FAQs

Click on the icons below to find out more. (Source: United Nations, abridged)

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  1. No Poverty

  Information

  • Around 836 million people worldwide live in extreme poverty - on less than US$1.25 a day.
  • Extreme poverty affects 1 in 4 children.
  • Women are affected from risks of early pregnancy, lack of education and reduced earning power.
  • Poverty is more than lack of income or resources. It includes hunger, lack of basic services, lack of education, social discrimination and exclusion, lack of participation in decision making and lack of protection from conflict.

  Targets

  • Eradicating extreme poverty for all.
  • Reducing, by at least 50%, men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions.
  • Ensuring that all have equal rights to natural resources, basic services and ownership and control over land/other property.
  • Access to economic resources, appropriate new technology and financial services including microfinance.
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  2. Zero Hunger

  Information

  • Approximately 795 million people are undernourished.
  • Poor nutrition causes 45% of deaths in children under 5.
  • 66 million primary school-age children attend classes hungry.
  • Agriculture provides 80% of food consumed in the developing world and livelihoods for 40% of the global population.
  • Soils, freshwater, oceans, forests and biodiversity are being rapidly degraded as a result of climate change, causing outputs to be compromised.

  Targets

  • Ensuring access by all to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.
  • End all forms of malnutrition, including achieving nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older people.
  • Double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, particularly women, indigenous people, family farmers and fishers.
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  3. Good Health and Well-Being

  Information

  • Malaria, tuberculosis, polio and the spread of HIV/AIDS continue to impact life expectancy, especially child and maternal mortality rates.
  • Over 6 million children die each year before their 5th birthday.
  • Children of educated mothers are more likely to survive than those of non-educated mothers.
  • Maternal mortality in developing regions is still 14x higher than in developed regions.
  • Globally, adolescent girls and young women face gender-based inequalities and violence, putting them at increased risk of acquiring HIV.
  • More than 225 million women worldwide have an unmet need for contraception.

  Targets

  • Substantially reducing the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases.
  • Combating hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other pollution-related diseases through better access to clean water and sanitation.
  • By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education.
  • By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.
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  4. Quality education

  Information

  • 103 million young people worldwide still lack basic literacy skills and more than 60% of them are women.
  • 50% of ‘absent’ school children live in conflict-affected areas.
  • Obtaining a quality education is the foundation to improving people’s lives and sustainable development.
  • Significant steps have been made towards access to education for all at all levels however, access does not always mean quality or completion of primary school.

  Targets

  • Ensuring that globally all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education.
  • Elimination of gender disparities in education and ensuring equal access to all levels of education for all people.
  • By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.
  • Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, nonviolent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
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  5. Gender Equality

  Information

  • Women continue to suffer discrimination and violence in every part of the world.
  • Providing women and girls equal access to education, health care, decent work and representation in political and economic decision-making processes is necessary for a peaceful and sustainable world.
  • In many places, gender discrimination is still socially normal and legally acceptable.

  Targets

  • Providing women and girls equal access to education, health care, decent work and representation in political and economic decision making.
  • Access for women to natural resources, ownership of land/property, financial services and equality in national laws.
  • Eliminating all harmful practices including child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
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  6. Clean water and sanitation

  Information

  • 663 million people worldwide have no access to drinking water sources. 1.8 billion people use a source of drinking water faecally contaminated.
  • Water scarcity affects more than 40% of the global population. Over 1.7 billion currently live in river basins where water use exceeds recharge.
  • 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services such as toilets or latrines.
  • Every year millions die from diseases associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene.
  • Food scarcity, hunger and malnutrition (resulting from drought), livelihood choices and educational opportunities for poor families across the world are impacted by lack of access to water.

  Targets

  • Providing access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all.
  • Improving water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing hazardous chemicals and materials.
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  7. Affordable and clean energy

  Information

  • 1 in 5 people lack access to electricity.
  • 3 billion people worldwide rely on wood, coal, charcoal and animal waste for cooking and heating.
  • 60% of total global greenhouse gas emissions are as a result of energy.
  • Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today—employment, security, climate change, food production, increasing incomes. Access to energy is essential for all.

  Targets

  • Reducing the carbon intensity of energy and ensuring access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services.
  • Substantially increasing the share of renewable energy in the global economy mix.
  • Expanding infrastructure and upgrading technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries.
  • Enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology.
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  8. Decent work and economic growth

  Information

  • Nearly 2.2 billion people live on the equivalent of approximately US$2 per day.
  • Global unemployment has increased from 170 million to 202 million in 5 years, of which 75 million are young men and women.
  • 407 million jobs are needed globally before 2030.
  • Sustainable economic growth requires jobs that stimulate the economy whilst not harming the environment.

  Targets

  • Promotion of policies that support productive activities, job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation.
  • Encouraging the formation and growth of micro-, small– and medium sized enterprises.
  • Achieving higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation.
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  9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure

  Information

  • 2.6 billion people in the developing world cannot access electricity full time. 2.5 billion people worldwide lack access to basic sanitation and almost 800 million lack access to water.
  • Basic infrastructure e.g. roads, information and communication technologies, sanitation, electrical power and water, remains scarce in many developing countries.
  • Investment is crucial to achieving sustainable development and empowering communities in many countries—positively affecting health and education outcomes.

  Targets

  • Develop sustainable infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on equitable access for all.
  • By 2030, upgrade infrastructure to increase resource-use efficiency and adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies.
  • Significantly increase access to the Internet and information and communications technology in least developed countries by 2020.
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  10. Reduced inequalities

  Information

  • Inequality still exists in the most vulnerable nations and large disparities remain in access to health, education services and other assets.
  • Whilst income inequality between countries may have reduced, inequality within countries has risen.
  • Economic growth is not sufficient to reduce poverty unless it’s universal and involves the three dimensions of sustainable development—economic, social and environmental.

  Targets

  • Achieving and sustaining income growth of the bottom 40% of the population at a rate higher than the national average.
  • Empowering and promoting the social, economic and political inclusion of all.
  • Ensuring equal opportunity and reducing inequalities by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices.
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  11. Sustainable cities and communities

  Information

  • Half of humanity—3.5 billion people—live in cities today.
  • 828 million people live in slums and their numbers are increasing.
  • 95% of urban expansion in the next decade will take place in the developing world. Urbanisation worldwide is exerting pressure on fresh water supplies, sewage, the living environment and public health.
  • The world’s cities occupy just 3% of the Earth’s land but account for 60% - 80% of energy consumption and 75% of carbon emissions.
  • Common urban challenges include congestion, lack of funds to provide basic services, a shortage of adequate housing and declining infrastructure.

  Targets

  • Creating cities of opportunities for all, with access to basic services, resources and energy.
  • Ensuring access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and the upgrading of slums.
  • Reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, with special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
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  12. Responsible consumption and production

  Information

  • 1/3 of all food produced (approx. US$ 1 trillion) rots in consumer/retailer bins, or spoils in poor transportation and harvesting practices. Almost 1 billion people go undernourished, another 1 billion hungry.
  • Less than 3% of the world’s water is drinkable. Man pollutes water faster than nature can recycle—over 1 billion people have no access to fresh water.
  • Households globally consume 29% of energy and overall contribute to 21% of resultant CO2 emissions.
  • Sustainable consumption and production aims at “doing more and better with less” - reducing resource use, degradation and pollution along the whole lifecycle, whilst increasing quality of life.

  Targets

  • Implementing programmes of sustainable consumption and production, and the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
  • Halving per capita global food waste and substantially reducing waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and re-use.
  • Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle.
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  13. Climate Action

  Information

  • Without action, the world’s average surface temperature is expected to rise by more than 3°C over the next century. Since 1900 the average sea level has risen by 19cm. Since 1979 the Arctic’s sea ice has lost 1.07 million km2 of ice every decade.
  • Global emissions of CO2 have increased by almost 50% since 1990.
  • Climate change is now affecting every country; disrupting national economies, affecting lives and costing people and communities. The poor and vulnerable are affected most.
  • Significant impacts of climate change include changing weather patterns, rising sea levels and more extreme weather events.

  Targets

  • Addressing climate change as a global challenge across all national borders. Emissions anywhere affect people everywhere. Solutions need to be coordinated at the international level to move towards a global low-carbon economy.
  • Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
  • Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.
  • Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
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  14. Life below water

  Information

  • Oceans cover 75% of the Earth’s surface, contain 97% of the Earth’s water and represent 99% of the living space on the planet by volume.
  • Over 3 billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods.
  • Oceans contain nearly 200,000 identified species and absorb around 30% of CO2 produced by humans.
  • 40% of the world’s oceans are heavily affected by human activities, including pollution, depleted fisheries and loss of coastal habitat.
  • Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food and the oxygen we breathe are provided and regulated by the sea.

  Targets

  • Preventing and significantly reducing marine pollution of all kinds.
  • Substantially managing and protecting marine and coastal ecosystems including by strengthening their resilience and ending illegal/over fishing.
  • Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels.
  • Effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices.
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  15. Life on land

  Information

  • Forests cover 30% of the Earth’s surface. They provide food security and shelter and are key to combatting climate change and protecting biodiversity. 13 million hectares of forests are being lost every year.
  • 2.6 billion people depend directly on agriculture but 52% of the land used is moderately or severely affected by soil degradation resulting in 3.6 billion hectares of desertification.
  • Over 80% of the human diet is provided by plants—cereal crops provide 60% of human energy intake.
  • 8% of known animal breeds are extinct, 22% are at risk of extinction.

  Targets

  • Promoting the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halting deforestation and increasing reforestation.
  • Combat desertification; restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods.
  • Ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development.
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  16. Peace, justice and strong institutions

  Information

  • Corruption, bribery, theft and tax evasion cost US$1.26 trillion for developing countries per year.
  • Amongst the institutions most affected by corruption are the judiciary and the police.
  • The Goal is dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels.

  Targets

  • Reducing all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
  • Ending abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
  • Promoting the rule of law at the national and international levels to ensure equal access to justice for all.
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  17. Partnerships for the goals

  Information

  • A successful development agenda requires partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society. These partnerships must be built on principles and values, a shared vision and shared goals that place people and the planet at the centre.
  • Effective partnerships are needed at the global, regional, national and local level.
  • Long-term investments, including foreign direct investment and private investment are needed, especially in developing countries in order to deliver sustainable development.

  Targets

  • Strengthening domestic response and mobilization through international support to developing countries.
  • Assisting developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies.
  • Enhancing regional and international cooperation on, and access to, science, technology and innovation to enhance knowledge sharing.
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Working within the main asset classes and securities, responsible investing covers a range of activities from exclusion/negative screening, through themes (cleantech, water, etc.), corporate engagement, to best-in-class/positive screening.

The UN established the Principles for Responsible Investing in order to promote this movement.

One of the key tools in sustainable investment are environmental, sustainable and governance metrics (ESG). There are criticisms of a reliance on ESG because

• Focuses on companies’ activities, rather than their products and usage
• Data generally comes from businesses and can be subject to varying levels of attestation and audit
• Only the material metrics drive outperformance

Defined as investments made with the intention to generate social/environmental impact alongside a financial return. The term emerged in 2007.

Impact investing focuses on addressing major social and/or environmental challenges whilst generating financial returns. Impact investing can be applied as a lens across an entire portfolio. This may be in fixed income community loan funds or highly targeted environmental private equity funds.

Impact investing is often a way to express personal values/missions through investment decisions – using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

Social Investments are defined as “the provision and use of repayable finance to generate social as well as financial returns. Social investment may occur in a variety of forms such as loans, equity and bonds.

Social returns are improved outcomes for society and range substantially – from, for example, improved individual health to employability amongst disadvantaged groups, to provision of community goods and services, to the community impact of reduced carbon emissions. Financial returns imply that the social investor will be able to get their money back in the future with a return. By this definition, grants, donations and other funds with no expectation of being paid back are not social investments”

ESG investing strategies rely on the three ESG factors to identify forward thinking, well-managed companies. Companies are increasingly using these factors to evaluate and improve their own operations, which often result in better economic performance and increased shareholder values over the long-term. ESG Investing is a returns-driven strategy, that draws heavily on both quantitative and qualitative analysis. It integrates traditional equity research with the evaluation of an extended set of environmental, social and strategic governance metrics.

A number of different criteria are used to “screen out” certain types of investments that may be inconsistent with an investor’s personal values because of controversial business practices, such as military or tobacco, or because they do not meet defined ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) criteria. Whilst this approach has historically been focused on a negative screening, it increasingly incorporates positive ESG criteria to identify companies with more sustainable practices than their industry peers.

SRI Investing typically seeks to maximize returns within a framework of personal values. It employs three primary strategies: investment screening and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) analysis, shareholder advocacy and community/impact investing. The desire to have social impact and generate meaningful financial returns is driving the growth of SRI investment strategies.

MRI is used primarily by foundations and other mission-driven organisations. This approach aligns financial assets with mission outcomes in an effort to meet targeted financial returns and amplify the impact of programmatic activity. MRI includes both traditional investments seeking market rate returns and Program Related Investments (PRI), where the primary intent is a high level of mission-aligned impact.

Impact investing is unique in that on some occasions, the investor may want to accept a lower financial return in exchange for achievement of a higher social outcome.

However, as a result mainstream investors have often assumed that impact investments always generate below-market returns. This isn’t true. In fact, you can see the evidence here.

An individual’s ImpactDNA™ is the backbone to their investment portfolio at Tribe. We take time to understand an individual’s core values and beliefs and work these around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework to build an individual’s ImpactDNA™. We then thread each individual’s ImpactDNA™ through their portfolio, to ensure that the investment capital they commit achieves both positive impact in the areas that they are truly passionate about and financial returns.

An impact lens is an investment strategy focusing on a specific impact area. E.g. Gender lens investing is the practice of investing for financial return while also considering the benefits to women. Gender lens investing can include funding women-owned businesses, businesses with a strong track record of employing women, or companies that improve the lives of women and girls with their products and services.

Other impact lenses might include poverty alleviation, building community wealth or combating climate change.