2023 Impact Report

Brian Moynihan

Chair and CEO, Bank of America
Chair, Sustainable Markets Initiative

FOREWORD
Since its launch four years ago, the Sustainable Markets Initiative has brought together the private and public sectors to accelerate the transition to a sustainable, secure future. Today, the Sustainable Markets Initiative has over 250 private sector CEO members who share the vision of our founder, His Majesty King Charles III, and his commitment to Nature, People, and Planet.

In 2023, these leaders continued to create a foundation that global companies can build upon. We are working with companies of all sizes and industries to help bring clean technologies to market, deploy capital to scale innovation, and address transparency. We launched the Astra Carta framework, created five new Task Forces covering multiple sectors, and established a new regional country council in Africa. In addition, we accelerated progress through cross-Task Force collaboration, helping Sustainable Markets Initiative CEOs develop solutions and scale not achievable by one industry alone.

This past year also showed that the private sector and the Sustainable Markets Initiative are equal partners with the public sector and governments at global gatherings focused on these important issues, demonstrating our value in accelerating sustainability outcomes and related systems changes. This includes the inaugural Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP28 in Dubai – the first private sector Forum endorsed by the COP Presidency.

Through this work and more, we are delivering clear, measurable, and transparent progress for the world.

Jennifer Jordan-Saifi

CEO, Sustainable Markets Initiative

FOREWORD
The private sector has emerged as the vanguard of a new era - one where profitability and the global public good are not mutually exclusive. Today’s narrative is one of private-sector diplomacy, moral courage, and relentless determination. Across industries, finance, and countries, our SMI CEOs are embracing their roles as catalysts, driving a seismic shift towards a sustainable future - one that puts Nature, People, and Planet at the heart of value creation.

At the Sustainable Markets Initiative, we know that CEOs have a unique ability to look at the long-term horizon, after all, success is not defined by the quarterly reports but by the legacy, we leave for generations to come. With this in mind, we are actively dedicating private sector resources, capabilities, and reach to solve some of the world's most intractable challenges.

By seizing sustainability as the growth story of our time, businesses large and small are unlocking new markets, developing sustainable alternatives, creating new investment models, attracting top talent, and bolstering their resilience in a rapidly changing world.

As we reflect on the momentum we have created, we know we must keep our feet on the accelerator. By 2030, and as reflected in our mandates the Terra Carta and the Astra Carta, the Sustainable Markets Initiative aims to extend its reach to every region of the world, to reorientate the global economy, and to facilitate scaled-up financing for green transition that ensures we leave no one behind.

I continue to be inspired by our global leadership and the boundless potential that lies before us.