A new 2-year impact fund requirement pilot from Gold Standard opens to fund managers interested in applying tools to de-risk their portfolio investments and credibly report on climate and sustainable development impacts from projects in their portfolios.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – 15/09/2022 – Gold Standard has today opened applications for investment funds to join the two-year pilot phase of new impact fund certification requirements. These requirements have been developed to support serious sustainable funds in measuring, managing and maximising the sustainable development impact of its investments.

Gold Standard CEO Margaret Kim said:

“The world urgently needs trillions of dollars to achieve the sustainable development goals, and the majority of the capital must come from the private sector, including impact funds. The new fund requirements from Gold Standard bring best practice in impact measurement, management and maximisation, to support fund managers in delivering credible contributions to the goals.”

Gold Standard requirements ensure best practice impact investing that builds on IFC safeguards, the UNDP Equity Standard, OECD Blended Finance approaches and best practice in the market – providing support from initial strategy design, through project screening, feasibility, to implementation and exit. 

Impact Fund Certification certifies that a fund will deliver on its sustainable strategy, going beyond the more traditional environmental social, governance (ESG) model, which is focused on risk avoidance, and providing evidence of real contributions to climate and sustainable goals. Application of the fund requirements minimises non-delivery risks through the measurement of the actual outcomes at the level of the investee.

The new requirements focus on process delivery and are part of Gold Standard’s growth in the sustainable finance arena. Gold Standard works with investors and national governments supporting sustainable project development, to create optimal enabling conditions to attract climate finance, and with impact investors to de-risk funds through robust measurement and reporting of impacts.

With up to five places for participating in the piloting of the fund requirements, this is an opportunity for fund managers to become recognised leaders. The fund and impact management team will gain insights into best practice impact management, measurement and maximisation, using the full suite of Gold Standard tools at subsidised costs. Interested parties can find more information and details on the application process here.

About Gold Standard

Gold Standard (www.goldstandard.org, @goldstandard) was established in 2003 by WWF and other international NGOs as a best practice standard to help the world #GrowToZero. All Gold Standard-certified projects and programmes accelerate progress toward the Net-Zero ambition of the Paris Climate Agreement while catalyzing impact toward the broader Sustainable Development Goals. Its standard, Gold Standard for the Global Goals, allows climate and development initiatives to quantify, certify, and maximise their impacts toward climate security and sustainable development. Certification against the standard provides the confidence that these results are measured and verified, enabling credible impact reporting. ISEAL Code Compliant and backed by a broad NGO Supporter Network, Gold Standard has 1900+ projects underway in over 90 countries, creating billions of dollars of shared value from climate and development action worldwide.