What are the UN SDGs?

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals set by the UN General Assembly in 2015. The SDGs are a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. The SDGs are part of Resolution 70/1 of the UNGA titled “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” now referred to as the “2030 Agenda”.

What are the UN SDGs designed to do?

The SDGs are designed to address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, sustainability, and peace and justice. They represent a call to action for governments, civil society, international organizations, and the private sector to align their activities with the social, environmental and economic changes needed to ensure the continued viability of our planet and the dignity of societies and individuals.

Cornerstone UN SDG Series: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Investing to Align with SDG 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities

UN Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities encompasses both the challenges and opportunities presented by the increasing concentration of our global population both in urban centers and smaller but still heavily populated towns. By 2050, an additional 2.4 billion people are expected to be living in urban areas as this trend continues.1 Cities put a strain on natural resources in surrounding regions, and present difficulties in terms of creating housing and transportation systems that are both sustainable and inclusive. On a positive note, dense population means that sustainable solutions to urban challenges can improve the lives for many at once.

SDG 11 is further refined by targets that can be more readily translated into actions. These targets highlight the interconnected nature of the goals: For example, strategies to support SDG 11 dovetail with those that support SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being). Below are a series of synergies that can come from providing access to products, services and systems that address Sustainable Cities & Communities

Nine out of ten urban residents breathe air that does not meet World Health Organization quality guidelines. 2 Air pollution is higher in cities than other areas due to high concentrations of human-generated sources3 vehicles, industrial activity, and power plants are the greatest contributors.4 Of particular concern is black carbon, a sooty fuel by-product that causes respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.5 Encouraging solutions to increase access to clean air will greatly improve the quality of life in urban communities.6

Close to 1 billion city residents live in slums, where both running water and sanitation services are rare.7 For those living in formal housing, clean water is still not guaranteed. City water in developing countries often contains high levels of contaminants such as fecal bacteria.8 Meanwhile, the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, highlighted widespread exposure to unsafe drinking water in many urban areas in the US.9,10

At the same time, cities are major sources of water pollution. Ninety percent of sewage in developing countries is discharged, untreated, directly into bodies of water,11 and rainwater runoff from cities around the world contaminates streams and rivers. 12 Access to clean water ensures the health and prosperity of growing urban populations, and encouraging better water management in cities will be critical for water quality improvement beyond their boundaries.

Investing to achieve

sustainable cities & communities

Access to Clean Air

Access to Clean Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Access to Affordable, Sustainable and Modern Energy

Access to Sustainable Sources of Food and Nutrition

Access to Adequate Housing and Living Conditions

Cities account for 65% of the world’s energy demand, which will grow with rising urban populations.13 This demand translates to 70% of energy-related CO2 emissions globally, making urban areas major contributors to climate change.14 In cities that rely on the burning of fossil fuels for energy, air pollution often exceeds guidelines.15 At the same time, modern energy is essential to basic services such as lighting, cooking, and heating,16 yet 58% of people living in cities in low-income countries lack access to electricity.17 Improving access to sustainable, affordable, and modern energy in cities will bring benefits to more people and safeguard against harmful environmental impacts.

As urbanization intensifies, so do the challenges of ensuring access to healthy food for residents.18 For many, price is a major barrier. For example, poor urban households in many parts of Africa spend 60-80% of their income on food, and report often going without food due to cost.19 In the US, lack of access to healthy food is also linked to distance as over 4 million urban households live further than a half-mile from a supermarket and lack access to a vehicle.20 These households frequently resort to nearby fast-food and convenience stores, leading to high levels of obesity and diet-related diseases.21 The well-being of all city dwellers depends on continued efforts to increase access to sufficient, healthy, and affordable food.

In the developing world, the number of people living in urban areas with substandard housing continues to grow. These residents often lack access to basic services such as electricity, running water, or sanitation.22 In developed cities, rising housing costs are placing unsustainable burdens on residents: Nearly half of all US renters pay more than 30% of income on housing,23 and more than 300 million urbanites globally are financially stressed by housing costs.24 This burden forces people to divert money from necessities like healthy food or medical care to pay for housing.25 Expanding access to affordable, safe, adequate housing means improving the health, finances, and stability26 for growing urban populations.

By providing a brief overview of each of the UN SDGs, Cornerstone Capital Group seeks to help investors understand how incorporating SDG alignment into their investment decisions can contribute to progress. Because the SDGs were not created specifically with investors in mind, Cornerstone effectively “translates” them into investment opportunities by focusing on the concept of access: the ability of individuals and societies to achieve desired social, economic and environmental outcomes. We believe that investing in products, services and systems that increase access is key to driving progress toward the SDGs. At Cornerstone, we believe that invest-ments can achieve competitive financial performance and positive societal impact – performance that sacrifices nothing, except indifference.

(1) UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics 2017- Population; (2) UN Sustainable Development Goals (3) Rural and Urban Differences in Air Quality, 2008–12, and Community Drinking Water Quality, 2010–15 — United States. Surveillance Summa-ries, June 2017; (4) World Health Organization; (5) Environmental Protection Agency Black Carbon Research; (6) 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects, Population Division, UN; (7) World Resource Institute Cities for All; (8) Reducing Inequalities in Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene in the Era of the Sustainable Development Goals. World Bank Group. 2017 (9) Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Children Associated With the Flint Drinking Water Crisis: A Spatial Analysis of Risk and Public Health Response. Hanna-Attisha M, LaChance J, Sadler RC, Champney Schnepp A. Am J Public Health. 2016; (10) Environmental justice and drinking water quality: are there socioeconomic disparities in nitrate levels in U.S. drinking water? Laurel A. Schaider, Lucien Swetschinski, Christopher Campbell, and Ruthann A. Rudel. Environmental Health. 2019; (11) United Nations World Water Assessment Programme, “The United Nations World Water Development Report 2015: Water for a Sustainable World”; (12) Environmental Protection Agency “Urban Facts”; (13) International Renewable Energy Agency, Renewable Energy in Cities, 2016; (14) Ibid; (15) World Health Organization https://www.who.int/phe/health_topics/outdoorair/databases/background_information/en/index2.html; (16) Powering Cities in the Global South: How Energy Access for All Benefits the Economy and the Environment. WRI. (17) World Bank. 2016. World Development Indicators. (18) International Institute for Environment and Development, Urban poverty, food security and climate change, (19) Penn Institute for Urban Research, Feeding Cities: Food Security in a Rapidly Urbanizing World, 2013; (20) USDA Economic Research Service, The Extent of Limited Food Access in the United States; (21) Ibid; (22) World Resource Institute Cities for All; (23) America’s Rental Housing 2017. Joint Center for Housing Studies. Harvard. (24) McKinsey Global Institute, A blueprint for addressing the global affordable housing challenge, 2014; (25) National League of Cities, Affordable Housing & Health: City Roles and Strategies for Progress, 2019; (26) Scott, M. 2012. “Beyond Four Walls.” In The Big Idea: Global Spread of Affordable Housing, edited by Scott Anderson and Rochelle Beck, 79–81. Washington, DC.

Cornerstone Capital Group is a registered investment advisor. The information in this document is intended to be general in nature and is not intended as investment advice. The views expressed are as of July 2019 and are subject to change at any time based on market or other conditions. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. © Cornerstone Capital Inc. 2019.

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