Antecedentes

India has demonstrated its commitment to making the economy more sustainable through ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and launching the International Solar Alliance. To deliver on these commitments, a robust sustainable financing system is needed, that can complement public-sector resources by mobilizing domestic and international private financing. In order to address the funding gap for sustainable development and to make the financial sector resilient to extra-financial risks, India needs to make concerted efforts to signal its seriousness towards taking a leadership position on sustainable finance through its policies and actions. Such efforts will also pave the way for attracting finance from international financial institutions who are increasingly attaching “green” or “social” conditions to loans and investments as well as reorienting capital towards low-carbon sectors as part of their recovery plans.

The Sustainable Finance Collaborative, supported by the SDG Finance Facility platform at UNDP India launched in August 2020 is an effort to bring together leading stakeholders in the financial eco-system with a view to ideate, collaborate and contribute to the Government’s sustainable finance agenda. Drawing from the Collaborative, the Ministry of Finance, DEA has formulated an inter-ministerial Sustainable Finance Taskforce. One of the key deliverables of this taskforce is the development of a report on Global and Domestic Best Practices in Sustainable Finance.  As a next step, UNDP country office is looking to engage the services of an Individual Consultant who would work under the ambit of the taskforce and lead the development of the report. 

The broad outline and status of the report is as follows:

1. Introduction: This provides a detailed discussion on the definition of sustainable finance, and presents an analysis of global definitions by various countries and international organizations. It also provides a quick primer on the work of supranational entities such as the Network for Greening the Financial System, the International Platform on Sustainable Finance, and the TCFD.
2. Key Global Initiatives: This section has a number of chapters dedicated to discussions on specific themes that are relevant for the Task Force, such as the development of Sustainable Finance Roadmaps, Taxonomies, Regulatory frameworks for Impact Investing and Blended Finance, and initiatives taken to enable the recognition, disclosure and mitigation of environmental risks.
3. Domestic Initiatives: This covers developments in India that address the various themes mentioned in part 2. This serves to provide a quick reference for understanding where India currently stands on Sustainable Finance, in comparison with global practices.
4. Business Case of Sustainable Finance: This lays out a number of successful case studies on International and Domestic, Financial and Non-Financial entities that are leading in Sustainability and Sustainable Finance. This serves to provide a strong business case for Indian entities to adopt best practices and provide support to the interventions that are approved by the Task Force as per the Sustainable Finance Roadmap.

Deberes y responsabilidades

The primary responsibility of the Consultant is to lead the development on Global and Domestic Best Practices in Sustainable Finance (referred to as ‘Best Practices Report’ from here on).

While the Consultant will be formally working under the supervision of the Advisor, Social Impact Investments, South Asia at UNDP, he/ she will also be working under the guidance of the Co-Chairs of the Working group and expert members of the two other Working Groups, where necessary. The consultant areas of work are defined as such:

Reviewing and Revising the Existing Drafts of the Best Practices Report

• Review the outline of the best practices report, as approved by the co-chairs for any additions or revisions, if necessary.
• Review the existing chapters of the best practices report for structure, flow, readability, relevance of content, language and grammar, formatting and referencing, and revise where necessary, upon approval of supervisor.
• The chapters to be considered for this as those marked as ‘Drafted, to be reviewed’ in the above outline.
• Update the content of the report in light of latest global and domestic developments.
• Coordinating feedback and inputs from members of other working groups, and Task Force members and incorporation of the same where relevant.

Drafting of Remaining Chapters of Best Practices Report

• Conducting extensive secondary research and analysis for drafting the remaining chapters of the Best Practices report, as per the approved outline.
• This will cover the remaining chapters across Sections I, II & III which are marked as ‘To be Developed’ in the above outline.
• Soliciting feedback and inputs from members of other working groups, and the broader Task Force, with incorporation of the same where relevant.

Developing Case Studies to illustrate Business Case of Sustainable Finance

• Prepare initial presentation and outline laying out the methodology and approach for ‘Section IV – Business Case of Sustainable Finance’, and incorporate inputs of Co-Chairs.

• Prepare 4 detailed case studies on how global and domestic entities have benefitted from adopting Sustainable Finance practices, from the perspective of both financial institutions and non-financial companies. Out of 4 case studies, at least 2 should be at the entity level. The consultant could suggest others from other perspectives.
• Case studies may explore benefits with respect to risk mitigation, raising capital from new sources of finance or at better terms, increased consumer engagement and traction, generating stronger returns on investment (both financial and impact related) and any other relevant thematic areas.
• Solicit and incorporate inputs and feedback from members of other working groups, and the broader Task Force, with approval from co-chairs.

Expected Deliverable/ Outcome

Deliverable 1

• Review of existing Draft of Best Practices Report, including overall structure and outline and any drafted chapters.
• Revised draft of best practices report, based on review, and updated in light of global and domestic developments. This includes revised drafts for:
  • Section I - Introduction:
    • Sustainable Finance Definition
  • Section II - Global Initiatives
    • Sustainable Finance Roadmaps
    • Taxonomies and Bond Frameworks
    • Disclosures & Mainstreaming Environmental Risk
  • Section III – Domestic Initiatives

Deliverable 2

• First draft of remaining chapters of best practices report, as per approved outline. This includes first drafts for:
  • Section I - Introduction:
    • International Sustainable Finance Initiatives
  • Section II - Global Initiatives
    • Central M & E Systems
    • Impact Investing & Blended Finance
    • Summary of Global Regulations
    • Snapshot of Best Practices by Country
• First full draft of best practices report, excluding Section IV – Business Case of Sustainable Finance

Deliverable 3

• Outline of Section IV – Business Case of Sustainable Finance development approach
• 3-4 detailed case studies of global and domestic, financial, and non-financial entities illustrating how the adoption of Sustainable Finance best practices have benefitted them.

Deliverable 4

• Full draft of best practices report, including Section IV – Business case of Sustainable Finance, including a list of all revisions made and a consolidated list of comments.
• Final Best Practices Report.

Competencias

• Analytical skills: Able to synthesize large sets of inputs and data to form coherent outputs
• Ability to effectively and efficiently interact with senior members and stakeholders
• Must be detail-oriented
• Communication skills: Able to communicate clear ideas across a variety of mediums
• Writing and presentation skills: Able to produce high quality reports and presentations
• Team skills: Able to work independently as well as in teams
• Great organizational and time-management skills

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Academic Qualification:  

• Advanced degree in finance/ climate finance, sustainable finance, economics, business or related areas (essential)

Professional Experience: 

• At least 5 years of directly relevant professional experience in consulting/ advisory, Financial Services, Research or Public Policy (with focus on climate/ sustainable finance/ SDG finance/ ESG)
• Prior experience/ expertise with developing and publishing research papers in reputed journals / developing and publishing a report (with focus on climate / sustainable finance, Business or Investment).
• Strong understanding of the global sustainable finance industry including green instruments and sectors, sustainability disclosures, sustainable taxonomies, ESG risk management tools and models and policies. Knowledge of India’s sustainable finance practices and policies
• Practical experience working with or supporting global development organizations or governments on sustainable finance policies and strategies
• Strong experience in research, writing op-eds and articles, content creation on sustainable finance topics

Language Requirement:  English

Evaluation Criteria

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as Responsive to the requirement. Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation;

•           Technical Criteria weight - 70%;

•           Financial Criteria weight – 30 %

Technical Criteria (70% of the total evaluation)

1. Criteria 1: Prior Experience (25%)

1. At least 5 years of directly relevant professional experience in consulting/ advisory, Financial Services, Research or Public Policy (with focus on climate/ sustainable finance/ SDG finance/ ESG) - 25%

2. Criteria 2: Demonstrated Knowledge on Sustainable Finance (30%)

1. Prior experience/ expertise with developing and authoring/ co-authoring at-least 2 published papers OR authoring/ co-authoring a publicly available report (with focus on climate / sustainable finance, ESG or Impact Investment) (15%)
2. Prior experience of research on sustainable finance, climate finance, climate risk, ESG or SDG finance related topics demonstrated through at least 2 previous engagements/ assignments. (10%)
3. Understanding of India and emerging markets status on Sustainable Finance – 5%

3. Criteria 3: Multi-stakeholder coordination (15%)

1. Consultant should have demonstrated experience in working with multiple stakeholder groups given that the Best Practises Report will be developed under the aegis of the Taskforce – 10% 
2. Research and documentation skills vis-a-vis MS Office Suite and prior experience in developing concept notes/reports/ plans will be essential - 5%

Financial Proposal :

Technically qualified consultants will be requested to submit their lump sum rate i.e. consultants who score more than 70% i.e. 49 marks with respect to the above-mentioned evaluation criteria. Consultant should not specify their consultancy fee on their CV or with the submission. The CV will not be evaluated further in case the consultant submits the same.

Payment Scheduled: Payments will be deliverable linked per the following schedule of payments:

Notes: 

Miscellaneous charges i.e. internet, phone, relocation charges, local travel etc. would not be reimbursed separately.