Integrating ESG Criteria and SDGs in Impact Investing: A Review of Frameworks and Perspectives

Impact investing links capital allocation with the pursuit of measurable social and environmental outcomes. Within this field, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are frequently used together, but their connection is often applied unevenly across investment screening, measurement, and reporting. This paper reviews academic and grey literature on the integration of ESG criteria and SDGs in impact investing frameworks, with attention to frameworks, metrics, stakeholder perspectives, sectoral differences, and economic context. The review shows that ESG and SDGs serve complementary but distinct functions. ESG criteria support the assessment of organisational practices, risks, and governance conditions, while the SDGs provide a broader reference for development outcomes. However, the literature shows persistent gaps in how ESG issues are mapped to SDG targets, how impact is measured across sectors, and how contextual differences between developed and developing economies are addressed. To respond to these gaps, the paper proposes a conceptual ESG-SDG integration process for impact investing decision-making. The process links stakeholder and context identification, ESG materiality assessment, SDG target mapping, impact pathway definition, and indicator selection and reporting. This structure clarifies how investors can move from broad sustainability claims to more specific, measurable, and accountable impact evidence. The paper contributes to impact investing research by organising fragmented literature into a practical analytical sequence. It also offers guidance for investors, fund managers, investee companies, and policymakers seeking to strengthen transparency, comparability, and credibility in ESG-SDG integration.