SDG alignment toolbox seminar hosted by IDFC and Natixis CIB

2 - minute read

In September, Natixis CIB hosted a two-day seminar to discuss the concepts and tools proposed by its Green & Sustainable Hub to assist the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) in its alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The event, held at Natixis’ Paris office, was organized alongside the IDFC, and was attended by members representatives and experts from the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and Mirova.

The International Development Finance Club (IDFC) – a group of 27 national and regional development banks from across the world – and Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking (Natixis CIB) held a two-day seminar in Paris on the 19-20 September 2022.

Alignment with the SDGs has been a priority for the IDFC since 2019, and in July 2021, the club appointed Natixis CIB to develop a framework that would enable its members to better align their activities with the UN goals. For Natixis, the objective was to provide IDFC members with a conceptual framework, as well as guidance, tools and processes.

Following the presentation of a final draft of Natixis’ report in February 2022, a second phase was launched to further explore, test and fine-tune the proposed concepts and tools.

The seminar fostered understanding and collaboration among members and was devoted to transforming “public development banks (PDBs) from SDG impact takers to impact makers”.  

Six topics were selected based on their importance and relevance, and each workshop was co-developed by Natixis and a member of the IDFC. The Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB), as well as CDG Capital and Bancóldex, attended the event in person to present case studies [1].

Among other topics, an assessment of PDBs’ integration of the SDGs through trackers, strategies to align with national SDG roadmaps and capital allocation tools to channel funds towards bridging the SDG gap, were discussed.

The final report, titled “PDBs’ catalytic role in achieving the UN SDGs”, was presented by Orith Azoulay, Global Head of Natixis’ Green & Sustainable Hub, at the Finance in Common Summit (FiCS), which took place on the 18-20 October 2022 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The IDFC, created in 2011, is the leading group of 27 national and regional development banks from all over the world, a majority active in emerging markets. It is the largest provider of public development and climate finance globally, with 4 trillion dollars in combined assets and annual commitments above 600 billion dollars, including 150 billion dollars of climate finance.

Natixis CIB is a global expert on green & sustainable finance with a strong track record in developing innovative financial solutions to help its clients align their operations to the SDGs. It published its inaugural report on the implementation of the SDGs for issuers and investors as early as 2018, and in 2021 and 2020 supported the governments of Mexico and the Republic of Benin as well as AFD in their issuance of SDG bonds, acting as sustainability structurer and joint bookrunner in each transaction.