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.
Investors Can Now Compare ESG Scores on New ESGHub™ App
Responsible investing has been an overriding theme of the past two weeks, with a proliferation of new initiatives, campaigns and reports joining a growing list of recently released resources for sustainable and impact investors to increase the quality of their investments emerging during last week’s Global Climate Action Summit and this week at Climate Week.
Q&A: EcoAct on How the Dow 30 Measure Up on Climate Action
Since its founding in 2006, EcoAct Group has grown from raising awareness at the local level in France into a global collection of experts engaging with the private and public sectors to aid in the transition to a low-carbon economy. In addition to advising companies on climate change and carbon neutrality strategies, EcoAct also conducts research to assess publicly listed companies’ efforts in these areas.
Lenders Focus on SMEs Playing a Giant Global Role
As the world’s focus turns to the opening of the United Nations’ 73rd session of the General Assembly, attention will turn to the state of progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), an overarching set of aims intended to improve environmental, economic and social conditions by 2030.
California Mandates 2 Largest Pension Funds Factor Climate Risk into Investments
Big news from California: The state legislature has just passed a bill, SB 964, that requires two massive pension funds run by the state, the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), to factor in climate-related financial risk and report progress both on that, and towards meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.
GIIN to Impact Investors: SDGs in Dire Need of Capital Infusion
A new GIIN report reiterates the need for impact investors to raise and direct new capital to help meet the UN SDGs by 2030.
How to Be a Company Society Requires for the Next 100 Years
This post has been translated from Japanese — read the original interview here.
Financial Services Behind Global Average on Climate Change Disclosure
Financial Services firms are lagging behind all other industries when it comes to climate change disclosure, according to a new data brief released by Datamaran — a global leader in Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions for non-financial risk management.
Amalgamated Bank Commits $700M to Finance Socially Responsible Businesses
Amalgamated Bank — the US’ largest socially responsible bank, which recently acquired New Resource Bank — has committed to double the amount of assets New Resource has dedicated to financing socially responsible businesses over the next two years, moving from its current commitment of $350 million to at least $700 million by 2020.
Global Investors Urge RSPO for Stronger Standards
More than 90 institutional investors, representing more than $6.7T in assets, have voiced their concerns over the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s relevance and effectiveness, and the current disconnect between its criteria and corporate policy commitments.
From Alternative to Mainstream: An Honest Look at Doing Good Business
For many, the sustainable choice is the alternative choice: alternative lightbulbs, alternative cars, alternative shopping bags, alternative business models. But there’s no longer a need for the sustainability community to present itself this way — especially in relation to business. Every day, businesses face new and emerging risks related to environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related issues. In a world more connected than ever, these risks can be felt more directly and more immediately than they used to be.
“The Corporate Reporting Dialogue Is Looking for Alignment, Not for One Common Framework”
Sustainable Brands recently talked to Wim Bartels, Program Lead at the Corporate Reporting Dialogue (CRD) about key issues and initiatives around the further development of corporate reporting.
Move Over, Sustainability Accounting: Here Comes Purpose Accounting
Everyone’s heard of financial performance, asset performance and sustainability performance. Now comes purpose performance, a new measure of organizational performance.
New Methodologies Help Banking Industry Assess Risks, Opportunities of Climate Change
On Wednesday, 16 banks, the UN Environment Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and climate risk advisory firm Acclimatise published new methodologies that will help banks understand how the physical risks and opportunities of a changing climate might affect their loan portfolios. The methodologies are designed to enable banks to be more transparent about their exposure to climate-related risks and opportunities, in line with the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board's (FSB) Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
Circulate Capital Launches to Invest in Solutions to Ocean Plastic Crisis
Circulate Capital, a new impact-focused investment management company, launched today in partnership with Closed Loop Partners, a firm that invests in companies, technology and recycling infrastructure to advance the circular economy; and Ocean Conservancy, a leading nonprofit environmental advocacy organization working to protect the world’s oceans.
New S&P Dow Jones Index Series First to Incorporate Future Carbon Price Risks
S&P Dow Jones Indices, the world’s leading index provider, today announced the launch of the S&P Carbon Price Risk Adjusted Index Series, which will measure the performance of companies in each respective underlying index with a weighting scheme based on estimated company market valuation at risk from predicted 2030 carbon prices.
400 Companies Poised to Advance SDGs, Generate Returns Make Up New Swell Investing Portfolio
Highlighting the importance of transparency in investing, impact investing platform Swell Investing has invited the public to vote on the final security in the Impact 400, a portfolio with the goal of offering investors 400 companies poised for impact and returns. Both Apple and Starbucks meet Swell's selective rules-based criteria, and the community will decide which will be included.
Trending: Goldman Sachs, CMS Energy, Danish Pension Funds Take on Sustainability-Linked Investments
Among the latest wins for ‘good finance,’ Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) launched an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tied to measurements of “just” business behavior; utility company CMS Energy has become the first U.S. company to enter a sustainability-linked loan; and six Danish pension funds partnered with the Danish State to establish a new DKK 4.1 billion Danish SDG Investment Fund.
PepsiCo Acquiring Bare Snacks to Add Fruit, Veggie Chips to Its Better-For-You Portfolio
Just days after sharing that it is partnering with a Chicago-based incubator to help scale food and beverage startups, PepsiCo has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bare Foods Co, as Bare Snacks, the U.S.-based fruit and vegetable snack company has grown from farmers’ markets in Washington to a nationall
Trending: BofA, Lloyds, CBL Foster Clean Investments with Bond, Lending, Emissions Credits
Projects that reduce emissions, generate clean energy or aid sustainable development could benefit from more financial support this year thanks to recent announcements from financial firms in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. From Bank of America (BofA) issuing its fourth and largest green bond to date, to Lloyds Banking Group’s new £2 billion scheme to offer discounted financing and a partnership that will see more emissions reduction credits listed on CBL Markets (CBL)’s global exchange, it’s been a good month for green investments.
Will We Soon See a More Sustainable Financial System?
It's now nearly 10 years since news broke of the Lehman Brothers collapse, which served as a precursor for this century's biggest-ever financial crisis. Underpinned by reckless borrowing and the untold dangers of the sub-prime mortgage sector, the Great Recession brought the world to its knees and altered the global economic landscape forever. While the global economy has largely enjoyed sustained (if slightly sluggish) growth since this time, the goal of creating a truly transparent financial market has yet to be fully realised. We've seen some progress in this respect, of course, but there is still much work to be done if we're to ensure that we fully heed the lessons of the Great Recession.