The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have created Project Savannah, to develop digital ESG credentials for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
The initiative is part of an effort to increase requirements from regulators, financial institutions, and supply chain partners for corporations and businesses to report their sustainability performance.
Project Savannah will support MSMEs by lowering barriers regarding the complexities and cost of reporting solutions, and setting a baseline on their progress towards meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UNDP and GLIEF together with MAS, Singapore’s central bank and integrated financial regulator, will consult economy corporations to refine the project’s scope and execution, culminating in a multi-jurisdictional proof of concept to be launched at the 2023 UN Conference of the Parties (COP 28), in Dubai.
The project aims to simplify the reporting process, with MAS leveraging its ESGenome disclosure platform, part of Project Greenprint, as a digital reporting tool. Using Project Greenprint’s Artificial Intelligence of Things partner network and data capture solutions, MSMEs will be able to pre-fill certain metrics and streamline their processes at a low cost, the firm says.
In order to make this ESG data accessible, it will be recorded and made available via the Global LEI system at GLIEF, an accessible and standardised source of legal entity reference data. By doing so, MSMEs’ ESG credentials can be trusted and accessed by authorised third parties globally.
UNDP and MAS will review and enhance capacity building, recognising the significance of automation in driving scale and the potential of technology in outlining more efficient roadmaps to a low-carbon future.
Aiaze Mitha, global lead of digital finance and SDGs at the UNDP, says: “Project Savannah, in collaboration with MAS and GLEIF, will harness the potential offered by digital innovations to automate sustainability reporting for even the smallest SMEs, by overcoming existing barriers such as access to relevant data, cost, complexity, and capacity and knowledge gaps.”
Stephan Wolf, CEO at GLEIF, adds: “We strongly advocate the availability and usage of the LEI to support transparency in global sustainability initiatives such as Project Savannah. As a universal entity identification standard, the LEI brings myriad benefits to MSMEs everywhere, including fast and simple counterparty due diligence across borders, broader access to trade finance, and supporting compliance with a growing number of trade-related regulations.”
