Two key publications highlight the nexus between Islamic Finance and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). In these papers, about 2000 respondents were surveyed from different Islamic financial institutions around the world, including those in Pakistan, Malaysia, the UK, Australia, and Nigeria.

These reports were among the outputs of the Global Islamic Finance and UN SDGs Taskforce, an innovative public-private partnership that examines the potential contribution of the Islamic finance sector to closing this funding gap as well as the potential business opportunities the SDGs offer the sector.

In this blog, we discuss the main highlights of the Islamic Finance and the UN SDGs Retail Banking Customer Perspectives Global Survey 2023 and the Attitudes of banking customers towards the UN SDGs Global Survey 2023.

The first report found the following:

• Ethical Commitment: 96% of respondents emphasized the importance of their financial products aligning with their personal values and ethics emphasizing that customers are committed to ethical banking.
• Demand for SDG Products: A significant 90% of respondents highlighted the importance of their banks offering products that aligned with the UN SDGs, indicating a demand for sustainable financial offerings.
• Poverty Alleviation: Social responsibility proved to be a high priority as 95% of respondents rated reducing poverty to be of high importance.
• Sustainability Encouragement: A notable 71% stated that the alignment of financial products with sustainability would motivate them to use their bank’s products more actively, hinting at the potential of sustainable finance to engage customers.
• Premium for Alignment: An impressive 87% of respondents expressed their willingness to pay a premium for UN SDG-aligned products, demonstrating a strong commitment to values-driven banking.

The second survey categorized the 17 SDGs into four core areas: Reducing poverty and hunger, Injustice and equality, Environment and climate change, and Sustainable economic development. These categories were further divided into the Global North and Global South. Global South consisted of banks in Pakistan, Nigeria, and Malaysia while the institutions in Australia and UK made up the Global North.

The key findings include:

• Regional Disparities and Priorities: While the Global North exhibited a higher response rate, it was in the areas of “Injustice and equality” and “Environment and climate change” where significant differences emerged. This suggests that economic SDGs tend to hold greater importance in the Global South, whereas social and environmental issues are relatively more critical in the Global North concerning the SDGs as a whole.
• Alignment with Core SDG Areas: Survey participants overwhelmingly endorsed the alignment of Islamic finance with the four core SDG areas (reducing poverty and hunger, equality, environment, and economic development), with over 90% considering this alignment vital.
• Terminology and Awareness: There were disparities in terms of terminologies. For instance, “Net Zero” displayed significant awareness disparities between the Global North and Global South. “Impact investing” was more recognized in the Global South, while “ethical finance” garnered higher awareness in the Global North. This indicates that respondents in the Global North may possess a somewhat higher awareness of certain trends, especially those related to sustainability.
• Alignment with Core SDG Areas: Survey participants overwhelmingly endorsed the alignment of Islamic finance with the four core SDG areas (reducing poverty and hunger, equality, environment, and economic development), with over 90% considering this alignment vital.
• Seeking Information: Finally, the survey explored how respondents accessed information, with social media and website news emerging as the primary sources in both the Global North and Global South. Facebook was the preferred platform in the Global South, while LinkedIn took precedence in the Global North.

Overall, the surveys revealed respondents across regions showed keenness for aligning financial products with the SDGs once they understood the SDGs, moderate overall awareness of the SDGs, and a substantial willingness to pay for SDG-related financial products.

The SDGs represent an opportunity for Islamic finance institutions to drive sustainability and positive change. By utilising the SDGs in communications with customers about issues of social and responsibility, Islamic finance institutions have an opportunity to increase brand value and customer engagement.

By harnessing financial innovation to expand access to values-driven products, improve financial inclusion, support renewable energy investments, and finance projects alleviating poverty, Islamic banks and financial institutions can fulfill their purpose of bringing shared prosperity in an ethical manner.

Join us this Thursday for a lunchtime chat, 1:30 – 2 pm, where we explore these findings and learn more with Sultan Choudhury OBE.