A selection of the major stories impacting ESG investors, in five easy pieces.  This week saw at least one success for scrutiny of corporates’ environmental impacts. Follow the science I – Global food and drinks group Danone this week trumpeted the continued success of its ‘Renew’ strategy, unveiling a 4.3% increase in like-for-like sales in its 2024 annual results, and…

Asset owners can play a critical role in safeguarding financial returns and natural ecosystems, according to Bruna Bauer, Research Manager at Pensions for Purpose. The integration of nature and biodiversity into investment strategies is still in its infancy for many asset owners. This creates a hesitancy to engage with nature-related issues, stemming largely from limited internal expertise, small sustainability teams…

Close integration of terrestrial and marine conservation strategies is needed to protect the blue economy, argues T Rowe Price Portfolio Manager Willem Visser. In recent years, the world has witnessed an alarming increase in the frequency and intensity of wildfires, a phenomenon closely linked to climate change. The global economic cost of wildfires is estimated to be between US$394 billion…

To be successful, engagement must be a two-way street, says Gillian Secrett, Research Director at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.  Direct engagement with investee companies has emerged as the preferred way for institutional investors to influence corporate decision making. Exerting influence means being useful to companies and their boards, rather than confrontational.  According to research recently published by the…

Upheaval of US climate policies aligns country’s net zero trajectory with China’s.  Although climate-focused policies largely maintained momentum in 2024, there is heightened concern that increasing policy uncertainty places the Paris Agreement’s ‘well below 2°C’ by 2050 commitment under pressure.  The Inevitable Policy Response’s (IPR) 2025 Transition Forecast surveyed around 250 climate transition experts on the expected net zero trajectories…

Last month, Morningstar published the latest insights into its sustainable index range, finding wide variation in performance 2024. On one hand, climate indexes thrived, driven by the magnificent seven, but at the same time impact-aligned indices – which focus on companies making a positive impact on the planet – struggled.   However, while Nvidia and Tesla played a central role in the…

Goldman Sachs Asset Management has brought a new bond fund to market, which offers exposure to biodiversity conservation and remediation. The Goldman Sachs Biodiversity Bond fund, classified as Article 9 under SFDR, invests mainly in investment-grade corporate bonds across developed and emerging markets. The strategy will invest in labelled bonds, whereby the proceeds of the bonds are applied towards biodiversity-related…

Watering down of the EU’s flagship sustainability due diligence law “strip it of any meaning”. The European Commission’s (EC) much publicised omnibus has confirmed sustainability investor’s worst anxieties, significantly scaling back the long-awaited Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). The EC’s omnibus package, published this week, presents an imminent threat to the bloc’s sustainability rules. It looks to reduce the…

There have been many conversations about whether sustainable strategies can deliver competitive financial returns as well as sustainable outcomes. In the equities space, we have seen substantial differences between the performance of sustainable funds and traditional funds; this is mostly explained by the stylistic differences between the most prominent sectors across sustainable strategies, such as their quality growth bias or…