Impact

Today’s capitalism, whereby businesses operate in a financial system rewarding short-term, non-inclusive and extractive behavior, has been a significant driver of the systemic challenges we face today.

These challenges are a.o.: global warming, loss of biodiversity and (tropical) forests, ocean acidification, shortage of fresh water, air pollution, chemicals & plastics pollution, inequality, poverty, and obesity.

For sure capitalism has brought many benefits: it lifted many out of poverty, increased life expectancy, and reduced prices of products significantly. However, we now understand that the primacy of shareholder profit combined with a global system where disadvantages for the environment and society (“externalities”) are not for the account of businesses, harms society and nature in a systemic way. These negative externalities vary widely, from sweat-shops in Asia to wide-spread (legal) tax evasion.

We believe that the costs of all this damage to nature and society should be taken within the profit & loss statement of companies, in order for them to charge the true price to consumers. This would make local fresh produce cheaper than flown-in off-season fruits. It would make electric driving cheaper than driving with a combustion engine. It would create a much stronger urgency to develop an alternative to flying based on kerosene. It would make meat replacements quickly out-compete meat.

At SDG Capital, we believe business has a responsibility to take the lead and move forward. Businesses collectively control more capital, talent, international structures, assets, insights and everything else needed for this change than any other stakeholder. As business community, it’s our duty to alter our missions, work to solve these global challenges, educate society, stimulate our employees, and influence government to make this transition.

That is why we have chosen only to invest where our capital and operational skills have an unequivocal positive contribution to society and nature.

We are conscious that insights in what sustainable is change, trade-offs are something real, and we can only improve step-by-step. Different people and companies take different approaches to find what works, and we celebrate everyone making an effort. We hope to inspire you as well to join the transformation.

In the words of Robert Swan (author): “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”