The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), which were adopted in 2015 by 193 countries including New Zealand, comprise 17 goals and 169 targets.
As part of our commitment to sustainability, LGFA will seek to finance or refinance, indirectly via councils, projects and assets that deliver positive environmental and social outcomes and align with, and contribute towards meeting, the UN SDGs.
LGFA offers GSS Loans across nine green project categories and three social project categories based on the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) Green Bond Principles (GBP), Social Bond Principles (SBP) and Sustainability Bond Guidelines (SBG) as well as other evolving international principles, taxonomies, standards and market practice. ICMA has mapped its GBP and SBP to the UN SDGs to provide a broad frame of reference by which parties can evaluate the financing objectives of a green bond or social bond against the UN SDGs.
LGFA has mapped our nine Green Loan and three Social Loan categories against the UN SDGs.
LGFA recognises the risks inherent in climate change for both New Zealand and local Councils and wishes to support New Zealand’s shift to a low-carbon economy. LGFA also recognises it has a role to play in New Zealand’s contribution to meeting UN SDGs and helping its member councils and council-controlled organisations (CCOs) to build a stronger and more resilient society.
Please see Appendix I and II of the LGFA Green, Social and Sustainability Lending Programme – Criteria (click here) for more detail around the most relevant associated targets to each of the individual SDGs.