Through its partnership with UNDP, SVI has built a global network of accredited practitioners who are trained to support organisations in applying the SDG Impact Standards. In our quarterly Practitioner Spotlight, we’ll highlight the work of these practitioners and the role they play in embedding impact management into organisation’s systems, processes and governance.

In this edition, we shine a light on Yugen Pillay from Johannesburg, South Africa, a practitioner whose work across 32 African countries reflects a shift in how organisations manage their social and environmental impacts.

With 27 years in accounting, including 18 years as a Lead Partner at Grant Thornton, Yugen has worked across banking, mining, government and development finance.

Today, as Managing Director of SusTrainability Development Global, he focuses on delivering training and consulting on the SDG Impact Standards. Alongside this, Yugen serves as Head of Impact Measurement and Management & Impact Data Analytics for the UNDP’s timbuktoo initiative, where he designs Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) frameworks for the initiative, using the Standards.

The journey to making an impact

Yugen’s move into impact management began in the audit profession.

“When I was an auditor, I saw the word ‘materiality’ was mostly based on financial figures and not the measurement of impact”

Yugen clocked that while financial performance was measured with precision, social and environmental outcomes were not. This imbalance led him to explore more structured impact management practices. When joining SVI’s first SDG Impact Standards training cohort after a colleague encouraged him to do so, the content immediately resonated.

“It was the missing blueprint needed to embed the SDGs, and to support decision making in most sectors.”

Confirmation of this came when he was asked to assist a large financial institution in Africa on applying the Standards. As a result, the institution diverted investment in ways that contributed to national SDG targets.

Putting the Standards into practice

To date, Yugen has trained more than 700 individuals using the SDG Impact Standards. His work extends into governance and strategy, with Yugen conducting gap analyses, designing tailored IMM frameworks, and supporting boards and Social & Ethics Committees to align organisational decision-making with clearly defined impact goals.

He also works at the operational level, developing data systems and analytics platforms, advising fund managers on portfolio-level impact metrics, and guiding programme teams seeking aligned funding.

For Yugen, alignment with the SDGs is an important, universally applicable way to tackle the perpetual environmental and social challenges that we face.

“It’s a global roadmap that transcends language and boundaries, and addresses real problems in the world.”

From individual practice to a global movement

Early in his journey, working in impact management felt isolating.

“It was initially a very lonely road.”

Through SVI’s practitioner network, the initial isolation shifted to a sense of community.

“Belonging to a large body that understands and strives for defined impact is powerful. I value the respect and mostly the humility of the people that I get to work with from SVI.”

Working extensively within his region whilst remaining connected to SVI’s global network, Yugen sees encouraging signs that the Standards are growing in importance.

“I see pension funds in Europe using them, which is usually a great signal to the global market and alternative investments. I also believe the ISO management system standard is the cherry on the top.”

Read more on the upcoming ISO 53001/2 Standard and how it will soon shape how organisations embed sustainability into decision making: https://www.socialvalueint.org/blog/coming-soon-iso-53001-but-you-can-get-started-todaynbsp

Looking ahead

Yugen hopes his work contributes to gender equality, decent employment and meaningful climate mitigation and adaptation. When implementation becomes complex, he returns to ‘the why’.

“The why for me is the ultimate beneficiaries, whose livelihoods and well-being are better because of positive interventions. It’s the ‘value’ of the impact to the beneficiaries; it teaches us to do our activities with their wellbeing in mind.”

Members can hear more from Yugen in our upcoming Technical Discussion CPD on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, from 9am-11am GMT. This CPD session, limited to SDG Impact Standards Practitioner Community, will centre on Yugen’s experience with delivering training and advisory services aligned with the SDG Impact Standards, and how he is applying the Standards in real-world organisational contexts.

The SDG Impact Standards, developed by the UNDP, provide a practical framework for aligning strategy, governance and management systems with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Learn more about SVI’s training and accreditation offering on the SDG Impact Standards.