Buzz: Transfer to editor

Focal points

• Impact investing is growing across private markets and listed equity, but its credibility depends on robust, decision-useful and transparent evidence of outcomes.
• In private equity and private debt, active ownership can support intentional impact, yet investors struggle with system set-up, KPI definition, and aggregating data across funds and investees.
• In listed equity, minority stakes limit influence; measurement must separate company impact from the investor’s contribution and blend KPIs with qualitative narrative.
• Data providers can improve comparability by collecting, standardising and verifying impact data; analyst oversight, quality control and clear methodologies help translate inputs into actionable ratings.

Contents

This SSF Spotlight includes:

• SSF Market Data
• Beyond Regulation
• Measuring Impact
• Impact Measurement Frameworks
• Challenges and Recommendations
  • CASE STUDY BlueOrchard Latin America and the Caribbean Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Fund
  • CASE STUDY MK Global Kapital Measuring Impact: Blending Global Standards with Local Insight
  • CASE STUDY LGT CAPITAL PARTNERS Blending Metrics with Meaning
  • CASE STUDY responsAbility From Data to Decisions
  • CASE STUDY Vontobel Driving Environmental Solutions Through Listed Equities
• Conclusion

Focal points

• AI can automate extracting sustainability disclosures from unstructured documents, cutting manual effort and turning narratives into machine‑readable datasets for analysts.
• AI can improve data quality by standardising definitions, reconciling sources and flagging anomalies—supporting a more trustworthy sustainability data backbone.
• NLP, network analysis and satellite/computer vision can surface emerging sustainability risks and signals at scale; predictive models can estimate future outcomes and trajectories.
• SSF recommends a long‑term strategy and strong governance: redesign processes, ensure explainability and audit trails, keep humans in the loop, and manage AI’s energy footprint.

Contents

This SSF Spotlight includes:

• Executive Summary
• Setting The Scene
• Artificial Intelligence Applications in Sustainable Finance
• Recommendations and Outlook
  
  

"In 2024, we engaged with 2,883 issuers, representing a 10% increase compared with the previous year.

These discussions covered a broad range of environmental, social, and governance topics, with significant expansion in Developed Asia (+40%), Emerging Markets (+10%), and North America (+28%).

Among the engagements closed during the year, 45% achieved positive outcomes, showing that constructive dialogue can deliver tangible progress"

24 February 2026 | 12:00 PM SAST | 11:00 AM CET

"We would like to invite you to the online launch of ATNi's South Africa Retail Assessment, hosted by Daily Maverick.

During this event, we will present ATNi's findings on the country's three largest retailers—Shoprite, Pick n Pay, and Spar, analyzing their nutrition-related commitments and outlining recommendations to drive healthier food environments."

Feb 24 2026, 11:00am GMT | 45 mins

"Join us on February 24th for our UK Managed Portfolio landscape webinar. The UK managed portfolio sector now offers over 1,475 live portfolios with more choice, lower costs, and a growing focus on sustainable investing. 

In our upcoming webinar, our speakers will discuss new opportunities in passive and blended strategies to meet diverse investor needs. We will also showcase the newly-launched Morningstar rating (commonly known as the “star rating”) for UK Managed Portfolios."

Auto sales have always been the most cyclical sector of consumer spending – heralding and contributing to both recessions and recoveries.

This year, slumping consumer confidence, newly imposed tariffs and falling job growth could all have been expected to clobber auto sales.

Despite this, when automakers report their November numbers early this week, they will likely show continued resilience. This is testament to the unusual drivers of consumer spending in 2025 but also to long-term changes in the auto market that may be reducing its cyclical impact.

For investors and policy makers, the important message is that stability in auto sales increases the odds that 2026 will be a year of continued economic expansion.

[includes discussion of EVs and podcast]

In 2026, sustainability will be a story of how stakeholders balance near-term priorities with long-term realities.

Focal points

The article's authors:

• ... expect sustainability strategy to be shaped by geopolitical and political fragmentation, producing diverging policy, regulation and standards across regions.
• ... see rising demand for adaptation and resilience investment as 1.5°C pathways slip, creating openings for private capital where public funding is constrained.
• ... anticipate AI‑driven data‑center expansion to intensify pressure on power supply, emissions and water availability, raising both operational and transition risks.
• ... highlight structural themes—water/food systems, biodiversity and supply chains, plus ageing workforces—that can reprice risk and opportunity across sectors.

Contents

This research article addresses

• Geopolitics & multilateralism
• Climate adaptation & resilience
• Energy transition
• AI & data centers
• Water & food systems
• Supply chains
• Biodiversity & nature loss
• Standards, reporting & regulation
• Sustainable finance
• Aging populations & workforce

Focal points

• S&P projects global data center built capacity to rise from 200 GW in 2024 to 382 GW by 2030, nearly doubling power demand.
• Hyperscalers are leading clean-power procurement, but grid constraints mean near-term demand may rely more on existing coal and gas alongside new gas and renewables.
• The authors expect US power-sector emission reductions to slow, and overall emissions could rise versus pre-AI forecasts even if operators meet their own pledges, as limited renewables are competed away.
• The authors estimate 43% of data centers face high water stress in the 2020s, requiring site-specific cooling and water strategies such as recycled water or treated wastewater to reduce potable use and spillover impacts.

Contents

This article includes:

• Accelerating data center rollout will increase GHG emissions
• Power and water — a consumption challenge
• Data centers’ water stress mitigation practices and consumption trends
• Looking forward

"Outstanding debt in the global sustainable bond market should hit a new high in 2026. In 2025, issuance fell 19% to $866 billion. We expect issuance of a similar level this year. This would bring outstanding sustainable bonds to about $5.5 trillion, given 2026 maturities slightly exceeding $500 billion.

However, we note sustainable bond issuance is decoupling from the overall bond market, which increased nearly 11% in 2025 and surpassed $10 trillion in total issuance. This means forecasts for sustainable bond issuance are subject to increasing uncertainty, in S&P Global Ratings' view."

... includes ...

• Stable Issuance After A Sharp Decline
• Key Drivers For 2026
• Key Drivers By Issuer Type
• Key Drivers By Region
• Looking Ahead: Maturity Will Prevail

Chiquita Brands International, a leading global producer and distributor of bananas, operates across 25 countries with roughly 20,000 employees. Until its takeover in 2014 by a coalition of Brazilian companies, Cutrale Group and Safra Group, it was a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.  

In 2007, the company pleaded guilty to charges brought by the US Justice Department for making more than 100 payments totaling USD 1.7 million between 1997 and 2004 to a Colombian paramilitary group: The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) was designated as a terrorist organization by the US government in 2001. Chiquita argued that the payments were made to the AUC in order to protect its employees, and agreed to pay USD 25 million in damages.  

In June 2024, a Florida court ordered Chiquita to pay a further USD 38.3 million to Colombian families after finding the company liable for financing a paramilitary group responsible for their relatives' deaths.  

In 2025, a Colombian court sentenced seven former Chiquita executives to more than 11 years in prison.  

The company’s 2019 Sustainability Report highlights Chiquita’s self-described pioneering role as the first company in the industry to join the Rainforest Alliance in 1992. According to the report’s sustainability timeline, Chiquita achieved Rainforest Alliance certification for all company-owned farms by 2000 and fully adopted the SA8000 labor and human-rights standard by 2004. Chiquita framed these measures as part of a broader strategy to safeguard labor, human rights, and environmental protections. 

Chiquita’s reputation, however, has suffered significantly as a result of the various court findings, with the potential for long-term effects on investor confidence, brand equity, and stakeholder trust. 

Sustainable investing in 2026: Five key takeaways for asset managers

Sustainable investing continues to evolve rapidly, shaped by higher scrutiny, rising expectations, and a more complex global risk environment.

RepRisk’s recent webinar brought together senior voices from public markets, private equity, and private credit to discuss how sustainability is being embedded into investment decisions in 2026.

Focal points

• Sustainability integration is now a baseline expectation across asset classes; disregarding sustainability considerations is increasingly seen as imprudent.
• Materiality trumps labels: many ‘sustainability’ issues (workforce, safety, supply chains, governance) are core business drivers with financial impact.
• Data quality remains uneven—especially in private credit and private equity—so investors are using mosaic approaches that blend data, engagement and expert judgment.
• Panelists stress value preservation (physical risk, governance failures, controversies) and argue trust will hinge on transparent objectives, metrics and delivery.

Contents

This webinar covered:

• Sustainability integration is now a baseline expectation
• Materiality over labels: sustainability is just good business
• Data availability across private markets can be inconsistent
• Value preservation matters as much as value creation
• Trust depends on transparency and execution

In a year of political rhetoric questioning climate action—from Donald Trump’s campaign-trail scepticism to shifting regulatory winds in the US—investors might wonder: does decarbonisation still matter?

For anyone seeking long-term financial resilience, the answer is a resounding yes. Decarbonisation still matters, even when headlines suggest otherwise.

Despite the noise, many of the world’s largest companies are doubling down on climate commitments. Between late 2023 and mid-2025, the number of companies setting science-based decarbonisation targets surged by 227%.

... includes ...

• Active ownership: turning pledges into progress
  • What we learned
  • Execution gaps persist
  • Policy uncertainty is a real barrier
  • Caution among US companies
  • The transition isn’t linear
  • Escalation works
• Key investor takeaways
  • Scrutinise financed emissions
  • Engage, don’t just observe
  • Use your voting power
  • Expect non-linear progress
  • Broaden your lens
  • Be constructive

As AI reshapes the world, its hidden thirst for water and soaring infrastructure costs raises urgent questions about the sustainability of the digital revolution.

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping industries, economies, and investment strategies. But beneath the surface of this technological revolution lies a complex web of environmental and financial risks – particularly around water and energy consumption. For investors, understanding these dynamics is critical to navigating both the opportunities and the vulnerabilities emerging from AI’s infrastructure demands and business models.

... includes ...

• The overlooked thirst of AI
• Energy-water trade-offs and cooling constraints
• The ‘fremium’ model: monetisation versus infrastructure costs
• Capex intensity and financial strain
• Strategic implications and opportunities

Physical climate risk is no longer a niche concern – it’s a core investment issue.

For years, investors have focused on climate transition risk – policy shifts, regulatory changes and technological disruption. But the story is changing. Rising global temperatures are turning physical climate risk into an immediate threat, with the power to reshape asset values, portfolio performance, and long-term financial stability.

... includes ...

• Why this matters
• What investors should do
• The Climate Resilient Investment Framework

The subject of climate adaptation can be difficult to bring up, often clouded by the misconception that focusing on adaptation means admitting defeat on climate change mitigation.

In this viewpoint, our experts outline why far from being mutually exclusive, adaptation and mitigation are both essential elements of a robust climate action plan.