainable-development-goals-1.20075

Oates, W. E. (1995). Green taxes: Can we protect the environment and improve the tax system at the same time? Southern Economic Journal, 61(4), 915–922. https://doi.org/10.2307/1060731

OECD. (2018). Global outlook on financing for sustainable development 2019. Time to face the challenge. United Nations Environmental Programme Financial Initiative. Retrieved June 4, 2020, from https://www.oecd.org/development/global-outlook-on-financing-for-sustainable-development-2019-9789264307995-en.htm

Parry, I. W., & Small, K. A. (2005). Does Britain or the United States have the right gasoline tax? American Economic Review, 95(4), 1276–1289. https://doi.org/10.1257/0002828054825510

Pisano, U., Martinuzzi, A., & Bruckner, B. (2012). The financial sector and sustainable development: Logics, principles and actors (ESDN Quarterly Report No 27).

Principles for Responsible Investment. (2017). The SDG Investment Case. London.

Rambla, F. X., & Langthaler, M. (2016). The SDGs and inclusive education for all from special education to addressing social inequalities. Austrian Foundation for Development Research.

Rubin, E. S. (2011). Innovation and Climate Change. In Innovation. Perspectives for the 21st Century. BBVA.

Sachs, J. D. (2015). Goal-based development and the SDGs: Implications for development finance. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 31(3–4), 268–278. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/grv031

Schmidt-Traub, G., & Sachs, D. (2015, April). Financing sustainable development: implementing the SDGs through effective investment strategies and partnerships (Working Paper). Sustainable Development Solution Network.

Schoenmaker, D. (2017). Investing for the common good: A sustainable finance framework. Bruegel essay and lecture series. https://bruegel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/From-traditional-to-sustainable-finance_ONLINE.pdf

Scholtens, B. (2006). Finance as a driver of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 68(1), 19–33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9037-1

SolAbility. (2019). The Sustainable Competitiveness Index 2019. http://solability.com/global-sustainablecompetitiveness-index/the-global-sustainable-competitiveness-index-2019

Stafford-Smith, M., Griggs, D., Gaffney, O., Ullah, F., Reyers, B., Kanie, N., Stigson, B., Shrivastava, P., Leach, M., & O’Connell, D. (2017). Integration: the key to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainability Science, 12, 911–919. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-016-0383-3

Stanimir, A. (2005). Correspondence analysis as a tool for studying economic phenomena (translated from Polish). Wydaw. AE we Wrocławiu.

Sustainability for all. (n.d.). Are countries achieving the Sustainable Development Goals? Discover the SDGs implementation level a year and a half after ratification of 2030 Agenda. https://www.activesustainability.com/sustainable-development/are-countries-achieving-the-sustainable-development-goals/

Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Institute for European Environmental Policy. (2019). Europe Sustainable Development Report. https://www.sdgindex.org/reports/2019-europe-sustainable-development-report/

The Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa. (2017, January 27). SDG financing for Africa: key propositions and areas of engagement. Discussion Paper for Development Finance Workshop. In The Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa Conference, Kigali, Rwanda. https://sdgcafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sdg-financing-for-africa_key-propositions-and-areas-of-engagement-.pdf

UNEP. (2016). Fiscal policies and the SDGs. Green economy. Policy brief. https://greenfiscalpolicy.org/policy_briefs/fiscal-policies-and-the-sdgs-unep-policy-brief/

United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development A/RES/70/1. United Nations General Assembly, New York.

United Nations. (2016). The sustainable development goals. Report. New York.

United Nations. (2019). More money needed to implement Sustainable Development Goals, SecretaryGeneral tells ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum, calling 2019 “Defining Year”. SecretaryGeneral. Statements and Messages. SG/SM/19546-ECOSOC/6973-DEV/3397. Retrieved April 15, 2019, from https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/sgsm19546.doc.htm

United Nations Global Compact. (2019). Scaling finance for the Sustainable Development Goals. Foreign direct investment, financial intermediation and public-private partnerships. https://sdghub.com/project/scaling-finance-for-the-sustainable-development-goals-foreign-direct-investment-financial-intermediation-and-public-private-partnerships/

Vandekerckhove, W., & Leys, J. (2012). Dear Sir, We are Not an NGO. The Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 2(2), 152–161.

Waring, P., & Edwards, T. (2008). Socially responsible investment: explaining its uneven development and human resource management consequences. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 16(3), 135–145. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8683.2008.00676.x

Waygood, S. (2011). How do the capital markets undermine sustainable development? What can be done about this? Journal of Sustainable Finance and Investment, 1(1), 81–7. https://doi.org/10.3763/jsfi.2010.0008

World Economic Forum. (2020). Global risk report. Retrieved June 4, 2020, from https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2020

Ziolo, M., Filipiak, B. Z., Bąk, I., & Cheba, K. (2019). Finance, sustainability and negative externalities. An overview of the European context. Sustainability, 11(15), 4249. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11154249

Zorlu, P. (2018). Transforming the financial system for delivering sustainable development – A high-level overview. Finance Taskforce (IGES Discussion Paper). Institute for Global Environmental Strategies. Retrieved June 3, 2019, from https://www.iges.or.jp/en/pub/transforming-financial-system-delivering/en