In the News

California's Leadership in Climate Change:

CA State Senator Kevin de León talks diversity and immigration, climate change
The Stanford Daily
California State Senator Kevin de León detailed his vision for California in its role as a national leader in diversity, economic output and climate policy in a talk at Stanford Law School (SLS) on Monday evening. De León served as the keynote speaker for the Stanford Latino Law Student Association's ...

California's legislative session could be huge for state economy and world climate
Environmental Defense Fund (blog)
A signal that the state's clean energy policy is coming of age, leaders and significant players are weaving all of the separate programs together and answering major policy questions. ... The bills also empower more Californians to participate in fight against climate change on local and national levels.

Town Hall Jumble — A Review
Santa Barbara Independent
70 seeks to kneecap the state's budget process, Morales said, and stall California's leadership in climate change tactics. Did climate change cause the Montecito disaster? Maybe that was the question of the night. For this climate-change believer — unlike the sole skeptic keeping an informational vigil ...

Sustainable Investing:

Opening the financial advisor gateway to impact and sustainable investing
ImpactAlpha
Seven in 10 investor clients have requested impact opportunities from their advisors, according to a recent survey; only one in five financial advisors thinks it's important. That makes financial intermediaries, registered investment advisors and institutional investment consultants a crucial “gateway” for ...

Sustainable investing themes of 'climate' and 'carbon reduction' gaining favour among fund investors
South China Morning Post
“If clients want to exclude from their portfolios companies producing weapons, tobacco and alcohol for moral and ethical reasons, I would explain to them that it will result in certain distortion to [the risk-return profile of] their portfolios,” Hermes Investment Management head of sustainable investing ...

Impact Investing Comes Into Its Own
INSEAD Knowledge (blog)
In 2010, INSEAD's Global Private Equity Initiative (GPEI) started to explore the nascent trend of responsible investing. In 2014, it published its first report on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors within the private equity (PE) context. Four years hence, the industry has evolved significantly.

Global Reporting Initiative:

4 steps to walking the talk through SDGs disclosure
GreenBiz
SDG reporting is still nascent, so acting now — before the reporting guidance, developed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) is published in September — demonstrates corporate commitment. A dry-run can benefit companies by laying the foundation for ...

TransCanada Releases 2017 Corporate Responsibility Report
GlobeNewswire (press release)
This year's report covers performance for the 2017 calendar year and it is the second year we are reporting based on the Global Reporting Initiative's G4 core option guidelines. We have improved the quality of the report by enhancing our management approach disclosure on the topic of climate change ...

PNG sweats on meeting EITI global reporting standards
POST-COURIER
Officials from the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) International Secretariat in Norway will be in the country today to begin a ... The validation will determine whether PNG has made meaningful progress in implementing EITI global reporting standards or have little or no progress at all.

Renewable Energy Investments:

5 Renewable Energy Stocks Yielding More Than 5%
Motley Fool
Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) is one of the largest renewable energy investors in the world and it uses Brookfield Renewable Partners and TerraForm Power as vehicles for most of that investment. The company owns a controlling interest in both companies and has proven the ability to ...

Renewable Energy Investors, Funds, Private Wealth, and Family Offices flock to Solar Farm ...
PR Newswire (press release)
ASHEVILLE, N.C., April 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Investors, Funds, Private Wealth and Family Offices are flocking to Renewable Energy Investments such as Utility Scale Solar Farm assets for large returns that vary from as little as 10% to as much as 500% depending on entry points, exit strategies and ...

Greenko backer ADIA plans more renewable energy investments
VCCircle
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the world's third-biggest sovereign wealth fund, said it may invest more in renewable energy, as climate change fears prompt fund managers even in the oil-rich Middle East to look beyond fossil fuels. “The world's energy industry is in the early stages of a ...

CDP Sustainability:

L'Oréal releases update on its sustainability drive
CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com
This exceptional result was recognised by CDP. In 2017, for the second year running, L'Oréal was one of two companies worldwide – and the only French business – among more than 3,000 companies evaluated, to receive three 'As', the best possible score, in CDP's ratings on three major issues:.

TCFD and CDP: 10 Questions Answered
Carbon Clear (blog)
In April we hosted a webinar about the TCFD recommendations, specifically how they will impact CDP disclosures this year. Here we look at some of the questions that were asked during the webinar to give you an insight into how to maximise your disclosure this year and in the future. You'll find the full ...

Impact Investing:

Impact investing must resolve its identity crisis
Financial Times
We know impact investing is a hot topic: chief executives of investment companies, celebrities and entrepreneurs talk about it at every opportunity. But outside of a few buzzwords — ethical, sustainable and so on — there is no consensus as to what impact investing is. Consider a few numbers. A 2017 ...

This AI Tool Could Revolutionize Impact Investing
Forbes
David Shrier left MIT after adopting the school's mission and applying it to his artificial intelligence startup, Distilled Analytics. He's hoping to disrupt impact measurement for companies and investors alike with the company's new product, Distilled Impact. “MIT's mission is to solve the world's biggest ...

Resource Conservation Investments:

'NMDC creating new culture of resource conservation'
Daily Pioneer
NMDC has been trying to create a new culture in conservation of natural resources and their officers are more sensitized towards mineral conservation, said R K Singh, IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Chhattisgarh on Wednesday. "We are thankful to NMDC for contributing in the growth of ...

Covestro well on track
Chemie.de (press release)
The demand for strong and light materials is growing worldwide, as they reduce energy consumption in a wide variety of applications and thus contribute to resource conservation. Covestro has invested a mid-double-digit million euro sum in expanding production capacity. In addition, the company's ...

Socially Responsible Investing:

Due Diligence Needed in Socially Responsible Investing
Investopedia (blog)
Environmental, social and governance exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are heavily marketed right now, and the idea that you could avoid profiting from corporate practices you consider unethical is appealing. The problem is many of these managed funds and ETFs marketed with socially-conscious ...

Tips for Becoming a Socially Responsible Investor from NAPFA Financial Advisors
PR Newswire (press release)
CHICAGO, May 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to investing, a growing share of Americans think strong financial returns are not enough. They want to make a social impact, too. According to US SIF, sustainable, responsible and impact investing grew by more than a third from 2014 to 2016.

What is socially conscious investing?
New Hampshire Business Review
It's known by various names — socially responsible investing, impact investing and ESG investing. At their core, all ... Socially responsible investing refers to the practice of avoiding investment in companies whose businesses have negative impacts on the environment or on society. • Impact investing ...

Funds for Sustainable Investing:

Social and sustainable investing gets a boost from an unlikely source: Wall Street activists
CNBC
Wall Street's activist investors, once known for pushing for extreme cost-cutting or just about anything that would boost the bottom line, are starting to use their money to promote a different kind of corporate action: social and environmental change. They are doing this, they say, not only as a matter of ...

John Kerry Joins TPG's $2 Billion Rise Fund as Senior Adviser
Bloomberg
Bain Capital and Partners Group Holding AG also have launched funds dedicated to impact investing. There are almost $23 trillion of assets globally being professionally managed under responsible investment strategies, up 25 percent since 2014, according to a 2016 report -- the latest available -- from ...

Sustainability Investing:

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Philanthropic Investing:

Finance Chiefs Kravis, Ackman and Gray Have Advice for New Philanthropists
Bloomberg
The 51-year-old chief executive officer of Pershing Square Capital Management LP says his best philanthropic investment is One Acre Fund, which assists East African farmers. The Pershing Square Foundation gave One Acre its first big grant in 2008, when the nonprofit was working with 2,000 farmers ...

Wayne State students to manage $2 million in investments
Crain's Detroit Business
The stakes are higher for business students at Wayne State University who will have a chance to get real-world experience managing a $2 million investment portfolio. The Kresge Foundation is providing funds for the portfolio management class under its $3.8 billion endowment as part of efforts to create ...

Another Tech Company Steps Up Its Giving for K-12 STEM Education
Inside Philanthropy
The Akamai Foundation already has invested $5 million toward STEM education for 2018, mostly through working with national and local nonprofit partners, rather than directly with schools or districts. The $50 million is meant to allow the foundation to expand its work internationally to regions where ...

Green Bond Funds:

Growthpoint Properties issues maiden $425m eurobond, lists on JSE green bond segment
Creamer Media's Engineering News
Additionally, suitable industrial and retail properties with four-star green star ratings or higher will also be eligible. Environmental projects related to Growthpoint's buildings that have positive environmental impacts, such as solar energy projects, will also qualify for green bond funds. “Growthpoint is ...

Nasdaq Congratulates Lithuania on First Sovereign Green Bond in the Baltics
GlobeNewswire (press release)
Thus we are increasing the opportunities for Lithuanian capital market participants to contribute to the financing of green projects. Interest in green bonds is growing rapidly worldwide – it's a global process. I am happy that we are also moving in this progressive direction and developing a green bond ...
   
DTE Electric among first energy companies in nation to sell green bonds
PR Newswire (press release)
DETROIT, May 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- DTE Electric priced its inaugural offering of green bonds yesterday. The $525 million in bonds will finance "green" investments, including low-carbon projects like renewable energy and energy efficiency. DTE is the fifth investment-grade energy company in the ...

Low Carbon Funds:

SSGA creates low-carbon fund
Super Review
State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) has created, in partnership with MSCI, a low carbon, high environmental, social and governance (ESG) international equities index fund which will target Australian institutional investors. The State Street Low Carbon ESG International Equities Index Trust would be ...

Finding Morningstar's New Carbon Score for Funds
Morningstar.com
The new carbon component appears in the middle of the new fund quote page beneath the component that highlights the portfolio's Morningstar Sustainability Rating. An icon appears on the left if the fund meets the threshold for low carbon exposure, a 12-month average portfolio Carbon Risk Score less ...

Is iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN) a Hot ETF Right Now?
Nasdaq
Fund Sponsor & Index. The fund is managed by Blackrock. CRBN has been able to amass assets over $543.54 M, making it one of the largest ETFs in the World ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target Index. The MSCI ...