Based on SDG 2 “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” the investable sub-goals are:
2.1. Ensure access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food
Nutritious food
Investible entities that:
- produce basic food products (as defined by Choices International excluding meat, fish, poultry, tea, coffee, ready made meals, deep fried, foods, breakfast cereals containing high levels of sugar, spreads containing fat, all cheese, mixed salads, sandwiches, lunch meals and the likes and palm oil for food production).
- produce organic food products
Safe food
Investible entities that:
- Producers of packaging, testing, natural additives that contribute to food product safety
2.2 End all forms of malnutrition
Increased quality of food
Investible entities that:
- produce healthier, more nutritious or natural food products
- produce healthy food ingredients (notably natural flavours, herbs, spices and substitutes for sugar, sodium & fat)
- provide food quality testing services or certificates
X food supplements not contributing to basic nutritional needs (e.g. lifestyle products)
2.3 Double agricultural productivity of small scale food producers
Land conversion and development, land management/operations
Investible entities that:
- provide agricultural equipment or support services to small scale farmers
2.4 Sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices
Production and productivity
Farmland and investible entities that:
- increase the quantity of food produced in a resource-efficient way
- increase productivity by using biobased agrochemicals
- increase crop productivity (e.g. improved seeds)
- contribute to regenerative or low carbon agriculture, (e.g. biochar)
- increase animal productivity (e.g. medicines for healthier and more productive livestock)
- manufacture equipment, instruments and materials or provide agricultural support services for resource-efficient farming (e.g. high precision farming techniques, IT)
x production of beef as the most resource-inefficient animal protein (with exception of grass-fed beef for its lower conversion rate)
! Genetically modified/edited seeds are highly controversial
! Overly aggressive protection of patented seeds and market consolidation may harm farmer interests
! Excessive use of anti-biotics may harm animal health and lead to resistance
2.5 Maintain the genetic diversity
Investable entities that:
- practice organic farming, or process or retail organic food
- provide products and services that focus on maintaining genetic diversity
The SDGs and SDG sub-goals have been translated from an investor perspective into the SDI taxonomy of product categories that are considered solutions contributing to the SDGs. The full SDI Taxonomy can be found here. When evaluating a company, the starting point is the classification of its products and services within the SDI product categories. The size of the positive contribution is calculated from the associated revenues (sales).