Building a more sustainable future requires all hands on deck from all industries including, the finance sector.

The financial sector wielded enormous power in funding and creating awareness to issue of sustainability, whether by allowing for research and development of alternative energy sources or supporting businesses that follow fair and sustainable labor practice, (extension.harvard.edu).

A good and sustainable finance is defined as investment decisions that put into consideration the environmental, social and governance factors of an economic activities or projects.

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The environmental factors include solving the climate crisis or use of sustainable resources. The social factor includes respect for human and animal rights and as well as protect consumers and diverse hiring practices and lastly, governance factors include, management, employee relations and both public and private organizations compensation practices.

Therefore, the finance is a key variable to influence sustainable outcome. The finance sector both private or governmental sector play a significant role in redefining business as usual, helping to support the movement from exploiting nature to restoring nature.

On the role of finance in sustainable development, Financial sector are the main directors of the economic activity in the global society and as well have an important societal role in encouraging investment that are useful to natural and human ecosystems.

Behavior can be influenced by the availability and price of capital finance, and sustainability factors must be shown in the world as understood by finance experts in order to be real and not merely emblematic.

Sustainable developments goals are those goals set by the UN to be achieved by 2030 in order to tackle fundamental problem that are facing humanity.

These goals are supported by all the UN members and a total of 17 goals were pointed out which must be achieved by 2030.

These include;

• Affordable and clean energy, 
• Clean water and sanitation, 
• Climate action, 
• Decent work and economic growth, 
• Gender equality, 
• Good health and well – being, 
• Industry, 
• Innovation and infrastructure, 
• Justice and strong institutions, 
• Life below water, 
• Life on land, 
• No poverty, 
• Partnerships
• Peace, 
• Quality education, 
• Reduced inequalities, 
• Responsible consumption and production, 
• Sustainable cities and communities and lastly, 
• Zero hunger, 

These are the goals that were adopted by all United Nation members in 2015 in order to provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for the people and the planet now and into the future.

And for all these goals to become achievable, it will  cost within of $90 trillion and $120  trillion by 2030 thus, there is no doubt that the role of finance in sustainable development is enormous in ensuring these proposed goals becomes reality particularly, in providing funds for the project.

There are many opportunities for investors and banks to fund the SDGs, and in the past year, banks and other financial companies have explored on the likely effect of these global goals may have on them.

All the 17 goals provide a useful reference for banks and other financial service industries to know and measure how they should contribute to sustainable development.

A financial sector includes industries like, banks, institutional investors and credit card companies. And of these have critical roles to play by integrating the sustainable development into communications, stakeholders’ engagement, goal setting, and partnerships.

The financial sector has broad and strong societal benefits thereby making their roles in achieving sustainable development very important.

The Role Of Finance For Achieving Sustainable Development

The entire 17 sustainable development goal requires funding as it intended to provide over 100 targets thereby making the goals not easy to achieve. In order to tackle this, the role of finance in sustainable development, industries or companies can decide to focus on commitment on a small number of goals on which their impact is largely needed.

These goals as revealed by www.bsr.org, particularly are the once that related and closest to their core business – rather than niche business, internal efforts, or philanthropic efforts – that represent an opportunity, such as; funding and sponsoring affordable clean energy which is sustainable development goal 7, rather than managing risk, such as ensuring investment do not harm the oceans which is a sustainable development goal 25.

The role of finance in sustainable development goals is determined on what is current focus of the industry. After conducting reviews, we discovered that the financial service sector will be very relevant in the achievement of sustainable goals such as; the quest to end poverty, gender equality, decent work and economic growth and climate action.

Previously, some financial sectors have used the SDGs to interact, engage, set new objectives, determine impact and establish new partnership.

Therefore, the financial sectors globally should think on how to integrate the SDGs goals that related to their line of business in these below key areas;

Communication

The SDGs provide a structure on how financial companies or industries can contribute to economic development and creation of jobs.

Engagement

Financial companies for instance, banks use the global goals as a means to engage stakeholders inclusively, staff, clients, regulators and NGO. For example, Standard Chartered flagged of a campaign to create awareness among its staffs and clients about the SDGs. Etcetera

Goal setting

Some investors and selected banks are using the SDGs to set new goals. For instance, the Dutch pension funds PGGM and ABP have made an ambitious target to invest €58 billion investments to support the SDGs in 2020. BNP Paribas trail the percentage of corporate loans given to businesses that made a specific contribution to the SDGs and has a goal to maintain this key performance indicator at 15 percent for the next three years.

Impact measurement

Inclusively, the goals make available an alternative for measuring impact. For example, MasterCard set out to reach over 500 million people previously excluded from financial services in 2020. This helps to know that SDG’s goal number one, which is the eradication of poverty is aided by MasterCard plc by ensuring that 2 billion unbanked people receive a bank account.

Partnership building

Partnerships are necessary if SDGs must succeed. The goals can help spur a larger community and bring new partners to the table such as government, multilateral institutions and clients.

For instance, MasterCard collaborated with UN women and aims to include women into financial activities. With its main focus in Nigeria, the collaboration will ensure that 500,000 women in Nigeria that has identifications card that include electronic payment functionality leverage on the opportunity.

Conclusively

The SDGs depict a strong framework for financial industries in defining sustainable development commitments.

Financial industries like banks and others should use this opportunity to make their business in tandem to the goals.

Hence, the role of finance in sustainable development cannot be over emphasized.