The Handelsblatt Business Briefing Nachhaltige Investments issue no. 4, 2020 (only available in German) is dedicated to the topic of green and impact washing. The briefing criticises the increase in investment products that promise a sustainable impact without being able to directly demonstrate positive ecological or social effects. Often a positive impact is claimed by simply assigning sectors to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, the SDGs. This concept, however, does not go far enough, as purchases of securities on the secondary market do not have a direct effect. Merely the ownership changes. In the view of Handelsblatt Business Briefing, simply assigning companies to SDGs and thus indicating an effect is therefore SDG washing.

The Handelsblatt highlights the nextbike bond 2020/2025 as a positive example that creates a real impact. Cycling is becoming more and more important - not only because of climate protection, but currently mainly because of the corona pandemic. In order to reduce the risk of infections, several German cities, such as Berlin, are offering bike rides with the rental bikes free of charge. This is intended to encourage people to get on buses, underground and suburban trains less often in order to avoid contracting the corona virus.

We are pleased about the Handelsblatt's assessment that impact-oriented investments are primarily about mobilising additional debt or equity so that innovative business models with a positive impact can flourish. With the aim of making the 17 SDGs investable, we launched the SDG INVESTMENTS platform at the end of 2017. And today, more than ever, the driving force behind our actions is to mobilize additional investment in order to come a step closer to achieving the SDGs by 2030.

SDG INVESTMENTS is responsible for structuring and marketing the nextbike bond 2020/2025. Please feel free to contact us: info@sdg-investments.com.