Mr. Ma Weihua remotely attended the UNDP SDG Impact Steering Group Meeting

On the evening of June 7th, at 8 p.m. Beijing time, Mr. Achim Steiner, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mr. Xu Haoliang, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Director of the UNDP Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, Mr. Marcos Neto, Director of the UNDP Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Finance Center, Ms. Fabienne Michaux, Director of the SDG Impact Programme at UNDP, Mr. Ma Weihua, Chairperson of the China Alliance of Social Value Investment (CASVI) and member of the UNDP SDG Impact Steering Group, Ms. Lisa Genasc, Founder and CEO of ADM Capital Foundation, Ms. Leticia Emme, Managing Director of Impact Management, Monitoring, and Development at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Mr. Ben Carpenter, President of Social Value International (SVI), Ms. Amma Lartey, President of Ghana Impact Investing, Dr. Rajiv Lall, Founding Managing Director and CEO of IDFC First Bank, and other committee members attended the meeting.

During the meeting, an annual review and future planning of the SDG Impact project were conducted. The UNDP leadership team presented the latest progress on the SDG Impact Investor Map, SDG Impact Standards, and SDG Impact Training and Certification. They also invited committee members and relevant international institutions to share the latest SDG Impact practices and insights from their respective countries. Strategic discussions focused on the construction and expansion of the global SDG Impact Investor Map, collaboration with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in SDG standardization, and action plans for trainer training and certification pilots. The aim was to effectively mobilize global resources and accelerate the flow of global capital and resources into areas related to sustainable development goals.

In his opening address, Mr. Achim Steiner, the Administrator of UNDP, emphasized the importance of discussing the impact of sustainable development goals in the context of rapidly changing global challenges such as climate change, geopolitical conflicts, and the impacts of global pandemics. He expressed the need for the committee to listen to voices from around the world and establish globally applicable standard systems, activate the SDG Impact Investor Map, and explore strategies for synergizing the global economy, financial system, and sustainable development to achieve the global goals.

Ms. Fabienne Michaux, Director of the SDG Impact Programme at UNDP, introduced the collaboration between UNDP and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), highlighting the importance of minimizing discrepancies and promoting the integration and harmonization of standards. Representatives from ISO also emphasized the significant value of this collaboration for UNDP, ISO, and the global community. They hoped that this cooperation would support actions in information disclosure within the financial industry and the development of the real economy, shifting the focus of businesses from reporting to actual improvements in SDG performance, and ultimately advancing the achievement of SDG goals.

Mr. Ma Weihua, member of the UNDP SDG Impact Steering Group and the Chairperson of China Alliance of Social Value Investment (CASVI), shared China's experiences and provided suggestions on how to effectively promote the SDG process in China. He expressed confidence in China's SDG development, considering the country's response to global challenges, including climate change, economic recovery, and its commitment to green finance, ESG investments, and impact investments. Mr. Ma emphasized the importance of SDG Impact Standards in China and expressed expectations for the collaboration between SDG Impact Standards and ISO, which would enhance the authority of the SDG Impact Standards.

Based on the above context, Mr. Ma Weihua made three suggestions for further implementation of SDG Impact Standards in China. Firstly, he hoped that UNDP would actively communicate with government departments to gain recognition and enhance the authority of SDG Impact Standards. Secondly, the involvement of third-party evaluation and certification institutions was necessary to enhance the credibility of assessment results. Finally, he emphasized the importance of strengthening the training of standard trainers, increasing awareness and understanding of SDG Impact Standards among a wider range of people, and promoting the integration of SDG standards with regional and industry-specific practices in China.

Ms. Fabienne Michaux, Director of the SDG Impact Programme at UNDP, fully appreciated the insights and suggestions put forward by Mr. Ma Weihua. She

mentioned that in previous international dialogues and discussions, they had focused on the promotion of localization in countries and regions such as China and Japan. She expressed the intention to collaborate more deeply with CASVI in the localization of SDG standards.