Our 4th installment of the Urban Finance Series Webinar-Creating and Measuring SDG Impacts in Cities featured a panel of experts from UN-Habitat, Global Development Incubator, and Think City as they introduced the SDG Cities programme and shared insights on how cities can ensure their projects are SDG-aligned and contribute to a more sustainable future. Pursuing and proving positive impact creation will allow city projects to more successfully attract investment and catalyse change.
Moderator:
Duncan Cave- Programme Manager, Think City
Speakers:
1. Dyfed Aubrey- Inter-regional Advisor, UN-Habitat
2. Ahila Ganesan- Special Projects Lead, Think City
3. Wadzi Katsidzira- Manager, Global Development Incubator
Summary:
The webinar provided insights on the importance of measuring impact and what a globally accepted framework needs to have to be adopted. The panelists emphasised the need for long-term plans that can bridge political cycles and anchor projects that are more impactful for cities.
In addition, cities need to produce more quality data and information to satisfy investors as well as local communities and their needs for good, sustainable infrastructure projects.
In conclusion, panelists agreed that both private and public projects(and businesses) need to include these metrics or risk being irrelevant.