NGOs

Does sustainability contribute to beating estimates?

Investors continue to debate whether environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors can be used to identify companies that outperform the average. In this paper, we analyse the relationship between corporate sustainability practices and earnings surprise to investigate whether companies pursuing more environmentally friendly business models are more likely to report earnings that exceed market expectations. If it can be shown that sustainability contributes to beating estimates, it would provide an important link between corporate environmental impact and stock price performance and therefore justify the use of sustainability as a component in the investment process.

To what extent do large companies create and destroy value for society?

Long Term Value (Schramade & Schoenmaker) answer this question with the AEX Futureproof Index, an integrated value analysis of 23 AEX-listed companies that accounts for not only financial performance but also social and ecological impact.

Details on the AEX Futureproof Index project and team

A review of the 86 Second-Party Opinions (SPOs) from 2024 shows the majority of GSS frameworks receive a score of ‘Excellent’, while sustainability-linked frameworks receive an overall framework score of ‘Good’, Sustainable Fitch says in a new report.

Green frameworks accounted for nearly 40%, but the strong showing of Sustainability frameworks (37%), used to finance a mix of environmental and social projects through their use of proceeds (UoPs), in the SPO pipeline from the previous year reflects a broader trend in the labelled bond market, where sustainability frameworks have gained share.

UoP accounts for 40% of the assessment, with green UoPs often scoring higher due to quantifiable environmental benefits. Frameworks had an average of four UoPs and we found that public entities frequently issue sustainability bonds with extensive UoP lists, often reflecting a wider range of areas than they are involved in. Frameworks rated ‘Excellent’ typically have fewer UoPs, averaging three compared with six for 'Good' ratings.

Evaluation and selection processes of UoPs are strongest across frameworks, but management of proceeds could be more robust. Private-sector frameworks excel in reporting and transparency, while public-sector frameworks tend to align with local standards.

All sustainability-linked frameworks receive an overall framework score of ‘Good’. While KPI selection tends to be ambitious, the more quantifiable performance targets are not equally robust in most cases.

Full report here

Stainless steel manufacturer, Outokumpu positions itself as the global leader in sustainable stainless steel.

The company’s sustainable competitive advantage derives from 75% lower carbon footprint that supports Outokumpu’s customers to significantly reduce their supply chain emissions. The unique geographical location with low-carbon energy in Nordics, ownership of the only chromium mine within European Union and strategic commitment to circular economy positions the company as the leader in sustainability within its industry.

Agenda

• Introduction to Outokumpu – Linda Häkkilä, Head of Investor Relations
• Outokumpu’s Sustainable Development Strategy – Heidi Peltonen, Vice President, Sustainability
• Q&A

Details

• Format: Webinar
• Date: Thursday 20 March 2025
• Time: 12.00 – 13.00 (London) | 14:00 – 15: 00 (Helsinki) | 07:00 – 08:00 (New York)
• Location: Virtual meeting via Zoom

RSVP

Using the form below or direct to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

{flexicontactplus attend_event} 

About Outokumpu

www.outokumpu.com

Outokumpu produces a range of stainless steel products, including hot and cold rolled, precision strip, tubular and stainless long products together with a range of stainless fittings, flanges and welding consumables. The company’s products are used in automotive, heavy transport, white goods, building and construction and in process industries.

"Over the past weeks, we’ve witnessed an unprecedented wave of resistance against ESG and Sustainability principles, particularly in the U.S. While ESG was once seen as a necessary framework for long-term financial resilience, a growing number of stakeholders now argue that financial materiality alone matters—not ESG.

According to a 2023 Harvard Business Review study, nearly 60% of U.S. institutional investors expressed concerns that ESG policies could limit short-term profitability. Additionally, over 20 Republican-led states have passed laws restricting ESG-based investment strategies, claiming they prioritize political agendas over financial returns...."

Recent months have witnessed the withdrawal of several prominent asset managers, banks, and pension funds from key net zero and climate action alliances, including the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and Net Zero Banking Alliance. This exodus comes at a critical juncture, as many institutions approach their first interim targets, typically set for 2025-2030. The timing raises questions about whether these withdrawals reflect growing concerns over potential litigation risks associated with unmet climate pledges. Despite the turbulence, financial institutions' climate commitments remain substantial, with over £1 trillion in assets committed to Paris-aligned decarbonisation targets.

The Challenge of Meeting Interim Climate Targets

Many firms are struggling to meet interim targets due to operational constraints, misaligned global policies, and market volatility. According to recent MSCI insights, current trajectories suggest that achieving Paris-aligned budgets may be unattainable for a significant number of institutions.

In this context, an important question emerges: can these voluntary pledges be considered legally binding in any meaningful way? Courts could determine that these pledges, ratified by shareholders and embedded in corporate disclosures, trigger certain obligations and duties.

Evolving Risk Landscape of climate-related litigation risk

Litigation risks arise as firms are increasingly held accountable for unmet climate commitments, misleading disclosures, or insufficient climate strategies. These risks extend beyond judicial proceedings to include investigations by regulatory bodies with powers to issue fines and order corrective actions.

In the UK, recent regulatory developments have elevated litigation risk through the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) framework, the Green Finance Strategy, Mandatory taskforce climate-related financial disclosures reporting for large companies and financial institutions or similar elevated expectations in other jurisdictions, such as the CSDDD in the EU. In response to the growing litigation risk, recent industry-wide initiatives have increased awareness ranging from insurance industry body, the Geneva Association’s climate-related typology to Bank of England stress tests or the FCA’s climate financial risk forum guide and the Network For Greening The Financial System’s study confirming the “emerging trend” in legal actions, a trend that has resulted to more than four times the number of lawsuits in 2023 than in 2013.  However, it remains largely unclear how these potential legal grounds that could drive climate related litigation will in practice impact financial institutions with climate commitments.

Climate litigation risk is complex and multifaceted – it can be triggered by, and is primarily focused on, any action related to climate commitments made, rather than membership in alliances. 

What are the grounds for litigation on climate-related topics?

There are various laws that could expose financial companies to litigation risk related to climate disclosures and financial products. Claims can focus on inadequate or misleading disclosures, prospectus liability, fiduciary duties, misleading financial product descriptions and marketing, and misalignment with advertising standards.

Under the UK Companies Act 2006 directors must balance climate impacts with other business interests and implement corporate climate goals. Failure to do so exposes them to shareholder derivative actions. Similarly, pension fund-related claims may target investment managers for failing to factor in climate risks. In 2023 ClientEarth brought an action against Shell’s directors, and in 2021 pension fund director's fiduciary duties were challenged in McGaughey & Davies v. Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited. Both of these cases were dismissed primarily on procedural grounds.

The Companies Act 2006 and FCA rules mandate climate-related financial disclosures based on TCFD recommendations for companies subject to UK Climate disclosure obligations. Misleading climate risk disclosures in fundraising documents can result in civil or criminal claims under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Similar cases have occurred globally: an Australian court gave plaintiffs access to a bank’s internal environmental compliance data,, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission charged Goldman Sachs Asset Management for failing to follow its ESG policies.

Misleading product descriptions and marketing (particularly when using terms like “Paris aligned” or “net zero”) can lead to regulatory enforcement or class actions under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and private claims under the FSMA alongside FCA ESG Rules. Companies may also face claims under the CAP Code. In 2022 the ASA forced HSBC to retract a misleading advertising campaign, and in 2024 a Lloyds Banking Group advertising campaign was banned for false and misleading climate claims.

Even companies that avoid making climate commitments may face an increased risk of litigation. Failure to act on climate change can be seen as negligence or non-compliance with emerging legal obligations. The recent court decision in Milieudefensie et al. v Royal Dutch Shell(the Netherlands) made clear that companies have a duty to reduce their carbon emissions and develop effective responses.

Conclusions

The financial sector stands at a crossroads where the intersection of voluntary climate commitments and legal accountability creates new challenges. As litigation risks evolve and regulatory frameworks mature, institutions must include climate litigation risks as well as their related direct and indirect financial impacts in their overall risk assessments, leveraging climate litigation stress testing scenarios where necessary.  Given the plethora of legal grounds exposing financial institutions to climate litigation risks, companies can no longer ignore those from their risk registers nor expect such risk to diminish simply by renouncing climate commitments or alliances.

On a global level, and in guidance for financial sector regulators, climate change actions are often presented as a sliding scale between climate mitigation – efforts to reduce emissions – and climate adaptation – efforts to make countries more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

The dichotomy arises within the financial sector through a similar sliding scale between different scenarios. Climate change impacts are presented as a choice between a slower transition resulting in higher physical risks such as floods, wildfires, droughts and sea level rise, and a faster transition resulting in greater economic dislocation associated with the climate transition.

Many OIC countries face a different outlook, however, where higher transition and physical risks coexist, especially at the sub-national level. A new paper terms this outcome a ‘climate change risk trap’, and evaluates it by considering the impacts of climate change physical and transition risks on Kuwait following the release of the country’s first flash flood hazard map.

The paper is focused on fossil fuel-exporting countries, which will be the most significantly impacted by the climate transition. But a similar challenge will face many OIC countries. Key characteristics for countries impacted by the climate change risk trap are those with higher physical risk vulnerability and economies that have experienced a delay in starting the climate transition.

These characteristics combine because many countries – particularly those that are more dependent on high emissions sectors – will find their physical and transition risk exposure to be determined globally, while the impact of both will be felt locally. The trap is created because the skills needed for the low-carbon economy are likely to differ from the skills present across the economy.

Retraining and reskilling – the essential pieces of a Just Transition – will help to reduce the impact. But for many countries, there will be a flow of workers within countries and also foreign workers bringing skills in short-supply towards locations where there are opportunities for the low-carbon economy. The movement of people following opportunities in the low-carbon economy, where it grows in places that face significant physical climate risks, will help overcome some of the transition risks, but often at the cost of exposing more people to climate-related hazards.

There is no simple solution to the climate change risk trap, especially with insufficient climate finance flows from high historical emitters to those most impacted by the consequences of those emissions. For governments, their second-best solution will be to pursue diversification away from transition-exposed sectors while pressing forward on faster climate action globally and increased climate finance flows, especially in support of Just Transition efforts and funds for adaptation through the Loss & Damage Fund.

For financial institutions in markets at risk of the climate change risk trap, there may be higher liquidity risks for institutions with significant cross-border funding sources. With the global financial regulatory bodies creating assessments of climate-related vulnerabilities that could affect financial stability, there is heightened risk of a ‘climate derisking’.

Financial institutions’ ability to withstand any future risks will be impacted by the speed at which they contribute to a Just Transition locally, improve their process for measuring, and take efforts to measure physical and transition risk. Financial stability risks related to over-dependence on external funding – particularly in foreign currencies – are not new, but like other climate-related financial risks, the risks may be novel but will impact financial institutions through familiar transmission channels.

Want to stay updated about the implementation of responsible finance in OIC markets & Islamic finance? Subscribe to RFI’s free email newsletter today!

"We provide regular strategy updates including portfolio changes and proxy voting, and links to our investment rationales, latest articles, statements, webcasts and videos which explore our thinking on sustainable investment, including the challenges and issues we grapple with in our search for high-quality companies."

Multi-class share structures are common across public markets, giving some of a company’s shareholders superior voting rights.

Shareholders with these rights are able exert influence that can outweigh their economic interest.

Yet one share, one vote is a basic principle of shareholder democracy. It protects minority shareholder voices in markets with dispersed ownership. 

"With momentum building around biodiversity investing, we took a closer look at the current state of the biodiversity data solutions landscape to support investors in their data solution selections.

More specifically, we looked at the materiality of biodiversity investing, analysed the various third-party data solutions available, and classified the different approaches (based on investment capability, the availability of data tools and portfolio goals).

We discuss how biodiversity solutions can be selected, and look at the improvements we would like to see in existing and future solutions."

Fuelled by elevated levels in the US and record levels in APAC, global shareholder activist campaign numbers were at a six-year high in 2024.

Our Investment Banking Shareholder Advisory team’s 2024 Review of Shareholder Activism notes a record number of activists, shifting demands and an unprecedented number of CEO resignations following activist campaigns.

Includes portfolio highlights

Key Takeaways
- In a period of momentum-driven returns and bullish investor sentiment sparked by the re-election of Donald Trump, the more defensively positioned Strategy underperformed.
- We took advantage of price dislocations in several leading growth franchises to enhance our health care and consumer discretionary exposure while also reducing underweights to several strong-performing mega cap holdings.
- The importance of scale represents a key tenet of ClearBridge’s approach to ESG integration, as companies can make a positive impact simply because of their global reach, their deep supply chains and the depth of their involvement in the communities in which they operate.

“As the U.S. welcomes a new administration and Congress, the world is shifting to clean, innovative, and affordable sources of energy. Ceres is committed to working with policymakers on both sides of the aisle to show why major investors and businesses continue to prioritize American clean energy action – and why failing to capitalize on the current clean energy boom would hurt the U.S. economy."  

“The U.S. has emerged in recent years as a global hub for clean energy, guided by a strong policy environment to support private investment. This has brought considerable benefits to the nation’s manufacturing base, domestic supply chains, and energy security, reinvigorating the economy as we face rising energy demand and competition from geopolitical rivals. However, several policies proposed by President Trump will slow this momentum and complicate the U.S.’s path to fully realizing this enormous economic opportunity."

Steel is the backbone of modern economies, used in everything from infrastructure to vehicles.

However, it is also one of the most carbon-intensive industries. Innovative solutions exist, but challenges range from reliance on metallurgical coal to regional policy gaps.

ISS Governance: Top ESG Themes in 2025

In 2025, the ESG investment landscape is being influenced by factors such as climate change, technology, and evolving regulations, among others.

The intersection of environmental concerns, natural capital, and the need for more understanding about the impact of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) will continue to challenge investors to look at a growing range of ESG risks and opportunities.

Key global trends discussed include:

• Tackling Plastic Pollution
• A Deeper Understanding of Natural Systems
• The Energy Challenges of AI Expansion
• Human Rights in the Spotlight
• Time for More ESG Accountability

"Sustainable investment is becoming a more conventional investment strategy, as the market moves past barriers such as data provision and evolving regulations. But this mainstreaming brings new challenges: sustainable investment products and approaches are now becoming subject to more conventional types of investor scrutiny, around strategies, methodologies and risk and return.

These are some of the findings we have gleaned from FTSE Russell’s 2024 sustainable investment asset owner survey, our eighth annual examination of global asset owners’ sentiment towards and approaches to sustainable investment. We surveyed more than 300 investors around the world, diversified by location and size, to better understand how they are thinking and acting when it comes to sustainable investment."  

Since December, there has been an exodus of North American banks and asset managers from net-zero alliances. In response, the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM) announced a temporary suspension, while undertaking a review to ensure that the initiative “remains fit for purpose in the new global context”. Investors are now asking themselves what else is coming and where things are going. Our view is that the financial industry is still committed to net zero, but with increased policy uncertainty in the short term.

Summary

• US Congress letter caused Net Zero AM Initiative to suspend its work
• Investors can develop solutions but governments must pave the road
• Most learning curves result in disillusionment before enlightenment

The advent of clean steel means greater scrutiny of iron, steel’s key building block. Standalone iron production (in the form of Hot Briquetted Iron which is already globally traded) is projected to increase amidst rising potential for green iron exports, as well as growing appetite from electric arc furnaces (mini-mills) and end-use customers further downstream who are looking to directly support high-impact interventions in the steel supply chain.

For a cleaner iron market to scale, a high-ambition iron-level emissions threshold will be critical in guiding investment, trade, and purchasing toward deeply decarbonized ironmaking solutions.

...

Investment in reviving or “relining” the seven aging blast furnaces in the Great Lakes region is a multi-billion dollar bet that risks continuing job decline at these assets, weakens the ability of the US steel industry to compete in the global market, and perpetuates serious health and climate emissions harm from coal-based steel production.

Although the seven remaining coal-based blast furnaces represent only about a quarter of US steel production, these plants generate approximately 75 percent of the industry’s emissions. Continuing business-as-usual operations at these sites for the next few decades risks blowing past the domestic steel industry’s carbon budget by nearly two-fold (RMI analysis based on ORNL and MPP data).

...

Restoring trust and creating value by being truly inclusive.

American Century: Comeback Kid: The Fall and Rise of Abercrombie & Fitch

Roughly 10 years ago, walking into an Abercrombie & Fitch (ticker: ANF) store was an all-out sensory experience. You were hit with the scent of the brand’s signature fragrance, “Fierce,” and greeted by shirtless male models/sales associates. The lighting was dark and edgy, and the music was thumping.

Abercrombie described it as a “charged atmosphere that is confident and just a bit provocative.”1 While iconic at the time, this in-store experience, synonymous with the Abercrombie & Fitch brand, reflected the roots of its downfall.

... read more including on ...

• Abercrombie’s Exclusionary Branding: Signs of Trouble
• Abercrombie’s Decline: ‘Toxic’ CEO’s Role in Falling Stock and Declining Sales
• Abercrombie & Fitch’s Rebranding and Comeback
• Abercrombie’s Commitment to Ethical and Sustainable Sourcing
• Abercrombie’s Improved Human Capital Management
• From Exclusion to Inclusion: Abercrombie’s Extended Size Range
• Abercrombie’s Commitment to Sustainable, Value-Creating Changes
• ANF’s Sustainable Future: Results and Potential Prospects

Franklin Templeton: 2025 ESG outlook: Sustainability as a business driver

ClearBridge Investments: How companies manage their environmental and social impacts and governance will remain a fundamental concern for investors, companies and governments around the world in 2025.

"For over two centuries, Pictet has embraced a long-term perspective, guiding our pioneering work on megatrends. These powerful social, economic, environmental, and technological forces shape our world beyond normal economic cycles. Our history is marked by helping investors navigate global complexities.

By understanding structural trends in both public and private markets, we tailor our investment capabilities to meet diverse needs.

Megatrending 2025 delves into key themes across three major sections...

Medtech innovation: dissecting inefficiencies in healthcare delivery

Technological advances including new procedural methods and robotics are improving surgery and enabling healthcare systems to treat more patients

Ageing populations, persistent cost inflation and practitioner shortages are combining to place healthcare systems under rising strain across developed markets. Transformational innovations in medical technology (medtech) are helping to address these challenges by improving patient safety, enabling quicker recoveries from surgery and delivering efficiencies for healthcare providers.

... read more on four aspects of innovation and patient impact ...

Denying climate causality won’t alter the rapidly changing investment landscape

The onward march of clean technologies will continue, despite polarisation on climate issues, creating opportunities for rational investors who can see through the fog of political rhetoric.

For those who deal in the universal currency of facts, the extreme polarisation of views on climate issues makes no sense. The political narrative that climate change is a “hoax” willfully ignores economic reality.

Against a backdrop of rapidly expanding demand for energy, the competitiveness of key clean technologies, including renewables, is relentlessly improving. Meanwhile, the financial risks arising from climate-related disasters are too great to ignore: global losses from natural catastrophes totalled US$320bn in 2024.

...

21 Moorfields, London

Agenda here

Do company emissions impact shareholder returns?

Some studies have found that high-emission companies are associated with higher returns to shareholders. They claim this is due to a ‘Carbon Premium’; outsized returns required by investors for bearing transition risk.

However, the overall balance of evidence is very mixed. Some studies find a negative connection, and some find no connection at all. In our view, it’s unlikely a systemic Carbon Premium exists.

These differences are largely due to choices around emissions data, metrics, and general methodology. The multitude of factors that influence shareholder expectations and returns, coupled with poor data, means that trying to robustly detect a carbon premium is likely to be functionally impossible.

First Sentier MUFG Sustainable Investment Institute: Integrating nature & biodiversity into investment - an asset owner perspective

The First Sentier MUFG Sustainable Investment Institute commissioned the ‘Integrating nature & biodiversity into investment – an asset owner perspective’ report as asset owners are at a critical point in their nature and biodiversity journeys. As more funds engage with the TNFD framework, clarity is being sought on key motivations, challenges and gaps as the need for the theme to be integrated more deeply into portfolios progressively strengthens. 

This report, produced by Pensions for Purpose, focuses on asset owners’ approaches to integrating nature and biodiversity into their sustainability priorities, governance frameworks, resource capacity, reporting, and asset manager expectations, as well as data-related challenges. Key themes covered in the report include:

• Nature & biodiversity within sustainability priorities
• Perceptions of dependencies, impact, risks and opportunities
• Reporting plans and data, together with the role of the TNFD
• Best practice steps

Millani's tenth Semi-Annual ESG Sentiment Study of Canadian Institutional Investors highlights a pragmatic shift in how Canadian investors approach ESG.

While external pressures—including U.S. political shifts, regulatory uncertainty, and anti-ESG rhetoric—continue to shape the landscape, 93% of investors continue to anticipate market volatility in the near future and remain committed to ESG integration. 

Rather than retreating, they are refining their strategies, prioritizing risk management, direct engagement, and measurable business impacts over broad ESG narratives.

S&P Global: Unlocking Transition Opportunities (Summit | April 2025)

"You’re invited to join S&P Global Sustainable1 for the 4^th annual Sustainable1 Summit in London on Wednesday, 30 April 2025 at The Peninsula London from 10:00am to 6:30pm. 

Throughout the day, thought leaders from across the global value chain will focus on managing risk, uncovering opportunities, and reporting with confidence. You can view the full agenda here."

S&P Global: Beyond ESG with Understanding the S&P 500 ESG Index Ecosystem (Live Webinar)

Wednesday, February 19, 2025 | 10amET/3pmGMT
 

As investor priorities for sustainability evolve globally, S&P Dow Jones Indices has developed a broad lineup of indices measuring the world’s largest equity market through a sustainability lens.

What actually is sustainable investment (or ESG) research?

You think you know.  We thought we knew.  But do we actually? Can we define sustainable investment (or ESG) research in better terms than "if it looks like a duck..."? Does it matter? (Spoiler: Yes, it probably does matter, a lot).

What research is not

• Research is not the same as 'DATA'.
• Research is not the same as '(ESG) RATINGS'.
• Research is not the same as 'ANALYTICS'.

While these three are all important information-related products and services within the sustainable investment landscape and all have parallels in 'mainstream' investment practice, they differ from research in one critical respect: they do not explicitly ask or answer investment questions.

They are not, therefore, directly comparable to 'mainstream' investment research (typically written by sell-side analysts that recommends whether to BUY this stock or to SELL that stock.  Nor (to bring back the sustainability / corporate governance dimension) do data, ratings or analytics present reasoned arguments as to why investors should vote FOR or AGAINST resolutions put to company AGMs.

My questions (RSVP via this discussion group: Research practices & value chain or to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.):

• Which firms write the best investment RESEARCH on climate transition?
• Who are the influential (individual) analysts at these firms?

(... particularly if you have ideas on the Basic Materials, Electric Utilities or Oil & Gas sectors)

Do we actually need a precise definition for sustainable investment research?

In one respect, NO.  It doesn't really matter.

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck…

We … sort of … know what sustainable investment looks like … because we know what 'mainstream' investment research looks like and we can extrapolate … and because we have seen some of what is produced. 

In another respect, YES.  The existence and flow of research matters fundamentally to the health of sustainable investment because it informs and develops a debate about which aspects of sustainability matter how much to which investors and why.  It guides decisions over what DATA to seek, how to weight RATINGS and how to apply ANALYTICS meaningfully.

If we develop any of these other information services without robust research underpinning, we run the risks of:

• Seeking DATA that investors can't actually use
• Weighting RATINGS in a way that doesn't reflect the context or models of the companies being rated
• Evaluating portfolios with tools that ANALYTICS tools that mislead around the significance of exposure

Worst of all would be if we allowed ourselves to believe these derivative information services were actually RESEARCH themselves and that somehow we could reverse-engineer answers to unspecified questions by simply throwing enough data at the wall and seeing what sticks. 

… but it might be a goose or a chicken … or a duck-billed platypus

So, because - at SRI-Connect - we are currently engaged in a process of articulating - for a number of corporate clients - who the opinion-formers (fundamental RESEARCH analysts) are on the topic of climate transition (and specifically on shareholder resolutions on the topic), we have taken it upon ourselves to articulate what we think sustainable investment research is … and how we think it differs from other sustainable investment information services. 

The characteristics of sustainable investment research

(Differentiating characteristics, IMHO, in bold italics)

At SRI-Connect, we define sustainable investment 'RESEARCH' as forward-looking analysis that uses human judgement or evaluation to combine contextual information with data with the aim of answering a specific, articulated, idiosyncratic question about the suitability of investment in a defined asset (or group of assets) or the desirability of taking other investment-related action.

How it differs

As such, RESEARCH differs from three other information-related services to investors (which are often loosely - but somewhat unhelpfully grouped under the heading 'research'):

• 'DATA' services - which involve the presentation of qualitative or quantitative information without analysis or judgement
• 'RATINGS' - which involve the scoring or comparing companies against their peers with regard to (typically) notional standard of sustainability performance or 'risk'
• 'ANALYTICS' - which involve the application of data to portfolios to measure their exposure to sustainability issues that the companies they are invested in are exposed to

Our next steps

• 1] To hear what you, dear SRI-Connect community, think and to adjust our definition based on your feedback
• 2] To make visible the (currently largely invisible) investment influencers on climate change for the benefit of: [a] the quality of the wider investment debate on the issue and [b] a proxy season that is characterised (in respect of climate change) by enlightened conversations between intelligent individuals rather than by heated debate in the media.
• 3] To track this journey of discovery through iiiCC blogposts on Invisible Investment Influencers on Climate Change.

Current climate policies risk catastrophic societal and economic impacts

The global economy could face a 50% loss in GDP between 2070 and 2090, unless immediate policy action on risks posed by the climate crisis is taken. Populations are already impacted by food system shocks, water insecurity, heat stress and infectious diseases. If unchecked, mass mortality, mass displacement, severe economic contraction and conflict become more likely.

‘Planetary Solvency – finding our balance with nature’ is the IFoA’s fourth report in collaboration with climate scientists. The report develops a framework for global risk management to address these risks and show how this approach can support future prosperity. It also shows how a lack of realistic risk messaging to guide policy decisions has led to slower action than is needed.

The report proposes a novel Planetary Solvency risk dashboard, to provide decision-useful risk information to support policymakers to drive human activity within the finite bounds of the planet that we live on.

Link to summary page

A new economic analysis by Creative Investment Research reveals that the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) cancellation of 104 diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) contracts will result in staggering economic losses ranging from $1.6 trillion to $2.6 trillion annually, far exceeding the reported $1 billion in "savings."

While DOGE, under the leadership of Elon Musk, claims to have reduced government spending, our analysis demonstrates that these cuts will increase social and economic costs through rising employment discrimination, housing inequities, business exclusion, healthcare disparities, and criminal justice failures.

Hardman & Co: Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds in 2024 ‒ A year of trials and tribulations

Only Cordiant and Pantheon buck the trend

For the remaining 29 quoted Infrastructure Investment Companies (IICs) and the Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds (REIFs), 2024 was a dire year ‒ as was 2023. NAV discounts widened appreciably, while some REIFs, in particular, really struggled.

...

Clearly, sector investors will be hoping that 2025 brings some good news ‒ on the back of the high yields currently prevailing ‒ and enables the wide NAV discounts to be narrowed.

Note - report published September 2024. Purina is part of Swiss-based Nestlé S.A (pet care division) and publishes a separate CSR report.

Amundi: ESG Thema #19 - Measuring Scope 3 Emissions: implications & challenges for investors

Key takeaways

• Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions include all indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain, both upstream and downstream. These emissions are crucial for understanding a company's full climate impact.
• Upstream emissions can include those from the production of raw materials, transportation, and business travel. Downstream emissions can include those from the use of sold products and their end-of-life treatment.
• Scope 3 emissions often represent the bulk of a company's total green GHG emissions and are thus essential for understanding the full climate-related risks and opportunities associated with an investment.
• The GHG Protocol’s Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard classifies Scope 3 emissions into 15 distinct categories, covering both upstream and downstream emissions. These categories are designed to be mutually exclusive to prevent double-counting of emissions....

Over time, the forces behind the energy transition have become deeper and the motivations more diverse.

A longstanding catalyst of the energy transition has been the adverse impact of burning fossil fuels on the climate. Globally, there has been a consensus that the world needed to shift away from a scarce, expensive, inefficient, and volatile commodity-based fossil fuel system to a cheaper, cleaner, and leaner technology that is readily available and exposed to falling costs.

The shift from hydrocarbons to electrons has resulted in greater electrification and digitalization within the power space. The commercialization of electric vehicle (EV) technology is directly linked to these initiatives as transportation is a huge contributor to emissions. Electrifying transport is, and will continue to be, beneficial from an emissions reduction perspective.

But recently, new energy transition catalysts have emerged, such as national security (particularly as importing fuel through pipelines that could potentially be compromised has emerged as a threat) and the deglobalization of supply chains. As reshoring and nearshoring accelerate, there is a need for countries in both emerging and developed markets to dramatically increase investment in their capacity to generate, transmit, and distribute power, which is also providing momentum to the energy transition...

JobPosts: 3 @ PRI (1 x Brazil, 2 x London)

Associate, Signatory Operations (Bilingual) - Brazil - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Senior Press Officer, Communications - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

People Administrator, People & Culture Team - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

People Partner (Projects & Initiatives) - People & Culture Team - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

UKSIF – Membership Manager

UKSIF – Media Relations Manager

UKSIF – Committee Members

Senior Analyst, Policy (18 Month Fixed Term Contract) - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Specialist, Sustainability Initiatives (18 Month Fixed Term Contract) - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Senior Policy Analyst, Japan - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Associate, Responsible Investment Engagement & Innovation (12 Month Fixed Term Contract) - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

JobPost: TrustPilot - Group ESG Strategy & Reporting Manager (London | close unknown)

JobPost: Zurich Insurance - Climate Change & Sustainability Risk Consultant (remote | close 19 Feb)

Stewardship Intern (4 Month Contract) - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Policy Specialist LATAM (Mexico) - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

JobPost: Chanel - ESG Due Diligence & Governance Manager (Paris | Close Unknown)

JobPost: Lloyds Banking Group - Head of Reporting & Controls - ESG (London | Close 7 Feb)

JobPost: Blackstone Credit & Insurance (“BXCI”) – Sustainability Analytics and Reporting, Vice President (NYC)

JobPost: GE Aerospace - Sustainability & ESG Ratings Lead (Various locations)

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) & Climate Strategist
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Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Manager

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nb Climate Asset Management is an independent investment firm co-owned by HSBC Asset Management (HSBC AM) and Pollination.

Head of Middle East & Northern Africa, Responsible Investment Ecosystems Close 25 Jan

Head, Sustainability Initiatives Close 5 Jan