Gold Standard for the Global Goals - A best practice standard to quantify, certify and maximize impact to the SDGs

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Description

Intro

Gold Standard for the Global Goals is a best practice standard to quantify, certify and maximise impact toward climate security and the SDGs. The flexible standard allows for a wide range of activities to design their intervention for highest impact (with relevant safeguards, local stakeholder participation, and multiple SDG contributions) and quantify and assure that impact in the most credible ways. The standard was launched in 2017 and now features a number of certified projects around the globe.

Objective of the practice

The primary objective is to mobilise finance toward the SDGs and maximise the impact of every dollar invested toward sustainable outcomes. The best practice standard helps to de-risk investment in these activities, scaling the flow of finance, and enables robust quantification of impact for accurate tracking of progress toward the 2030 Agenda. <br />
Gold Standard for the Global Goals maps to SDG targets and indicators, requiring every certified intervention to contribute to climate security (SDG 13) plus two additional SDGs and measure outcomes in a rigorous and credible way, with independent third party verification. This has proven to be effective in carbon markets, where Gold Standard originally operated. The flexible new standard can now give financial-grade data to impact investors, helping to de-risk investment in higher-risk but high impact interventions, with the first certification of an impact investment fund expected later in 2019.

Partners

Gold Standard stakeholders include a network of NGO Supporters, consulted throughout the development. At the project level, every intervention seeking certification must officially engage affected stakeholders in the development of the project and they must be beneficiaries in terms of sustainable development outcomes, which must be verified by an independent third party. To help get better SDG impact data in a more efficient and less expensive way, Gold Standard is a member of the Climate Ledger Initiative, which seeks to leverage disruptive technologies in order to scale impact monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV).

Implementation of the Project/Activity

The standard was developed, built on more than 10 years experience creating and managing several disparate standards - for energy, land use & forests, water, and cities. Using best practices from these standards and with input from a wide range of academic, civil society, government and business stakeholders, the Gold Standard team launched Gold Standard for the Global Goals in 2017.

Results/Outputs/Impacts

Gold Standard has more than 1400 projects in its certification pipeline in more than 80 countries, which have delivered more than $USD 5.5 billion in shared value in terms of environmental and social benefits. (Refer to an independent study commissioned in 2014 for the basis of the calculation of 'shared value,' The Real Value of Robust Climate Action.)
Our approach to carbon offset projects, which requires adherence to safeguards so that projects do no harm and carefully manage any potential trade offs due to SDG interlinkages, local stakeholder engagement, and the delivery of sustainable development benefits, has influenced carbon markets. The UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) adopted our Sustainable Development Matrix as an optional add-on to CDM projects; in the voluntary carbon market, the most widely used standard (the Verified Carbon Standard or VCS) has begun to allow for a similar approach, reflecting demand in the market from buyers/project financiers -- thought this remains optional rather than mandatory as in Gold Standard's requirements.

As we now look to make credible impact certification mainstream through a wide range of sustainable interventions, including impact investment and development finance, Gold Standard for the Global Goals will help more vulnerable communities, especially in higher-risk developing countries, access finance for climate security and sustainable development.

Enabling factors and constraints

Broad stakeholder input into development, including expert working groups for specific SDG impacts (eg, health and gender) were keys to success.

Sustainability and replicability

The model has already been tested in carbon markets. With a user-centric, flexible approach to certification, Gold Standard for the Global Goals can be widely applied to more scalable efforts like pre-competitive action in corporate supply chains, impact investment and development finance. While costs related to certification today are not insignificant, investments in technology to fully digitize the MRV and certification process by 2020 are expected to yield even better data with lower costs and complexity.
Our recently appointed President, Yvo de Boer, is currently focused on bringing this concept to development banks and lobbying to embed the approach in policy instruments around the world.

Conclusions

As above.

Other sources of information

--See the launch of the standard covered: http://sdg.iisd.org/news/gold-standard-launches-tool-to-measure-progres…
--Standard documents themselves: https://globalgoals.goldstandard.org/
--Announcement of the commitment for Gold Standard for the Global Goals certification by impact investor BlueOrchard: https://regions20.org/sub-national-climate-fund-sncf-2/
--A sampling of projects that have been certified or are in the process of being certified to Gold Standard for the Global Goals: https://www.goldstandard.org/get-involved/make-an-impact

SDGS & Targets

Goal 15

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Goal 7

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Goal 9

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Goal 4

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Goal 8

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Goal 6

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Goal 2

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Goal 10

Reduce inequality within and among countries

Goal 11

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Goal 5

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Goal 17

Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

Goal 1

End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Goal 12

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Goal 3

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Goal 13

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Deliverables & Timeline

N/A

Resources mobilized

Resources

In-kind contribution

Gold Standard self-financed the development of Gold Standard for the Global Goals. The organisation earns a per-carbon credit fee for its legacy pipeline of projects when it issues these assets.

Partnership Progress

No progress reports have been submitted. Please sign in and click here to submit one.

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Timeline

01 January 2016 (start date)

17 July 2017 (date of completion)

Entity

Gold Standard

SDGs

15 7 9 4 8 6 2 10 11 5 17 1 12 3 13

Region

Africa

Geographical coverage

Gold Standard is based in Switzerland, with 1400+ certified projects globally, with most in developing countries

Website/More information

N/A

Countries

Switzerland

Contact Information

Sarah Leugers, Director of Communications

sarah.leugers@goldstandard.org