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Capacity development for the next chapter of sustainable investment 

Ever since, I left employment within a mainstream investment institution, I have reflected that one thing that the sustainable investment value chain could really do with is an accessible and affordable training course that teaches sustainability professionals everything that they need to know about investment and capital markets but may be afraid to ask.

(What if asking this simple question makes me look stupid?) 

Such a course, I thought, would be of value to:

• junior analysts entering the business,
• to ESG ratings agency analysts that may not have direct access to financial analysts and portfolio managers,
• to 'for impact' and 'grant-funded' research providers (with - perhaps - NGO backgrounds) looking to influence the flow of capital) and,
• frankly, to quite a lot of older analysts (such as myself) who spent a long time faking it until we made it … and then never quite had the time to go back and fill in the gaps.

(How exactly does the Fed 'set' interest rates and how does this interface with the market's role in determining interest rates and how important is this relative to other factors that need to be considered by sustainability-related bond investors?)

As I saw it, this course could differentiate itself - from the other courses available on the market - by:

• Being tailor-made, delivered in person and fully-focused on the immediate practical needs of the trainees (not on a syllabus that may suitable in general but unsuitable to the specifics)
• Putting fundamental, bottom-up, valuation, investment decision-making and capital allocation at its core. (Although this central focus would need to be supportive of entry points and application by people interested in engagement activity, passive or quants investment, regulation, client reporting etc.)
• Being grounded in reality by involving real people, their real-life needs and experiences … rather than in theoretical aspirations about what sustainable investment could be like if only ...

Spoiler: We did it!  Yesterday!

As you will have guessed by now, we finished delivering - yesterday - an 8-session course (1.5 hours each) to the wholly-engaged and wholly-engaging Sustainable Finance team at the Environmental Defense Fund 

The first thing to say is that this team at EDF have been an absolute joy to work with!

(As a trainer, you know you're onto a good thing when you have to cut off the incoming questions and practical discussion after 20 minutes at the beginning of (every) session because you need to cover at least some of the structured course material … and the actionable chat keeps going anyway on the session thread while you do this!)

More significantly, perhaps, were the existence of clear synergies between EDF's interests and ours:

• EDF employs a strong bench of deep sustainability expertise in areas of significant interest to investors (methane, hydrogen, transport, food, insurance etc) and also - through its Sustainable Finance team - a recognition that making this expertise accessible to investors requires it to be contextualised by an understanding of capital markets and investor priorities.
• At SRI-Connect, by contrast, we have no specific sustainability expertise but a strong interest in the processes and techniques that can be used to draw sustainability issues to the attention of investors. 

So, first my thanks go to Andrew Howell for the original idea (and for remembering me from when we worked at Citi together over a decade ago), to Kristin Lorenzo , Bridget Killian and Jake Hiller for shaping it into reality and to all of the others from Leslie Labruto 's team who brought energy, enthusiasm and challenge to every single session.

Thanks also to them for the budget that finally pushed me from dreamer to deliverer thereby 'seed funding' material that can now be delivered more broadly across the sustainable investment value chain. 

And also, thanks to the many industry participants that brought their expertise and real-world experience (sustainable investment is nothing if it doesn't work for real in capital markets) to the sessions:

• To Neil Brown for joining the session on how listed equity can support & encourage sustainable economic transitions
• To My-Linh Ngo for helping us to understand how 'Debt is Different'
• To Gayle Muers for telling us how sustainability really is within investment banks
• To Laurie Fitzjohn-Sykes , Chris Coggin and Sofía De La Parra for a hugely engaging discussion on What works (and what doesn't) in NGO <=> investor engagement on sustainability
• To Natasha Buckley for the laying the world of private equity and its influence out for us

The opportunity to hear directly from these practitioners (some of whom wrote the book on their particular areas of focus) was - self-evidently valuable and also a great pleasure.  Thank you all. 

The road travelled ... and the road to come

In my next post I will be discussing where this capacity development work might go next (I genuinely don’t know and am genuinely looking for input).

Before doing that, however, I must thank a number of other people who may or may realise how helpful and influential they were in building ideas and impetus towards this recent course - notably: 

• To Camilla Seth and Sabine Miltner … at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation who funded our first training programmes on sustainability in valuation that were delivered to 'mainstream' sell-side and buy-side analysts and funded work (that five years is still current and relevant) on how NGOs can engage investors.  Also, of course, thanks to Tanya Khotin for introducing me and encouraging me to believe that a big reach was possible with that 'Moulding Markets' programme.
• To Luke Blower , John Willis & Alexandra Russell Brown from WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development … for commissioning work and developing intellectual capital on topics such as Integrating Sustainability into the Equity Story, Integrating Sustainability into Valuation and Demystifying Investor Sustainability Needs that are foundational to the valuation and communication components of the training
• To my erstwhile colleagues, Aline Reichenberg Gustafsson, CFA and Willem Schramade from SITA for building out training programmes across sustainable investment fundamentals, valuation, integration communication and much more.
• To numerous Investor Relations Societies and stock exchanges for hosting training programmes on how IR managers don't have to believe the hype of ESG and can be much more effective if they focus on sustainability and investment fundamentals and communicate on those proactively to investors [ John Gollifer, Laura Hayter, Deborah Walter Vaz, CIRO, Katie Beith & Ian Matheson ]
• … and last - but not least - to the hundreds of people who have participated in these various courses over time and - through their engagement and feedback - shaped subsequent courses.

… and I am conscious (before you ask) that this might read a bit like an Oscar roll call … when all I've done is deliver a few training sessions … 

On the other hand, the work of interpreting, contextualising and framing sustainable investment practice and connecting it to 'mainstream' investment practice as both of those two disciplines themselves have been evolving has taken a village…  So, thank you, village.

"This 2025 update is our third active ownership report, providing an overview of our engagement and voting activities for proprietary assets.

It explores our engagement activities in listed equities, corporate fixed income and introduces our approach to engaging with sovereign entities. It details our policies, engagement outcomes, and voting activities. The report also highlights industry collaborations, and where possible provides an indication of the next steps in our stewardship journey for the coming years.

One example of such a collaboration is a research project with Deltares, WWF and peers to enhance the understanding of water- related risks for investors."

2024
Western Asset updates its Sustainable Investments Statement and publishes its first TCFD Report. Western Asset continues to advise and develop solutions for its clients with sustainable investing objectives, align with regulations for sustainable investments, analyse emerging datasets and augment its Sustainable Investments infrastructure.

2025
Western Asset and Franklin Templeton integration broadens resources available to continue strengthening Western Asset’s sustainable investments program

"Over the past twelve months, the MSIM Fixed Income team continued to leverage our US$220 billion AUM platform to have meaningful dialogues with bond issuers on ESG topics that we believe are most relevant to their business and financing activities."

"We have made the following key improvements for this year’s integrated report in response to feedback from investors and other stakeholders on last year’s report and insights from ongoing engagement activities.

1. Clearly present management challenges and goals over the short, medium, and long term

2. Show how the Ricoh Group’s strengths relate to financial and future financial initiatives"

As the climate crisis escalates, the call for institutions to act is no longer a nudge - it is a demand. Infosys' journey towards sustainability began in the early 2000s.

Over the years, our efforts have created real impact across our value chain, clients, and communities.

Sustaining the momentum of carbon neutrality for six years, our next frontier is becoming climate positive in 2030, and we are engineering the path with precision. 

LG Electronics published its 19th Sustainability Report in 2025.

"Lisa is Director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, and she delivers some much-needed reality checks on sustainable finance.

If you’ve been following Lisa’s sharp LinkedIn articles, you know she doesn’t pull punches. Lisa and I talk through her challenges for a rethink on how we approach sustainability planning and finance.

Hear Lisa talk about:

• How a positive impact vision of laws and governance could shape finance, investment flows and practices, and renew positive multilateralism.
• Why sustainability reporting has become a frustrating ‘end’, rather than a means, due in part to the risk focus of Mark Carney’s Tragedy of the Horizon’s speech 10 years ago.
• The challenge of bringing scientists, engineers and financiers together for co-ordinated planning for public goods.
• Why sustainable finance is like trying to pilot a broken plane through turbulence, and why it’s painful to watch failed radar for climate finance now being applied with gusto to biodiversity!"

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• Access via Apple
• Access via Spotify

A common criticism of ESG ratings by providers such as Refinitiv, Bloomberg and MSCI is that they tend to disagree, leading to confusion among asset owners and investors. For instance, provider A may give Tesla a high ESG score but provider B may rate Tesla poorly if it doesn’t like the company’s governance approach.

This is a problem for fund managers with a mandate to maximise a fund’s sustainability impact: whose ratings should they trust?

A recent paper published by Rosella Giacometti, Gabriele Torri, Marco Bonomelli and Davide Lauria from Italy’s University of Bergamo explores a novel approach to score companies based on sustainable funds’ holdings data.

... read full blogpost on Substack ...

... go direct to research paper: Market-Implied Sustainability: Insights from Funds’ Portfolio Holdings

From volume to value: Read this Q3 summary update to learn how the 'flight to quality' is reshaping the carbon market and other key developments to follow.

Key Strategic Takeaways

• The integrity imperative: See how market players continue to collaborate to strengthen market integrity, with standards aligning with ICVCM Core Carbon Principles (CCPs), UN Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) becoming fully operational and ratings agencies boosting transparency.
• Robust acceleration: Review Q3 issuance and retirement volumes, confirming strong buyer confidence.
• Wider price gaps: Analyse the data showing that integrity is one of the most critical factors influencing carbon pricing, including the direct correlation between higher ratings and price premiums.
• Policy proliferation: Get an overview of the growing number of carbon pricing instruments globally, signaling future compliance mandates your business must anticipate.

Business assets see 22% jump in exposure to conflict

Understanding complex global conflict dynamics in today’s geopolitically fractured world is crucial for multinational companies, investors, and insurance firms. Our Asset Risk Exposure Analytics (AREA) data measures the exposure of over 4 million assets of publicly listed companies to political, human rights, climate and environmental risks, including conflict.

The overall exposure of corporate assets to conflict remains low, amounting to less than 1% of the assets of publicly listed firms. That said, the data shows that 36,045 assets are now located in conflict zones, up from 29,515 in 2021-Q1 – a 22% uplift in five years. This uptick in exposure to conflict is starker when you zoom in on certain sectors. For example, the extractive & mineral processing, technology & communications, and infrastructure sectors have all seen the number of assets located in conflict-affected areas increase by over 60% since 2021.

Beyond this trend of rising physical security risks linked to armed fighting, there are a myriad of indirect consequences that business leaders need to grapple with. Wars can disrupt global supply chains, lead to markets becoming inaccessible, elevate expropriation risks or trigger consumer boycotts targeted at corporate entities. The rise of grey zone warfare is also seeing companies themselves become targets of hostile states, for example via cyber-attacks, sabotage or disinformation campaigns, for the perceived transgressions of their host governments.

Event Details

09 December 2025 | 2 - 3pm GMT / 9 - 10am EST / 3 - 4pm CET

• Many companies in the Food and Beverage sector have set ambitious net-zero targets, but key challenges remain:
• Moving from targets and roadmaps to real implementation — turning plans into concrete projects that improve actual energy and carbon performance.
• Making decarbonisation a source of business value — ensuring initiatives strengthen competitiveness, resilience, and economic performance.

Join SLR experts for an online briefing that will share practical advice and global case studies from leading companies that have successfully bridged the gap between strategy and execution. Learn how they are achieving CO₂ reductions, driving business value, and building long-term resilience across their value chains.

Drawing on proven project examples and the latest market insights, we’ll explore:

• Innovative financing models that overcome CAPEX barriers and accelerate implementation.
• Turning biowaste into strategic assets through circular energy solutions.
• Bridging the gap between strategy and execution to actually deliver carbon reductions and capture the associated business value.

This session is designed for sustainability leaders, operations and energy managers, finance and procurement professionals, with actionable insights applicable to anyone involved in delivering decarbonisation in the Food & Beverage sector.

"It began with high hopes and the promise of a new way of doing things, a Global Mutirão, but ended with a deal that failed to mention fossil fuels or deliver a promised deforestation roadmap. But with a strong presence by Indigenous peoples and the launch of a new mechanism to halt and reverse deforestation, there were still positive moves. Here are our essential takeaways from a COP in the Amazon."

The Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market Q3 2025 report is here. A comprehensive guide to the third quarter's key market updates, trends and issuances. Find out all the big numbers in the green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked (GSS+) space here. 

Methane abatement is crucial to safeguarding climate goals and near-term meaningful climate action. Methane’s high global warming potential and short atmospheric lifespan make it uniquely positioned to deliver rapid climate benefits if addressed effectively. Achieving the 1.5°C temperature goal requires a 45% reduction in global methane emissions by 2030.

Despite this urgency, methane remains underrepresented in global climate discussions, climate policy frameworks, and financial flows. Methane must be treated as a distinct climate challenge, not merely bundled into CO₂-equivalent metrics, to ensure appropriate prioritisation in policy and finance. Specific policy is needed to make finance flow at scale to fund methane abatement.

While every country’s methane abatement policy approach will be different, there are commonalities that allow for peer learning to accelerate abatement efforts. This report identifies five archetypes of specific national sectors with policy lessons applicable for national sectors across the globe. The five archetypes are the coal sector in China, the agricultural sector in India and in Brazil, the waste sector in Indonesia, and the oil and gas (O&G) sector for any O&G exporter.