Swedish Investors for Sustainable Development

Swedish Investors for Sustainable Development (SISD) is a partnership comprising 21 of the largest financial actors on the Swedish market as well as Sida. They are competitors working side by side with the largest challenges of our times in a partnership for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

SISD was formed in 2016 and works to explore the role of investors, risks and opportunities related to the 2030 Agenda through learning, sharing experiences, voluntary projects and communication. The partnership aims to promote engagement around SDGs and contribute to the international dialogue on the role of investors.

The work is conducted in working groups and presented and aggregated to the whole group at network meetings and CEO-meetings.

SISD also aims to inspire other countries and actors to work with investors and the private sector to achieve the SDGs. Financial actors, pension funds, asset managers and investment companies are important actors needed to achieve and finance the SDGs.

SISD consists of six working groups working on different themes and each group shares ideas, experiences and learnings with the rest of the network.

This group focuses on the potential that lies in empowering women, women’s labour market participation and women’s representation in leadership positions in investment companies.

This working group explores investment opportunities in fresh water infrastructure and sustainable cities. The group promotes engagement and corporate governance to stimulate better water management in the sectors food, beverage, garment and mining and also studies good governance when investing in green buildings and sustainable cities.

This group has worked on indicators for decent work and economic growth in company reporting. It also addresses decent work in the green sector and in supply chains within the same sector. Some participants also have started to invest in microfinance.

This group explores climate reporting alternatives such as Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

This group explores how investors can work with biodiversity, focusing on three main areas: governance, reporting and investments.

This group addresses anti-corruption from an investor perspective and how investors can stimulate better company performance.

• Sida and SISD identify, invite and host interesting lecturers and inspirers to promote learning on issues clearly identified within the SDGs.
• Working groups concentrate on SDGs 5, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15 and 16, with a focus on anti-corruption.
• Discuss the relevance, opportunities and challenges of the SDGs for investors in the international context.
• Stimulate other actors to take action on investments that support the SDGs.
• Explore investment opportunities in line with the 2030 Agenda.
• Discuss prerequisites for work related to the 2030 Agenda.

The SISD partners have made a joint commitment to strive to invest in accordance with the SDGs.

Sida compiles a yearly report detailing all the activities carried out within the network. This includes learning sessions, shared experiences, international participation and communication, and engagement in Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD). The reports also list activities in the different working groups and gives you a quick glimpse of what lies ahead.