Independent research companies

The radical switch in US policies led to a turbulent 2025 proxy voting season, as investors get to grips with tariff dynamics, a change in tone on ESG topics, and changing stewardship rules.

Summary

• Annual voting season dominated by unfolding US impact on ESG issues
• Robeco voted against management on at least one proposal 59% of the time
• Corporate governance and executive pay remain the most contested issues

"In 2024, we completed over 130 dedicated ESG engagements, while the majority of the 942 broader engagements conducted by our research analysts with debt issuers also included some form of ESG dialogue."

Highlights, key figures and significant developments (1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025)

- Priorities for 2025-2026
- Invest – how we invest sustainably for our clients and integrate environmental, social and governance factors
- Advocate – how we use our voice in the markets to advocate for positive change among investors, companies and policymakers
- Inhabit – how we aim to inhabit our own ecosystem in a manner that ensures a sustainable future for all

SSE has published its Annual Report for 2025, offering a comprehensive view of the company’s performance over the past financial year. Alongside the Sustainability Report 2025, the publication provides insight into how SSE is delivering its financial goals and its broader responsibilities to society and the environment.

The report details progress on the company’s £17.5bn Net Zero Acceleration Programme Plus, which is enabling the UK’s transition to a cleaner, more secure energy system. From building world-class renewable energy assets to reinforcing critical electricity networks and investing in flexible generation, SSE is playing a central role as the UK and Ireland’s clean energy champion.

Understanding different motives for sustainable finance is probably the biggest reason behind the confusion around ESG.

"Sustainable and responsible investing continues to grow, and with that, it gets questioned, challenged, glorified, vilified and even ridiculed, and increasingly so in the public domain. There is nothing wrong with critique; we, the sustainable finance professionals, should be able to take and respond to the inevitable hype that young industries are prone to. 

However, it is crucial to understand that sustainable finance is not a one-size-fits-all concept. There are various motivations and drivers, each offering unique techniques, benefits and perspectives. Trying to conduct your approach with the wrong tool or framework for another motivation is a recipe for disaster.

Instead, delving into the various drivers of sustainable finance and shedding light on the diverse factors influencing sustainable and responsible investment decisions will alleviate some of the confusion in the market. It will also help you understand why I am keen on asking simple questions." 

"This year’s World Day Against Child Labour is an important marker, as the elimination of child labour in all its forms by 2025 was a fundamental goal enshrined in Target 8.7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Although there has been genuine progress – with 86 million fewer children now in child labour than a quarter of a century ago – the most recent UN estimates showed that 160 million children were still engaged in child labour at the start of this decade. Of these, almost half were involved in hazardous work threatening health, safety and moral development.

This trend is mirrored by the latest data from our Child Labour Index (CLI). While 49 countries have seen a significant improvement on the index since 2020, 115 – including major emerging economies like India, Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia – remain within the ‘high’ or ‘very high’ risk categories (the two highest in the CLI). At the same time, progress on combatting child labour has stalled, or even reversed, in several advanced economies. Risks remain particularly high in globally significant sectors that are central to supply chains, such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing, according to our Industry Risk Data."

Key Information
Date:
16 September 2025
Time:
09:00 - 11:00 EDT (UTC-4)
Location:
Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, USA

FAIRR will host an in-person roundtable in Boston, bringing together investors for a knowledge-building and sharing session focused on water-related risks and opportunities, particularly those impacting the U.S. agriculture sector.

Water scarcity, pollution, and water quality are increasingly recognised as material financial risks across the global food system. This session will explore how these issues are manifesting in North American agriculture and why they require greater investor attention.

FAIRR’s technical experts will present investment-relevant insights from our latest thematic research, with a particular focus on the financial materiality of water risks. Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of how FAIRR’s data and tools can help identify risk exposure and vulnerabilities within investment portfolios.

ESG investing appears to have hit a major roadblock.

Donald Trump’s return to the White House has set off a fierce backlash against the use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles in investment.

In the US, a growing number of large financial institutions including BlackRock, Fidelity and JP Morgan are paring back their climate and social commitments.

Many American investors have also voted with their wallets. US ESG-labelled funds have suffered nine consecutive quarters of outflows; in the final three months of 2024 alone, some USD4.3 billion was pulled from such vehicles, double the amount seen the previous quarter...

"Taking an active approach to engagement is a core part of our service and complements our investment analysis, as we aim to create and preserve long-term value for our clients.

Our engagement action plan for 2024 was ambitious, spanning three priority projects on climate, nature and health. We also had a range of secondary projects underway, focused on issues such as access to medicine, human rights due diligence in supply chains, plastics and animal welfare. 

The report also introduces our engagement priorities for 2025, which lie under three broad themes of climate, nature and human rights and we outline our secondary focus areas which include circular economy, workforce and access to medicine..."

Rob Rowe talks with Alternative & Renewable Energy Analyst Vikram Bagri about the role of renewables in meeting the energy needs of the world.

They touch on tariffs and other implications of U.S. policy, dependence on China, the innovation under way in the nuclear space, and the overall market environment for renewables.

In this episode, the hosts speak to Caspar Herzberg, CEO of AVEVA, a UK-based software company and SMI member.

“It’s not the time to retreat on climate,” Caspar says. “The solutions exist today that can keep us on the path to net-zero, and now we need to focus on scaling these through digitization and adoption.”

Caspar outlines the technology solutions that are supporting decarbonization efforts across sectors. He also talks about the role AI can play in driving efficiency and boosting the business case for sustainability.

“At the end of the day, sustainability is only going to work when you are profitable,” he says. “Otherwise, businesses won’t do it.”

The global energy conversation is shifting. While decarbonisation remains a critical goal, the urgency of energy security has taken centre stage.

Geopolitical tensions, supply chain realignments, and surging electricity demand are reshaping how nations think about power – and where they get it from....

"The landscape for sustainable investing has become fragmented and complex.

... the Morgan Stanley Sustainability team filters the noise and shares our view of 5 key themes that we believe will influence the long-term direction of sustainable investing":

• Transition requires investment, not divestment
• Diversity & inclusion is not tokenism, it is financially relevant
• Sustainable supply must be accompanied by reduced demand
• Investors are already exposed to nature but it needs to be valued properly
• Climate resilience is an economic imperative

Part 1: Addressing investor challenges

Financial authorities can play an important role in building a stable, sustainable financial system that rewards long-term responsible investment, to the benefit of investors’ clients and beneficiaries and the environment and society as a whole. This Sustainable Investment Policy Toolkit explores this topic in two parts which are published separately. Part one of this two-part report provides an updated framework analysing sustainable finance policy approaches. It examines:

• the challenges faced by investors^[1] in scaling up responsible investment in line with their duties and obligations to address system-level sustainability-related risks and support a just economic transition;
• financial authorities’ sustainability-related policy ambitions observed across the G20 countries; and
• the policy measures that financial authorities can implement to:
  • create an enabling environment for responsible investors;
  • fulfil their mandates; and
  • respond to emerging, sustainability-related government goals and related risks, opportunities and impacts.

Part two (published separately) provides deep dives into specific policy measures identified in part one.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• "Nuclear energy’s global resurgence is boosted by the need to reconcile competing demands for energy security, reliability and decarbonisation.
• Investors should stay focused on reality amid the hype about new nuclear technologies.
• We expect sustained policy support to provide a structural tailwind.
• Traditional nuclear power’s value chain is offering some compelling opportunities."

Understanding whether sustainability risk can materially affect risk-adjusted returns — beyond what can be explained by traditional financial metrics — is critical for credit investors to account for all the relevant risk and return drivers in their investment process.

We evaluate a decade of data (from January 2015 to December 2024) to assess whether bond issuers’ sustainability characteristics offered additional explanatory power for credit risk and performance — especially after controlling for traditional factors such as duration, credit quality and liquidity.

Sustainability section from p57

Focal Points:

See p5, including -9% GHG emissions from baseline

Parameters:

• Data to: 31 Dec 2024
• Published: March 2025 (assurance date)
• Materiality Matrix: See page 12
• ESG data centre: Not found

"Clean Edge is excited to announce the release of the 2025 Clean Edge 100, our second annual ranking of the 100 top publicly traded clean-tech companies in clean energy, transportation, water, and the grid. Against the backdrop of a rapidly shifting policy, energy, and tech landscape, our latest update finds global industry leadership continues to be concentrated in the U.S. and China."

"How we rank companies: Eligible companies are members of our global equity research universe of more than 650 companies, and the rankings only include companies that are determined to receive 50% or more of their revenue from clean-tech activities (pure plays). Companies are ranked according to an equally weighted composite of market capitalization, revenue, and operating profit. Revenue and operating profit are adjusted by business exposure as evaluated by Clean Edge."

View Geographic & Sector Breakdown

"Clean Edge is excited to announce the release of the 2025 Clean Edge 100, our second annual ranking of the 100 top publicly traded clean-tech companies in clean energy, transportation, water, and the grid. Against the backdrop of a rapidly shifting policy, energy, and tech landscape, our latest update finds global industry leadership continues to be concentrated in the U.S. and China."

"How we rank companies: Eligible companies are members of our global equity research universe of more than 650 companies, and the rankings only include companies that are determined to receive 50% or more of their revenue from clean-tech activities (pure plays). Companies are ranked according to an equally weighted composite of market capitalization, revenue, and operating profit. Revenue and operating profit are adjusted by business exposure as evaluated by Clean Edge."

View Geographic & Sector Breakdown

EM Sustainability Bonds Among Best-in-Class on Impact, DM Bonds Lead on Disclosure

• EMs Have Preference Towards Sustainability Bonds, Mixed Disclosure on Impact
• Metrics Indicate Higher Impact from EM Sustainability Bonds and DM Green Bonds
• Substantial Differences in Sustainable Finance Landscape in EMs relative to DMs
• Impact Analysis: In EM, SSAs Lead in Disclosure Rate Notably in Sustainability Bonds and Emissions Metrics

Strategic emphasis on manufacturing and supply chains

... includes ...

Structure of Green Finance Endorsed Project Catalogue (2025 Edition)

Clearer examples of activity eligibility and reporting guidelines could encourage labelled debt issuance from more sectors

Enabling activities must demonstrate a clear necessity in facilitating core green activities, avoid perpetuating carbon-intensive systems and yield quantifiable end-use environmental benefits.

ICMA provides a checklist with non-exhaustive examples of eligible and non-eligible activities.  These  provisions can likely help to minimise  the  potential mislabelling  and  misuse  of  enabling activities  and  ensure  that  only  genuinely necessary  and impactful  activities  are  recognised  in green project assessments and, thus, eligible for labelled debt financing.

Labelled bond issuance fell 25% year on year in 1H25, with market share dropping to 10.2% of global debt. Macroeconomic and regulatory uncertainty continue to weigh on volumes, though supranationals and sustainability bonds are areas of relative resilience. Issuers appear to be favouring established labels as the market recalibrates.

... includes ...

• Market Uncertainty Weighs on Labelled Bond Issuance
• SSAs Lead in Labelled Debt and Impact Reporting
• EU Disclosure Landscape Undergoes Major Shift
• Data Centres in Focus
• Market Expands with New Labels and Standards

Sustainability statement from p52

Sustainability information also in 2024 annual report. [NB Deutsche Post AG, trades as DHL Group]

Sustainability report from p38

Key Takeaways

• The speed of electric vehicle adoption is varying by region. China is leading the way with rapid growth. Europe is picking up pace with sales up 30% in 2025 relative to 2024, but the US is lagging.
• High prices have hampered growth, but advances in battery technology and production efficiency gains mean costs are expected to decrease by 20% by 2027. Near-parity with combustion engine vehicles is on the horizon.
• In China and Europe there is strong policy support for electric vehicles – China has extended its $11bn cash-for-clunkers scheme. There is less impetus in the US from a policy perspective.
• Chinese automakers are well placed to capture market share – a function of their technological and cost advantages. We are looking to tap into related opportunities in select portfolios.

September 11, 2025
2:00 p.m. BST London
Location: Virtual Platform

About this event

"During New York Climate Week last year, MSCI released The State of Integrity in the Global Carbon Credit Market, a landmark report that offered public insight into findings from over 4,000 independently rated carbon credit projects worldwide. While low-integrity projects remain prevalent, we observed encouraging signals: early signs of improvement and a growing premium for high-integrity credits.

A year later, new developments, from policy momentum to shifting buyer expectations, are reshaping the landscape. What has changed? What role can each stakeholder play to strengthen market trust and scale real impact?

Join MSCI for this essential webinar, where we’ll present key updates from our 2025 analysis, highlight new report from the OECD on the role of government in enhancing integrity, and convene a multi-stakeholder panel of buyers, developers, investors, policy experts and rating agencies."

In this new report, for which Profundo conducted research, ActionAid UK investigates the costs to people and the planet resulting from HSBC’s financing of fossil fuel and industrial agriculture industries. In the period 2021-2023, this report finds that HSBC provided £153 billion in financial flows to fossil fuel and industrial agriculture sectors.

As a result of these financial flows, HSBC has generated 357 million tons of Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). The societal costs of these emissions – using the Societal Costs of Carbon methodology - are calculated at £128 billion in climate damages, equivalent to three times HSBC’s accumulated net profit in this period.

At COP26 in Glasgow, 197 countries’ governments agreed to phase down coal and many of the world’s largest commercial banks made pledges to decarbonize their portfolios.

In the past 3 years, commercial banks channeled over $385 billion to the global coal industry.

“We were hoping to at least see a consistent downward trend, but the annual breakdown of our data shows that while coal financing dropped from $132 billion in 2022 to $123 billion in 2023, it shot back up to $130 billion in 2024. It’s as if Glasgow never happened,”

- Katrin Ganswindt, Director of Financial Research at Urgewald

92% of the $385 billion commercial banks channeled to the coal industry between 2022 and 2024 came from banks headquartered in 5 countries or regions: China ($248 billion), the US ($51 billion), Japan ($21 billion), Europe ($20 billion), and Canada ($12 billion).

A new report, The Geopolitics of Biotech, from Lazard’s Geopolitical Advisory team examines critical business, policy, and regulatory forces reshaping the global biotechnology sector today.

From growing competition over innovation and capital to the decoupling of value chains, biotech is increasingly becoming a new frontier for policymaking and national security. 

With biotech at the forefront of global technological innovation, Lazard’s report offers detailed insights and actionable frameworks to help leaders position their organizations for success.

The financial performance of automotive suppliers reflects this sentiment, with EBIT margins remaining 2 percentage points below pre-Covid levels. The study predicts profitability challenges to persist and likely intensify in the coming years, driven by five key trends: 

• Stagnating global sales volume,
• Slower adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs),
• Rising software costs and increasing customer demand for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and connectivity features,
• Swelling economic and competitive pressures in China, and
• Resurging geopolitical tensions and global trade barriers. 

"Introducing our new podcast series, “In the fast lane” where we discuss topics across vehicle autonomy, electrification, infotainment, and much more.

In this episode, we sit down with VinFast, Vietnam’s largest EV manufacturer having sold nearly 100k units last year, to discuss how they're navigating the dynamic environment. Chien Nguyen, CIO and Amandae Baey, VP, Investor Relations join us."

Stewardship Report 2024

This report details stewardship, engagement, ESG integration and voting activities for the calendar year 2024, for all products and investment teams.

•  1,166 Total engagements with companies and sovereign issuers
•  922 Substantive company engagements
•  40 Substantive sovereign engagements

It is widely recognised that reducing carbon emissions will not be enough to limit the global temperature rise to the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, and that, as a consequence, we will need to concurrently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (April 2022) states that “the deployment of carbon dioxide removals to counterbalance hard-to-abate residual emissions is unavoidable if net zero emissions are to be achieved”.....

Part 1

Part 2

Q2 started abruptly with Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ announcements which set a universal 10% baseline tariff on nearly all imports, with higher reciprocal tariffs for many countries. This sent global financial markets tumbling and economists started to predict weaker growth and higher inflation as a result. After US 30yr yields jumped by over 54bps (the biggest three day increase since 1982) and global spreads rose materially (by more than 100bps for Global HY), Trump announced a 90-day pause.

This calmed the market and eventually led it back on an upward trajectory for the remainder of quarter. The S&P500 eventually reached new all-time highs, whilst credit markets rallied back strongly and spreads closed tighter.....

There appears to be a creeping sense of fatigue in the business community around the threat of climate risk. These issues can often feel abstract and distant. The 30+ year timelines can be hard to comprehend when traditional investment horizons and government terms are typically less than five years.

However, unbeknownst to many, physical climate risk has been damaging asset values since the early 2000s. With more extreme weather expected, losses are likely to increase. Crucially, we reflect on why historic data is not fit for purpose. This piece highlights the real financial and regulatory risks for firms and argues who is best positioned to capitalise and which firms have the most exposure.

"This report helps to illustrate what our approach to sustainability meant in practical terms over the past year, including:

• Our ongoing collaborative engagement with other investors and with manufacturers – including semiconductor companies – to address the problem of ‘conflict minerals’ in their supply chains.
• Reviewing our climate targets to simplify them and ensure their alignment with our investment philosophy, using measures that we believe more closely reflect companies’ real-world emissions performance.
• Commissioning research to enhance our understanding of the use of animal testing in the healthcare sector and the potential alternatives.
• Initiating a research partnership with the Access to Medicine Foundation, whose Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Programme we are helping to fund and which aims to increase access to affordable medicines worldwide.
• Refining our human development pillars, which provide a framework for assessing whether companies contribute to positive social outcomes.

• "Our latest survey shows many investors continue to prioritise sustainability, with Asia and Europe leading the charge
• As the sustainability landscape evolves, we see demands for flexibility across disclosures, regulations, and reporting
• Strong regional variations are evident in incorporation, corporate engagement, and sustainability objectives"

HSBC Sustainability Sentiment Survey

Covering sustainability, we have regular discussions with investors around the world. These discussions reveal wide differences in the approach, state, regulation and pace of sustainability considerations across regions. We believe a survey is a good way to document the lay of the land and understand both backward-looking and forward-looking views.

Our latest survey was conducted by Survation from 21 May to 4 June 2025, with a sample size of 144 professionals working in the financial services industry across the globe in roles related to sustainability decision-making. The respondents represent 4.89trn in assets under management (AuM) across 104 institutions.

So what were the findings?

A widening gap. The results suggested the contrast between those investors who continue to prioritise sustainability, and those who do not, remains stark...

Summary:

• New and expanded fossil fuel projects are incompatible with 1.5°C.
• MQG claims commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 and the goals of the Paris Agreement, however continues to finance the expansion of the fossil fuel industry.
• MQG’s current disclosures, policies and frameworks provide no basis to demonstrate that the Group will manage its fossil fuel financing activity consistently with its climate commitments.
• MQG’s activity risks long-term shareholder value and undermines its investments in renewable energy infrastructure.
  
  

An investor update on other Australian banks and climate is also available here

Market Forces’ latest analysis reveals that Japan’s five largest institutional investors...

• Mizuho Financial Group/Dai-ichi Life Insurance
• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings
• Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
• Nomura Holdings and
• Nippon Life Insurance....

... hold US$40.6 billion in companies with the biggest plans to expand the fossil fuel industry, as measured by exposure to the Fossil Fuel Expansion Index (FFEI). Our research reveals that the vast majority of planned fossil fuel expansion is being done by a relatively small number of 190 companies around the world.

We call this group of companies the Fossil Fuel Expansion Index. If the world is to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, fossil fuel expansion plans cannot go ahead. The United Nations estimates that the world will warm by a catastrophic 2.6-3.1°C with currently planned levels of fossil fuel production, which would see devastating global economic losses.

The companies that make up the FFEI play a huge role in this scenario. If the coal, oil and gas expansion projects planned by these companies go ahead, they will unleash between 77-129 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (GtCO2-e) – 1.3-2.2 times the world’s entire 2023 emissions at a time when deep reductions need to be made.

Using their substantial financial power, large investors in the world’s biggest coal, oil and gas expanders must use all available tools to prevent such dangerous pollution from happening. 

With climate-related events increasing in frequency and severity, we discuss the role of insurance in mitigating the economic and social risks. With a focus on the property and casualty insurance sector, learn about insurance’s economic role, how insurers are adapting their strategies to protect against losses while offering coverage where it is needed, and the importance of risk mitigation efforts by all key players.

PGIM’s David Klausner, ESG Specialist, hosts this discussion with Pinto Suri, U.S. Investment Grade Credit Research Analyst.

Climate-related risks are increasingly recognised as an important threat to long-term fiscal sustainability, raising questions about the extent to which credit rating agencies integrate these risks into their sovereign rating assessments.

This article addresses this question in a large sample of advanced, emerging and lowincome economies using detailed measures of climate risks. It finds that higher temperature anomalies and more frequent natural disasters – measures of physical risk – lead to lower credit ratings.  However, the overall impacts are low and their effects negligible compared with other rating determinants.

Ambitious CO2 reduction targets and actual emission reductions have been reflected in higher ratings, but only since the 2015 Paris Agreement, suggesting increased attention has been paid in recent years to risk related to the transition to a greener economy. Additionally, highly indebted countries and countries reliant on fossil fuel revenues have been assigned lower ratings post-2015, while exporters of transition-critical materials have received higher ratings.

These findings highlight the need for caution in using credit ratings for regulatory and macroeconomic policy, as they seem to only partially account for environmental considerations.

"The global AI landscape is evolving rapidly, with the US, China and the UK leading the way in AI model development, ahead of the rest of Europe. When it comes to GenAI, many experts describe the current environment as a “move fast and break things” era, with risks that safety considerations are taking a backseat. In a new report, BNP Paribas Equity Research analysts reflect on the current state of play and examine the investor response to this race to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

To do this, our analysts review the responsible AI strategies of 15 asset managers to identify common themes, points of divergence, and opportunities for growth. They find that AI is widely perceived as a promising investment opportunity for sustainability-minded investors, with real benefits observed across various sectors. To grow their knowledge on the theme investors are starting to differentiate between AI developers and deployers, actively develop a comprehensive understanding of AI-related risks, and are seeking best practices whilst increasing their exposure to the sector."

Below are the key takeaways from the second publication in the ISS STOXX Natural Capital Research Institute’s new series on critical minerals. To download a copy of the full report, please  click here.

• The transition to a more resilient energy sector largely relies on an increasing use of renewable energy sources and the adoption of new technologies. Both require extensive use of minerals, particularly critical minerals. Nickel and cobalt, being transition metals that provide high energy capacity, conductivity, and energy density, are both used in batteries, including electric vehicle (EV) batteries. 

• According to the most conservative scenario (STEPS) from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global annual nickel demand driven by clean energy technologies will more than double from 2030 to 2050. Under the same scenario, the IEA projects that global annual cobalt demand driven by clean energy technologies will increase by roughly 16% from 2030 to 2050.  

• ISS data shows that sustainability issues, such as biodiversity loss, water pollution, human rights, and climate change, present potential risks to investors in nickel and cobalt mining companies. One way mining companies can improve their sustainability performance is through recycling materials and other circular economy strategies. 

• Institutional investors can benefit from having a better understanding of the sustainability profiles of the nickel and cobalt mining companies in their portfolios and help assess which companies are best positioned to manage sustainability risk and meet international global standards and regulations around responsible mining.   

"Atoms, bytes and genes represent our way of thinking about the evolution of the physical, digital and natural worlds, which constitute everything around us. Ample evidence suggests that trends in these areas will drive growth in the corporate world for many years to come.

In the second part of this three-part series, George Crowdy, Senior Fund Manager, looks at 'bytes' – representing investments into the digital world – and how this long-term trend is represented in our sustainable fund range"

"In today’s increasingly complex markets, financially-material environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are integral to investment strategies....

..Our investment teams marry their fundamental sectoral expertise with a growing understanding of ESG risks and opportunities, including climate change and biodiversity, which affect so many segments of the market. ...

...Reflecting the importance of this approach, Janus Henderson Investors has partnered with the University of California, Berkeley Executive Education (UC Berkeley) on an Insight Collective education programme aimed at benefitting investment professionals and clients alike."

Examining biodiversity risk

Fast reading

• "To illustrate our approach to biodiversity risk, we outline our assessment for Press Metal Aluminium, the Malaysian aluminium smelter known for its low carbon product yet with operations in close proximity to environmentally sensitive areas.
• We also provide an update on our latest impact data and include a summary of recent engagements including with Clicks Group, BYD and KEC International.
• The GEMs Equity team has continued with efforts to improve board diversity and independence across various markets, through engagement and voting at company meetings, while also focusing on capital allocation and remuneration."

JobPost: Aviva  - ESG Fixed Income Analyst (London, close unknown)

The ESG Analyst is a key member of our dynamic in-house team responsible for evaluating current and potential portfolio investments and leveraging active ownership strategies — including company engagement, proxy voting, and public policy — to advance sustainable business practices. We seek experienced and accomplished candidates with exceptional research and analytical capabilities, superior communication and relationship management skills, and the ability to effectively manage time and deliver multiple projects with keen insight and attention to detail. 

JobPost: Chanel - Senior Manager – Climate & Nature Impact Performance (Fixed-term, Maternity Cover) (London, close 30 Sept)

ShareAction’s Banking Standards team works towards holding financial institutions accountable for their impact on climate change. We have a history of campaigning on key aspects of banks’ climate strategies—such as their emission reduction targets or fossil fuel policies—and we are gradually expanding our work to include other sustainability themes and banking regulation. We have achieved significant wins, such as contributing to HSBC becoming the world’s largest bank to cease financing for new oil and gas fields, Barclays dramatically reducing its oil sands financing, and mobilising investors to call on Societe Generale to set a renewable energy target.

The team is structured around two main pillars: our campaigning and research pillar. The research pillar ensures that the team’s campaigning and advocacy work is based on sound analysis and facts. The Senior Research Manager oversees the research pillar, currently composed of three more junior researchers. The Senior Research Manager is responsible for developing and implementing a research strategy that underpins campaign needs for analysis and insight in line with campaign timelines and available resources. They oversee and contribute to the delivery of high-quality research outputs, including thematic reports, investor briefings, surveys of Europe’s largest banks, and ensure that they are underpinned by clear and robust research methodologies. Alongside the Head of Banking Programme and the Senior Campaign Manager, they act as an ambassador for the team in external forums, the media, and when meeting with and presenting to external stakeholders, including banks, civil society organisations, and investors.

Key responsibilities are detailed in the Job Description in the downloadable Candidate Pack.

If this role sounds like something that would build on your current skill set and engage you, we’d love to hear from you!

Applications will be reviewed regularly, and this advert may close earlier than stated if a suitable candidate is identified. You are therefore encouraged to apply as soon as you can. Previous applicants should not re-apply.

Apply below

Employment Type - Contract - Please note, where PRI has an office there is an expectation to work a minimum of 2 days per week
Location Hybrid · London, City of, UK
Team IIC
Seniority Mid-level
Closing: 8:00pm, 22nd Aug 2025 BST

JobPost: ShareAction - Senior Engagement Manager - Investor Engagement (London, close unknown)

JobPost: Goldman Sachs - Asset & Wealth Management, Sustainability & Impact, Value Creation, Associate - New York

See links below for further details and to apply

Account Manager, Fundraising

Senior Sponsorship Specialist, Events (8 Month Fixed Term Contract)

Senior Associate, Events (8 Month Fixed Term Contract)

JobPost: Bloomberg - Senior Sustainability Analyst, Reporting & Data - Global Sustainability Office (NYC, close unknown)

JobPost: Mondelez - ESG Data & Digital Manager (various global locations)

The Senior Engagement Manager role will sit within the Investor engagement (IE) team. The IE team is responsible for challenging asset managers and asset owners on their responsible investment practices (climate, biodiversity, social…), socialising ShareAction research relevant to advancing responsible investment standards, as well as coordinating investor engagement and outreach across the organisation.

ShareAction intends to develop an ambitious engagement strategy with asset owners to persuade them to lead and drive change across the investment and stewardship chain. One of the main focus area will be engagement with UK and EU pension funds, aimed at mobilising them to drive greater ambition through the investment system by setting high expectations of their asset managers and holding them to account for the quality and ambition of their stewardship activity, including by moving mandates where appropriate.

The role involves establishing high-calibre relationships with senior decision-makers at mainly UK and European asset owners. These relationships are developed through regular dialogue via individual meetings, roundtables or webinars, exploring the application and evolution of responsible investment standards across selected thematic areas. The impact of this dialogue will rest upon the role holder working closely with colleagues across the organisation to leverage ShareAction’s expertise across workstreams.

The Senior Engagement Manager will also support the development of ShareAction’s responsible investment standards for institutional investors, working closely with the Head of Investor Engagement and Senior Research Manager to produce research on key thematic issues. They will lead engagement with investors to gather input, shape recommendations, and drive adoption of higher standards across the investment system.

If this role sounds like something that would build on your current skill set and engage you, we’d love to hear from you!

Deadline for applications: 9:00 a.m. on Monday 4th August

JobPost: UGI Corp. - Manager - ESG & Investor Relations (US, close unknown)