Posted on October, 27 2020

WWF, in collaboration with Guggenheim Investments, KPMG, and Mott MacDonald, has released a study assessing leading standards applied to commercial infrastructure investments that are meant to shape and evaluate the contributions of these investments to environmental and social sustainability. The lack of accepted international norms for what constitutes sustainable infrastructure is a principal barrier to the allocation of greater institutional capital to such investments and their establishment as a new asset class.

The analysis advances understanding of what is needed to ensure that capital seeking to contribute to global and local sustainability objectives is allocated to legitimate and accountable investments. The study evaluates the application of several leading sustainability standards on two real-world infrastructure development projects in Bolivar, Colombia and California, USA to assess the effectiveness and practicalities of implementing these standards for use by investors. Facilitating such investments should help fill the enormous global infrastructure spending gap—unlocking economic, environmental, and social benefits for society while helping achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Infrastructure investment is also expected to play a key role in the Covid-19 recovery and jobs creation strategies of countries around the world.

“The enormous public funding being committed to Covid-19 responses makes it more important than ever to ensure that investments accelerate sustainable infrastructure. The world needs projects that expand low-carbon energy and transport, arrest forest loss, and build community resiliency. Doing this will require strong planning and recognized standards, supported by public policies, in order to maintain momentum towards achieving the SDGs in the face of the Covid-19 crisis,” said Carter Roberts, President and CEO of WWF.

Read the full report and summary.