Raft of big names appointed to G7’s new Impact Taskforce

S&P Global's CEO Douglas Peterson will join Danone’s ex- CEO Emmanuel Faber, Hiro Mizuno, former investment chief at the world’s biggest pension fund, and nearly 100 other big names on a new Impact Taskforce.

The body, created in July under the UK’s presidency of the G7, seeks to “come up with solutions for a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and promote impact-driven economies and societies in the long term”.

Peterson will chair one of the taskforce’s working groups, dedicated to “Impact Transparency, Integrity and Reporting”. Among its 40+ members are David Blood, Founding Partner at Generation Investment Management; Frédéric Samama, Amundi’s Head of Responsible Investment; Michelle Edkins, Managing Director for BlackRock; and Peter Harrison, CEO of Schroders. 

Representatives from government bodies and agencies in the UK, China, Mexico and the EU are also included, as well as impact investment specialists from groups like the Global Impact Investing Network, the Impact Management Project and the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment. 

The ‘Big Four’ accountancy firms – PwC, EY, KPMG and Deloitte – are all represented on the working group. 

A second working group will focus on “Instruments and Policies to Scale Impact Investment”. It will be chaired by Dame Elizabeth Corley, who also chairs the UK’s Impact Investing Institute. 

Advisory panel members for that group include Alexandra Basirov, Global Head of Sustainable Finance for Financial Institutions Coverage at BNP Paribas; Audrey Choi, Morgan Stanley’s Chief Sustainability Officer; Eliza Foo, Director of Impact Investing at Singapore’s wealth fund Temasek; Stephanie Pfeifer, the CEO of Europe’s Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change; and Eric Rice, Managing Director & Head of Impact Investing at BlackRock.

Mizuno, former Chief Investment Officer at Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund and UN Special Envoy on Innovative Finance and Sustainable Investments, will be an observer, along with Faber. 

“We have been asked by the G7 Presidency to give advice on how we can mobilise private capital for public good at scale and with integrity,” said Taskforce Chair, Nick Hurd, who oversaw the creation of the world’s first social investment bank, Big Society Capital, during his tenure as the UK’s Minister for Civil Society. 

“This is a critical question given the level of investment needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and other commitments. I am delighted by the diversity of perspective that we have assembled. It is already clear that our members are very engaged with the important task.'' 

The Impact Taskforce held the first in a series of meetings in early August and the group’s final report is expected to be delivered to G7 governments in December. 

The initiative is funded by the UK Government's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, along with BNP Paribas and the EQT Foundation. 

See the full list of members here.