Metro Manila, July 2025 — The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Philippines brought together over around 400 representatives from business and public sector to share the latest insights on global and national trends shaping the sustainability reporting landscape. This session introduced UNDP’s Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) standards, a strategic advisory tool that public and private entities can utilize to integrate sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into decision-making.

The Philippines has adopted and integrated the SDGs into its country development plans and in its overarching strategy, most notably in the Ambisyon Natin 2040. The financial and capital markets in the country have also introduced several reporting frameworks for listed securities. Data shows that as of 2021, 95% sustainability report submission rate has been achieved among public listed companies in the Philippines. However, much more needs to be done to raise the overall quality and ambition of reporting, as highlighted by several participants during the session. 

In her opening message, PEZA Group Manager for Management Information System and Corporate Planning Group Rowena Naguit highlighted that, “The SDGs serve as a universal roadmap. But identifying the goals is just the first step. The next one is for us to critically understand. The impact we are making and ensure that our collective efforts bring about tangible and lasting change. This is precisely where impact measurement and management become an absolute essential.”

As the featured speaker, Ms. Devahuti Choudhury of the UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub presented how three intersecting global crises—climate change and biodiversity loss, socio-economic inequalities and technological disruptions—are translating into material business risks. Quoting UNDP’s SDG Finance Report, she shared that global wealth has reached $477 trillion, and despite this, a persistent SDG financing gap of $4.3 Trillion per annum remained, highlighting the need to align global wealth flows with the principals of sustainability.  

Choudhury discussed the importance of integrating sustainability into business practices with the need to shift from an extractive mindset to a regenerative one. She also shared the SDG Impact Standards, which are designed to help businesses measure and manage their impact, and emphasized that these standards are not accountancy or reporting standards but management standards. It is organized around four interconnected themes namely: strategy, management approach, transparency, and governance. 

Mr. Mohamed Shahudh, Country Economist of UNDP Philippines, emphasized that: "global financial markets are already shifting from traditional risk-return reporting to a three-dimensional approach—where the high-level impact of investments is reported alongside risk and return.” He also underscored “the importance of adopting such reporting practices, particularly as major trading blocs enforce stricter environmental and human rights standards to ensure cleaner and more accountable supply chains at all levels.”

To read more about SDG Impact Standards, please visit this Resources Page at Sustainable Finance Hub-Private Finance for the SDGs. [E]

If you have any interest in collaborating on this area or to know more about SDG Finance in the Philippines, you may reach out to Mr. Aljo Quintans, SDG Specialist, through his email address (aljo.quintans@undp.org) and Ms. Dee T. Urtua, Social Innovation Analyst, through her email address (dee.urtua@undp.org).