Tokyo, October 10, 2024 – The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Mizuho Financial Group have entered into a partnership to support the expansion of sustainable finance in Japan and across Asia. This follows Mizuho Financial Group’s announcement that it intends to raise US$700 billion in sustainable finance by 2030.
The partnership aims to scale up sustainable and impactful finance initiatives that solve various social and environmental problems and strengthen economic infrastructure by increasing socio-economic sustainability. This approach aims to incorporate sustainability into business strategies and operations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UNDP has prioritized collaboration with the private sector to mobilize the necessary resources and scale up efforts towards achieving the SDGs. The Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific (RBAP)’s SDG Finance Team and UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub have introduced a service line for companies and investors to align their investments towards the SDGs. These service lines focus on developing impact-driven investment frameworks that are integrated across the investment cycle.
Mizuho will become the first global company to participate in UNDP’s “SDG Impact Standard Training” in 2022, and is strengthening its efforts to enable a wide range of customers to participate in impact finance. Mizuho announced the “Impact Business Compass” in May 2024. This guides our thinking about impact, both in terms of opportunities and approaches to becoming an impact business. This announcement advances collaboration with Mizuho, an industry leader in Asia, and serves as a model for other companies to follow.
<みずほ>In collaboration with UNDP, we are promoting initiatives aimed at establishing a virtuous cycle that coexists with the impact of SDGs and economic and corporate value. UNDP will provide Mizuho with comprehensive advisory services to strengthen sustainable investment strategies, operations and project identification.
UNDP’s expertise and global network will help Mizuho identify and support impactful projects that align with the SDGs, build blended finance solutions and modify sustainability-related policies.
Key areas of the partnership include the development and funding of a comprehensive sustainable investment strategy for Mizuho, in line with international standards and best practices. UNDP will also help Mizuho develop sustainable product offerings, policies and operational procedures, and identify and prioritize investment opportunities that can contribute to the SDGs.
“Significant private capital investment is essential to accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Our partnership with Mizuho Financial Group will help us invest in areas such as climate change, biodiversity and social equity. It highlights the important role it plays and the strong business case,” said Kanni Wignaraja, UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “By combining Mizuho’s financial capabilities and assets with UNDP’s strategic vision and development expertise across the Asia-Pacific region, we aim to enable transformation. We hope it will serve as an inspiration to follow the lead of financial groups,” she added.
Yasuhiko Ushikobo, Executive Officer, Head of Research & Consulting Division, and Chief Sustainability Officer (CSuO) of Mizuho Financial Group, said: Together we will achieve success. To realize a sustainable society, it is necessary to incorporate social and environmental factors, which have been considered external factors to corporate and economic activities, into decision-making as internal factors. In this way, internalizing externalities is important for promoting a virtuous cycle of impact creation and corporate growth. UNDP has a proven track record of supporting projects that aim to create global impact towards achieving the SDGs through capacity building that accelerates impact thinking. Through this partnership, Mizuho will work with UNDP to promote impact business not only in Japan but also globally. ”
For more information and media inquiries, please contact:
Cedric Monteiro, UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Communications Specialist: cedric.monteiro@undp.org
Hideyuki Mohri UNDP Tokyo Representative Office: Hideyuki.mohri@undp.org
Mizuho Financial Group
Public Relations Office +81 3 5224 2026
About the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
As the United Nations’ lead agency for international development, UNDP works to end poverty and reduce inequality in 170 countries and territories. UNDP helps countries develop policy, leadership skills, partnership and institutional capacity, and build resilience to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. UNDP’s work focuses on six distinctive development solutions: poverty and inequality, governance, resilience, environment, energy, and gender equality.
For more information, visit undp.org or follow us @UNDP
About UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub
The Sustainable Finance Hub brings together UNDP’s financial expertise to leverage public and private capital towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and help governments, investors and businesses improve their climate, social impact and sustainability goals. We will help you achieve your goals. Its work drives systemic change towards a sustainable financial architecture that benefits people and the planet.
Visit sdgfinance.undp.org to learn more about integrated services that ensure all finance is sustainable.
About Mizuho: Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. is a holding company for one of the world’s largest financial services groups. With more than 150 years of banking experience, we have more than 100 locations and approximately 65,000 employees worldwide.
