Finance & Investment
The latest in the spheres of socially responsible investing, impact investing, and other ways investors and shareholders are asserting their desire for ethical investment options.
Davos 2023: 5 Takeaways for Companies Engaged in the Climate Fight
Promising developments in expanding the blue economy, philanthropy for climate action, and heavy industry net-zero commitments were among hopeful highlights from the annual gathering.
Finance, Tech Giants Top 2023 List of US’s Most JUST Companies
Cross-Posted from Walking the Talk. JUST Capital and CNBC have released the 2023 rankings of the country’s most JUST Companies and Marquee JUST 100 List, which consistently outperform the Russell 1000 — highlighting the link between stakeholder governance and corporate success.
2 New Funds Show Companies, Investors Putting Money Where Their Mouths Are on Biodiversity Commitments
With a fresh spotlight on the critical role of biodiversity in the health of the planet, climate and economy, two ambitious new funds aim to mobilize millions in resources to scale on-the-ground, nature-preservation and -regeneration projects and nature-based climate solutions around the world.
Can Insuring Nature Encourage the Necessary Action to Protect It from Climate Risks?
COP15 again highlighted the importance of ensuring money moves in the right direction to bring about lasting environmental protection. One example is The Nature Conservancy’s recent purchase of a coral reef insurance policy to protect Hawai‘i’s marine environment from damage by hurricanes or tropical storms.
COP15 Must Mark a Turning Point for Meat and Dairy Investors
Meat and dairy companies need to go further and faster to protect our natural world — before politicians, regulators and investors make the decision for them. The latest FAIRR Index shows what’s possible and shines a spotlight on the investment risks of maintaining the status quo.
Company Shareholders Vote to Examine More Climate-Beneficial Retirement Plans
Campbell's — and many other companies’ — current 401(k) options have employees investing millions in fossil fuels and deforestation through Vanguard, which has just announced it has left the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative.
COP15: ‘Environmental DNA’ Technology Enables World-First Nature Performance-Monitoring Service
Cross-Posted from New Metrics. NatureMetrics says new platform represents breakthrough in understanding and managing our impact on nature — providing simple, standardized metrics to track and report on site-based nature impacts.
Record Number of Companies Recognize Biodiversity Risks, But Struggling to Turn Commitments Into Action
Self-reported data from over 7,700 companies that responded to questions on biodiversity through CDP’s climate change questionnaire shows they are ready to disclose on biodiversity, sending a powerful signal to negotiators ahead of COP15.
COP27 Yields Landmark Deal to Compensate Developing Nations for Climate Damage, But Backpedals on Phase-Out of Fossil Fuels
Cross-Posted from Walking the Talk. COP27 ended with an agreement to create a funding facility to compensate vulnerable nations for ‘loss and damage’ from climate disasters; but weakened language around the phase-out of fossil fuels opens a dangerous loophole that could threaten decarbonization before it’s too late.
Bridgestone Wins $35M USDA Climate-Smart Grant to Further Advance Guayule Natural Rubber Production
Cross-Posted from Chemistry, Materials & Packaging. The USDA has awarded Bridgestone $35M to grow its investment in desert shrub guayule to advance a climate-smart domestic rubber industry and offer a water-smart solution amid the ongoing drought in the Southwestern US.
COP27 Yields More Impressive Forest-Conservation Commitments; But Will Our Efforts Go Up in Smoke?
Cross-Posted from Walking the Talk. From COP27, we see more and more business initiatives focused on not only reaching sustainability, but averting a climate crisis and achieving nature positivity — but have climate-fueled forest fires already nullified our chances at an effective carbon market?
We Must Invest in the Missing Middle to Boost Smallholder Farmers’ Climate Resilience
By supporting smallholders to access agricultural innovation on their farms and in their communities, it will enable them to both thrive in a changing climate and contribute to tackling its causes.
Are We Seeing Glimmers of a Healthier, Even Regenerative, Economic System?
Last week at SB’22 San Diego, over 1K sustainability practitioners have converged to share insights, tools, inspiration and opportunities for collaboration with the goal of building a regenerative future for all. Here, we hear highlights from our day four keynotes, which featured glimpses into the next frontier in finance and capitalism.
Fair Targets for ESG Performance: An Introduction
To transform ESG reporting from a feel-good marketing exercise into a forward-looking financial assessment of a corporation’s environmental, social and business risk and an ESG-risk-aware capital-budgeting strategy, ESG targets need to reflect non-market stakeholder needs at a local, regional and global level. We call these kinds of multi-tiered, multi-stakeholder targets ‘fair.’
Quantifying the Benefits of Women’s Empowerment: The Missing Metric for Game-Changing Climate Action
Cross-Posted from New Metrics. The W+ Standard is the first globally recognized framework that measures and monetizes women’s empowerment. Empower Co. is engaging with companies keen to cement their women’s-empowerment programs with robust data — and shift the mindset around climate action from mitigation to net positivity.
Moonshot Disability Accelerator Fund on Mission to Close the Disability Wealth Gap
It will begin by funding 10 global accelerators working with early-stage entrepreneurs innovating at the intersection of disability and technology.
Seventh Generation Launches Comprehensive Framework for Calculating Corporate Climate Impacts
Cross-Posted from New Metrics. “We seek to push the practice of corporate environmental reporting dramatically forward and advance a far more complete vision of authentic climate leadership free of finger-pointing. We consider this report a summons to arms and a call to action both swift and sweeping.” — Chief Impact Officer Ashley Orgain
First-of-Their-Kind Frameworks Raise Bar on Sustainability Transparency of Meat, Alternative Proteins
Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. 2 new reporting frameworks from FAIRR and Good Food Institute enable alternative meat, seafood, eggs and dairy companies to more accurately assess their climate, biodiversity, nutrition and other ESG impacts.
Personal Impact Measurement Tool Helps Users Improve Their Shopping 'Karma,' Drive Individual Climate Action
Cross-Posted from Behavior Change. Karma Wallet is banking on a recipe of behavior change, fintech and systems change to create a critical mass of consumers able to turn intent into action and pressure brands to make the broader changes the world needs.
Diageo Innovation Fund to Help Smallholder Farms in Africa Withstand Climate Change
Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. Diageo has committed to cultivating solutions to enable the farmers in its African supply chain — who are particularly vulnerable to the effects of increasing droughts and floods — to maintain steady farming cycles and income in a climate-changing world.
