In the News

California's Leadership in Climate Change:

In California vs. the EPA, it's the state that's fighting to protect the environment
Los Angeles Times
California's leadership role on air pollution rules stems from its historic smog problems. (Los Angeles Times) ... mpg in real-world driving. Fortunately, California — and a dozen other states — insist we need to keep the tough standard, which is the biggest single step ever taken against climate change.

Maryland must stand with California on clean cars and clean air
Baltimore Sun
The agency's disinterest in public health, its intolerance of climate change science and its blind commitment to rolling back regulations promulgated under President Barack Obama is a pattern too well established to have believed reason and the public interest might prevail. But this time, Mr. Pruitt's ...
 
How a small start-up firm wants to revitalize climate change research
Washington Post
De Menocal, who founded Columbia's Center for Climate and Life, said the business community is increasingly taking note of the economic consequences of climate change and it is more urgent than ever for scientists and corporate leaders to work together. “The private sector and the investment ...

Sustainable Investing:

Sustainable investing: how do we identify themes?
Money Marketing
Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of investments and the income from them is not guaranteed and may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amount originally invested. The views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute investment advice ...

Sustainable investing: A way to align your values with your investments
Iron Mountain Daily News
Compared to traditional investing, sustainable investing takes a different philosophical approach to the marketplace. The concept of sustainability is rooted in the belief that in order to thrive, businesses must make responsible choices regarding the environment, society and their business operations.

SoftBank, Salesforce and Orange signal corporate venture capital's tilt towards impact investing
ImpactAlpha
ImpactAlpha, April 10 – Corporate venture capital investing hit all-time high last year. This year, it's tilting toward impact. Take last week's mega solar deals from the $93 billion SoftBank Vision Fund. The Saudi deal will create the world's largest solar firm inside the world's biggest oil exporter. The India ...

Global Reporting Initiative:

Sri Lanka Colombo Stock Exchange and the Global Reporting Initiative to deliver ESG guidance
Colombo Page
Apr 06, Colombo: Expanding its commitment to fostering effective ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) performance and communication among Sri Lankan listed companies, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Thursday formalized an arrangement with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to ...

How Investors Influence ESG Reporting
Forbes
... 8,000 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. CenterPoint recently released its 2017 Corporate Responsibility Report using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. The report can be found on its Investor Relations site.

GPIC issues Sustainability Report
Bahrain News Agency
... he is proud of Bahrainis' competence that contributed to the preparation of the report, which is of great importance to the Company. He said it contributes greatly to enhancing GPIC's ability to measure economic performance indicators, environment and social responsibility according to GRI guidelines.

Renewable Energy Investments:

Poor countries are investing a lot more than rich countries in renewable energy
Quartz
There are a few things to celebrate in a new report from the United Nations. In 2017, global investment in renewable energy grew 2% from last year to $280 billion. New renewable-power capacity added in 2017 (143 GW) far outstripped new fossil-fuel power capacity (70 GW). But those optimistic figures ...

China leads global solar energy investment as US, Europe lag
Sacramento Bee
More money was invested in new solar energy plants last year than in any other power source, with China responsible for much of the boom, according to a report published Thursday by the U.N. Environment Program. Globally, a record 98 gigawatts of new solar capacity were installed in 2017, with ...  
   
For every $1 the US put into adding renewable energy last year, China put in $3
Quartz
China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, is determined to rebalance its energy mix, and incorporate more clean energy. That determination is reflected in the money it put into renewable energy last year, dwarfing spending by the next biggest investor, the US. Last year nearly half of the ...

CDP Sustainability:

Cement Industry Lags on Emissions Reductions, CDP Report Finds
Environmental Leader
What should corporate sustainability leaders take away from this CDP research? Our research shows the sector as a whole needs to step up significantly, because while companies are making some progress, they are not doing nearly enough. External forces may drive change in the sector at any point, ...

Innovation and the drive to carbon neutrality in mining
Mining Global - Mining News, Magazine and Website
Further evidence of the necessity for optimised carbon efficiency is demonstrated in the Carbon Disclosure Project's (CDP) mining report, which highlights the preparedness of leading mining organisations to adapt to, and play a role in, a low-carbon environment. “As a sector with a significant carbon ...

Impact Investing:

Impact investing, artificial intelligence on Nuveen CEO's to-do list
Pensions & Investments
Vijay Advani, CEO at Chicago-based Nuveen LLC, aims to add impact investing, expand the use of artificial intelligence and increase the number of external insurance clients at the $970 billion money management firm in the next one to three years. "We have pretty solid capabilities in real estate, ...

Knocking down persistent myths about impact investing
ImpactAlpha
The impact investing conversation is pivoting from past to future. One moment we were celebrating the 10-year anniversary of “impact investing” (though investing with values predates the term) and record levels of impact assets under management. The next, we're paging through a new impact investing ...

Resource Conservation Investments:

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Socially Responsible Investing:

Socially Responsible Investing: Great For Your Soul But Not Your Wallet?
Seeking Alpha
Being an advisor in New Jersey, I have often run into clients and prospects interested in investing in line with their moral or religious beliefs. They are not alone, and sponsors had responded with both "socially responsible investing" or ("SRI") and religious themed funds. In recent years, we have also ...

Socially responsible investing is gaining in popularity. And it may help you make more money
CNBC
Socially responsible investing is gaining popularity, especially among millennials, says Michael Katchen, founder of WealthSimple. "They want to know, not only is my money making money long term but it also aligns with my values," he says. Katchen recommends sticking to a disciplined investment ...

4 Ways The Financial Industry Fails Socially Conscious Investors
Forbes
For years, financial institutions and advisers have dismissed socially conscious investing as the well-intentioned but misguided philosophy of naïve investors. To the old guard, investment decisions should prioritize returns above all else, regardless of personal values that might directly conflict with the ...

Funds for Sustainable Investing:

Ethical Investing Thrives When There's 'Bad' News
Wall Street Journal
What drives individuals to invest their money in accordance with their own ethical views of the world? An analysis of fund inflows into U.S. stock ETFs and mutual funds that invest with a social, governance or environmental purpose (often called sustainable, ESG or impact funds) paints an interesting ...

Community Foundation Launches Atlanta's First Impact Investment Fund With Initial $10M
hypepotamus.com
The Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta, an organization which connects philanthropists and foundations with non-profits, has launched an impact investment fund focused on Atlanta. The GoATL fund has been initially capitalized with $10 million from the Community Foundation's unrestricted ...

Sustainability Investing:

The impact investment beat, busting myths, Agents of Impact, Bain backs by Chloe
ImpactAlpha
Welcome to your continuing preview of the new ImpactAlpha. Read all about it here. This week and next we'll be showing you many of our new features. Right now, you can lock in your subscription at $399.00 –– a $200.00 discount –– for a year of smart, daily impact investing coverage and unlimited ...

Philanthropic Investing:

How the next generation is creating social change through philanthropy
The Guardian
'Philanthropy' is a term that was once associated with ultra-wealthy retirees who signed big cheques to support charitable causes they are passionate about. But times have changed. Today, the face of philanthropy is a much younger one – and one with a much wider scope to cover today's emerging ...

A Tech Company Extends its Commitment to Traditional Public Schools to a New Hub
Inside Philanthropy
That's a contrast to much recent education philanthropy that has tended to focus on charter schools or nonprofit education groups. Years of big gifts to traditional public schools that didn't seem to move the needle pushed many philanthropists to favor charters instead. However, despite big investments in ...

Green Bond Funds:

Kenyan fund targets $15m green bond for water projects
Creamer Media's Engineering News
It will be targeted at Kenyan institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies and five to 10-billion shillings could be raised from such bonds each year, Bunyi said. Kenya's government has stepped up borrowing in recent years to invest in such projects, prompting criticism from ...
   
Eurizon ups ESG game with absolute return green bonds fund
Citywire Selector
Eurizon Asset Management has strengthened its ESG capabilities with the launch of an absolute return green bonds fund, the company has announced. The firm claimed to be the first Italian asset management company to have launched a product specialising in international bond markets with a tie to ...

Australia: Green bond market: an Australian focus
Mondaq News Alerts
All four of Australia's big banks have issued certified green bonds, as well state governments, property funds and a university. Australia's green finance has been largely applied to what might be considered typical green projects including wind and solar projects, low carbon building projects and low ...

Low Carbon Funds:

Earthly Treasures: Sustainable Investments In A Low Carbon Economy
Hong Kong Tatler
The MSCI Emerging Markets ESG equity index, for example, has outperformed the benchmark MSCI Emerging Markets index by 16 per cent over the past five years. As a result, in Asia and globally, leading asset managers and pension funds are getting increasingly involved in sustainable investing.

Norway fund should be able to invest in unlisted renewables - ruling party
Reuters
“Opening for infrastructure gives the fund the possibility to diversify, which will be good for the fund, Tina Bru, a Conservative lawmaker who voted in favor, told Reuters. “In addition it is a good bonus that it will contribute towards a shift to a low-carbon society, which must happen globally if we are to ... 
   
Are Electric Vehicle Charging Corridors The Best Way To Spend Volkswagen's Dieselgate Billions?
Forbes
Volkswagen is finally atoning for Dieselgate, investing $2 billion in electric vehicles (EVs) and other clean transportation across the United States as part of the massive settlement, along with $2.7 billion paid into a trust fund to help states reduce transportation emissions. This trust fund will be allocated ...