Independent research companies

A comparison of 10 publicly listed asset managers and their financed emissions featuring:

• Northern Trust Corp
• M&G
• Janus Henderson Group
• Ameriprise Financial
• Azimut Holding
• Nomura Holdings
• Apollo Asset Management
• IGM Financial
• Polar Capital
• Eurazeo

In contrast to the drama and excitement of AI, water investments can seem calm and placid. But while markets are enamored with AI’s potential, long-term growth opportunities into water infrastructure go quietly unnoticed.

Summary

• Water is a strong, stable but sometimes underappreciated theme
• Diverse structural trends are driving water infrastructure investments
• Robust, multi-year investment cycles support long-term growth

By now, the urgency of climate change is clear. Yet, despite rising global temperatures, extreme weather events, and increasingly dire scientific warnings, policy momentum appears to be slowing. Regnan’s Oshadee Siyaguna, Senior Thematic Investment Analyst, provides insight into the complex dynamics shaping climate strategy amid regulatory turbulence.

• Global Climate Governance Under Threat: Recent U.S. policy reversals on greenhouse gas regulations have sent a concerning climate governance signal worldwide.

• Economic Pressures and Climate Policy: The ongoing economic volatility, including the aftermath of COVID-19 and the Ukraine conflict, have intertwined with climate policies, making emission reduction efforts appear as additional burdens during difficult economic times. This has led to social unrest and protests globally.

• Societal Tensions and Protests: While many protests demand stronger climate action, there is a notable rise in anti-climate demonstrations, particularly among labour groups. This highlights the need for equitable frameworks to address the social dimensions of transitioning industries.

• Corporate Strategies Amid Uncertainty: Companies are recalibrating their climate commitments due to policy turbulence. 

• The Inevitability of Policy Action: The concept of an inevitable policy response to climate change is challenged by public awareness and political will. Delaying action until impacts become undeniable risks reaching critical tipping points.

• Navigating an Uncertain Future: Escalating physical impacts from climate change are compressing risk timelines. Policymakers must adapt with inclusive policies addressing socio-economic impacts on transforming communities.

• A Call for Nuanced Action: Effective climate strategies must acknowledge complex economic realities and societal dynamics. The path forward requires recognising these complexities and taking decisive yet equitable action.

Companies in the plastic industry should have one of the longest risk registers of any sector. European retail banks financing plastics, along with their investors are financially exposed to these plastic-related risks. In this report, we use natural language processing to examine how major European retail banks talk about plastics and whether they consider plastic pollution risk as part of their lending criteria. 

Our research suggests that most of the 30 largest European retail banks have minimal or non-existent policies specifically addressing (mitigating) plastic use, management, and reduction in their investment decisions. Financial institutions should be contemplating the probability of substantial liabilities and pushing investee banks to develop robust plastic-related policies for lending decisions.

This CRIF has been developed for investors that wish to consider how physical climate risks may require enhanced management to accurately assess an asset’s financial returns. Better management of physical climate risks from a financial materiality lens can help investors:

• Improve the financial resilience of both individual assets and portfolios.
• Help investors contribute to building resilience within the real economy, by direct investment, engagement and stewardship.
• Identify investment opportunities associated with adaptation solutions.
• Build the case for strategies managing transition risks (which are needed to mitigate the causes of increasing physical climate risks).

The focus of this framework is to support investors to manage financial risks arising due to physical climate risks to their own individual portfolios.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a transformative force across the global economy. The advent of advanced AI, including generative models like ChatGPT, has spurred innovation in virtually every sector—from finance and healthcare to manufacturing and retail—promising increased efficiency, new products and services, and substantial value creation. Investors are eager to capitalize on this AI-driven growth but must also navigate the complex risk landscape accompanying such technological, social, and possible geopolitical change.

For investors, understanding AI’s risks and opportunities will be essential to making informed decisions. This report provides an overview of AI-related risk and opportunity over the next five years, focusing on:

• Economic Growth
• Energy and Supply Systems Transition
• Environmental Impact
• New Regulation
• Security and Accountability Risks
• Socio-economic Upheaval
• The Geopolitical “AI race”

From electric vehicles to energy-efficient data centres, the green economy is a growing global market in which many countries are trying to become leaders. With Asia playing a key role in the global green economy and Singapore acting as the region’s technology innovation and capital markets hub, the city state’s equity market merits close attention from sustainable equity investors.

• Singapore’s green revenue share in the STI reached 10.9% by end-2024, surpassing global averages and leading in sectors like energy and real estate.
• The Singapore Green Plan 2030 and sustainability disclosures make the city a competitive hub for green investment across real estate, technology, and renewables.
• Transparency in sustainability data is increasing, with new disclosure rules coming in 2025 to enhance the green economy landscape for investors.

*Includes investment information, eg TCFD, TNFD

*includes investment strategy information

RFI Foundation: What do banks gain by pursuing Net Zero objectives?

Net zero financial institution alliances have been shaken up in recent months, with some banks, particularly those from the United States, withdrawing from alliances or pulling back on their commitments. In this context, a recent research paper explores the economic case for Net Zero banking, and explains why banks’ self-interest, quite apart from ethical obligations to stakeholders, supports continued efforts in transitioning towards Net Zero goals.

The paper highlights two key ways in which banks gain from pursuing a Net Zero objective: reducing risks (default risk in particular); and capturing opportunities for financing growth in expanding segments related to decarbonization. Within the context of reducing climate-related risks, the paper notes widespread evidence that most banks are not primarily doing this through divestment.

The decision between divestment and engagement is not across the board, but divestment is used less frequently. For example, studies have found that loan supply is impacted by banks’ prohibition of financing certain activities, often related to coal mining or coal-fired power plants, especially for larger banks.

In these situations, the impact on decarbonisation is greater when bank financing from one institution is not easily substituted by financing from another (whether due to cost or availability). This makes the decision-making process different for banks than equity investors because the latter can be more easily substituted in response to divestment than bank financing.

Banks, however, have a stronger informational advantage about their clients that has been built up over several years. More of these relationships focus on the more carbon-intensive businesses, which historically have been “fixed asset intensive, with cash flow and cash buffer properties that make them attractive for bank lending”. This makes engagement and pricing more common levers than divestment for influencing companies’ behaviour in support of decarbonisation and climate-related risk mitigation.

In some cases, the impact of pricing or updated risk evaluation by banks will result in loan rationing. Rather than being explicit decisions to undertake divestment, incorporating climate-related risk metrics can lead to a gap between the financing cost that meets the return threshold for the company and the bank’s risk appetite.

In addition to efforts to reduce risk, banks are also pursuing Net Zero efforts in order to expand their access to future financing growth by expanding with clients scaling up decarbonizing technology. Different banks will pursue different strategies around risk mitigation or pursuing opportunities for financing growth that will be relatively path-dependent on historical activities in a way that allows them to leverage their experience and footprint in particular sectors.

The greatest challenge to banks’ efforts on decarbonisation is an underlying tension around both types of Net Zero financing. Financing the decarbonisation of existing high-carbon companies can be associated with “exposure to stranded assets, green regulations, and carbon-emitting sectors [that] may mean greater risk for bank lending portfolios”. Meanwhile, financing new decarbonisation technology “might be seen as riskier, with growth orientations rather than stability properties”.

This combination can produce instability in risk properties throughout the transition. The paper concludes: “…it is possible that transition can be very risky in the short run and have lower risk in the long run”. Although the research focuses on economic incentives that drive banks’ actions in support of Net Zero, it operates within a wider context that includes the regulation of safety and soundness.

As regulators increase their focus on the impact of climate-related risks on financial stability, they will produce incentives for banks that over time help to resolve the tension in risk properties. Although this isn’t the focus of the research, which centres around economic incentives for banks to support the transition to Net Zero, the regulatory benefit of being able to demonstrate your preparation to manage climate risks is something — along with banks limiting their exposure to areas with high physical climate risk — that helps banks prepare for future policy changes and other climate-related risks.

The research around banks’ incentives in the transition to Net Zero suggests that not every bank will approach it in the same way. Each bank will approach the transition with different opportunities to pursue based on the heterogeneous characteristics of different institutions, and there won’t be a single, one-size-fits-all approach. This is likely to be particularly true with markets, such as many within the OIC, where transition risks intersect with physical risks, as well as with regulatory risks originating locally and those connected with key export markets.

Want to stay updated about the implementation of responsible finance in OIC markets & Islamic finance? Subscribe to RFI’s free email newsletter today!

Japan has launched a $140 billion Green Transformation Policy. Although widely accepted as a hugely significant programme, we believe that it  hasn’t received sufficient attention from investors. The policy initiative could create tailwinds for a wide range of Japanese securities. It could also help promote the concept of ‘transition finance’, which provides financial support to help with decarbonisation of high-emitting activities.  

The article covers the Green Transformation Policy and related investment opportunities, how it could promote transition finance, and the importance of national policies to assess and engage with companies. 

Find out what this $140 billion programme means for investors

"This paper documents that ESG funds in the U.S. charge net expense ratios that are 9.5 to 12.7 basis points lower than those of non-ESG funds.

This contrasts with the existing literature on investors' willingness to pay for ESG. The fee difference is driven by the use of waivers, which offset the higher gross expense ratios of ESG funds.

We explore three explanations consistent with these findings:

• (1) heightened competition among ESG funds exerts downward pressure on fees,
• (2) ESG funds exhibit lower expected returns, and
• (3) fund families strategically use ESG funds with low fees to cross-sell higher-fee funds."

SSgA: Forward-Looking Climate Metrics in Corporate Bond Portfolios 

"Forward-looking climate metrics—such as implied temperature rise (ITR), carbon risk rating (CRR), and climate value at risk (CVaR) covering policy, technology, and physical risks—are reshaping how many institutional investors who prioritize climate factors manage corporate bond portfolios. These measures can reveal potential future vulnerabilities and opportunities beyond conventional backward-looking data, like emissions.

This digest is based on the research paper “Integrating forward-looking climate metrics in corporate fixed-income index portfolios”. Published in January 2025 as part of the CFA Institute Research and Policy Center's Investment Innovations Toward Achieving Net Zero: Voices of Influence*, the paper explores data coverage, risk correlations, and sector impacts, helping you gauge how these metrics might influence allocation decisions."

It takes skills worthy of a Swiss watchmaker to fully comprehend all the moving parts involved in the energy transition.

Fossil fuel production is expected to peak by 2030, not least because of the rise of electric vehicles. This shift will drive a significant increase in electricity demand. And so will the boom in power-hungry artificial intelligence (AI), the rapid economic development of emerging countries and global population growth.

Climate change concerns mean this demand for electricity must be met with renewable energy sources like solar and wind energy, possibly also nuclear power, and not with fossil fuels. This will also be accompanied by the vast expansion of power storage systems, particularly batteries, requiring major growth in metal and mineral extraction...

Tracking the economic implications of all these elements is perhaps one of the most important challenges investors will face over the next five to 10 years, and beyond.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics increasingly inform a wide range of business and investment decisions. Based on the OECD’s collection and classification of over 2 000 metrics from eight major ESG rating products, this report assesses the scope, characteristics and comparability of ESG metrics.

The climate taboo: the silent cost of war. Increasing military spending could have major climate consequences as the defense sector already accounts for 5.5% of global emissions, and wars often generate as much emissions as entire nations.

In this context, ramping up defense spending to 3.5% of GDP could send emissions surging by 38 MtCO2e and 65 MtCO2e within a year. This would set France and Germany back by five and three years, respectively, in their paths to reaching net-zero by 2050. To offset this, Europe will need to increase the defense reliance on renewable energy while improving efficiency in military infrastructure and vehicles, besides developing a comprehensive strategy that integrates defense and climate considerations, upgrading military buildings and facilities to be more sustainable and embedding sustainability principles in procurement and research.

Analyst

• Jacky Chan

Summary

Sustainable Fitch has assigned Trina Solar Co., Ltd. an ESG Entity Rating of ‘2’ and an entity score of 81. This rating reflects the company’s good overall ESG profile and the integration of ESG considerations into its business, strategy and management.

Trina Solar is a manufacturer of PV modules, fixed-tilt systems and solar trackers, and battery energy storage systems. The company also constructs, operates and maintains PV power stations and provides distributed PV solutions to utility, commercial, industrial and residential customers.

We view Trina Solar’s core business activities as significantly contributing to climate change mitigation and the clean energy transition. These contributions are also widely recognised by international science-based taxonomies, such as the EU taxonomy. This is the key rating driver for Trina Solar’s good ESG profile.

Given that Trina Solar’s business activity is intrinsically focused on environmental advancements, we have assigned Trina Solar the pure-player label.

...

Analysts:

• Marina Petroleka
• Aurelia Britsch

Headlines

• Social Issues Central for the Sector, in Particular Access to Healthcare
• ESG Ratings Vary on Social, Environmental Impacts; Governance Key Concern
• A Modest Presence on ESG-Labelled Bond Markets

Analysts:

• Nneka Chike-Obi
• Melissa Cheok

Headlines

• Telecoms Sector Has Good ESG Ratings; Technology Sector is Average
• Limited ESG Labelled Bond Market Activity from ICT Companies
• Growth in AI Poses Sustainability Opportunities and Challenges

Analyst

• Victoria Munarriz

Summary

"Sustainable Fitch has affirmed Severn Trent PLC (Severn Trent) ESG Entity Rating at ‘2’ and increased its entity score to 84 from 79. We also affirmed its ESG Framework Rating at ‘2’ and framework score at 76 for the sustainability bond issued on 22 February 2022 (ISIN XS2445344570).

The affirmations reflect the positive environmental and social impact of its water and wastewater activities. The improved entity score was mainly driven by increased alignment of its activities with the EU taxonomy, and by improvements in gender diversity at the senior management level and in employee turnover rate.

We view Severn Trent’s core water and wastewater activities as significantly contributing to mitigating climate change, without negatively affecting the environment or society. We have therefore assigned it the environmental pure-player label."

...

Analysts:

• William Attwell
• Melissa Cheok

Headlines

• Mixed Environmental Impacts, but Positive Social Impacts
• Asian Entities Dominate Labelled Debt Issuance
• Low-Carbon Fuels Present Opportunities and Challenges

• APAC lenders’ default risk could more than double due to transition risks, driven by high industrials exposures. By contrast, banks in Europe and the Americas saw smaller increases, given their focus on financials and real estate.
• Only 20% of banks reported using climate-scenario analyses, and only 18% integrated climate-related risks into their risk management.
• More regulators expect the integration of transition risks into processes around credit-risk management. Therefore, banks may need to adopt forward-looking approaches and longer time horizons to manage these emerging risks effectively.

"Global regulators are increasingly emphasizing the need for forward-looking, long-term planning in assessing climate-transition risks. For example, the European Banking Authority’s latest guidance on managing ESG risks requires banks to extend their risk horizons to at least 10 years, recognizing that climate risks often take decades to materialize. Lenders need to understand how transition risks transmit to credit, market and liquidity exposures. Advanced tools like climate-scenario analysis and stress testing are therefore becoming essential for shaping risk appetite and capital planning at credit institutions. In this blog post, we explore how banks can leverage these tools to meet evolving regulatory demands."

This report highlights how food companies can turn the challenge of livestock methane into an advantage. This report serves as a resource for companies to seize the opportunity to manage financial risks and deliver long-term business value and for financial investors to understand what companies are considering when addressing livestock methane.

The report provides:

• The Business Case: The risks and opportunities of reducing methane.
• Exposure Map: The sub-industries in the sector, ranging from packaged food and meat companies to restaurants, that face the greatest methane risk exposure.
• Case Studies: Examples of leading practices and interim successes from companies already taking action.
• A Framework for Engagement: Strategies for institutional investors for identifying the sectors with the biggest risk exposure and assessing corporate action on addressing methane.

FirstGroup plc (FGP: FTSE 250), one of the largest bus and rail operators in the UK, has published its first Climate Transition Plan

Buses, coaches and trains contribute less than 5% of the UK’s transport emissions, compared to over 50% for cars. As a leading transport operator carrying millions of passengers a day, FirstGroup has a critical role to play in the climate transition.

The Group has already received strong recognition for its commitments and progress to date, such as its inclusion in the most recent S&P Sustainability Yearbook and Clean200 report and receiving MSCI’s highest possible ESG rating of AAA. As well as highlighting some of the Group’s progress to date, the Climate Transition Plan sets out its comprehensive strategy to meaningfully reduce emissions, manage climate-related risks, drive modal shift and contribute to growth and prosperity in the communities it serves.

Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup’s CEO commented: “As a leading public transport operator, we have a critical role to play in the climate transition. Investing in decarbonisation, enhancing our operations and driving modal shift reduces our environmental impact and supports growth and prosperity in the communities we serve. It is also a key driver of our commercial success. The publication of our first Climate Transition Plan setting out our structured and ambitious approach to achieve this is an important step in our sustainability journey.”

The Plan is available on the Group’s website: FirstGroup plc Climate Transition Plan

Contacts at FirstGroup

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The Federated Hermes Biodiversity Equity Strategy aims to achieve long-term capital appreciation by investing in a concentrated portfolio of best-in-class companies that provide solutions to avert loss of biodiversity and support its restoration.

This report:

• Details the fund's impact
• Contains a thematic read
• Includes case studies on Deforestation (Brambles), Water (Xylem), Plastics (Kingspan) & Textiles (Cintas)

"Feeling overwhelmed by the whirlwind of EU sustainability reporting changes? You're not alone! I break it all down in just five minutes - so you can find out what matters to your business."

"At its third annual ESG Conference, Mercedes-Benz demonstrates commitment to achieving ambitious and measurable goals. Driven by tomorrow and a clear focus on the entire value chain, Mercedes-Benz firmly embeds sustainability considerations in the daily business."

Video recordings of the ESG Conference 2024 can be found via the link below.

"Understanding the complete lifecycle of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data is essential for any organisation looking to succeed in today’s sustainability-focused world. As businesses increasingly prioritise ESG metrics, grasping the details of data management—from collection to reporting—becomes crucial.

This article explores the importance of choosing the right solutions and highlights that navigating this complex landscape is not a journey you should take alone."

LeapFrog Investments is focused on delivering essential health, wealth and climate solutions to consumers across South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa. The firm has raised more than US$2.8bn from global institutional investors and is a major contributor to the growth of the impact investing industry, now worth more than US$1.57trn.

LeapFrog undertook major research to better understand the impact of its investments in healthcare by making use of well-known public healthcare metrics such as disability adjusted life years (DALYs), and social return on investment (SROI).

Conducted in partnership with PA Consulting, the research was focused on LeapFrog’s investment in Indian diagnostics chain Redcliffe Labs. Insights from the research can be used to evaluate future value-creation strategies and to measure the impact of interventions.

Hosted by Jefferies

Tuesday 11 March 2025 | 14:00 GMT / 15:00 CET / 10:00 EDT 

Recognised by Fortune’s Change the World List, ranked in Time’s Most Sustainable Companies 2024 and the FT’s European Climate Leaders 2024 and recently named #14 in the World’s Best Places to Work, Experian is a company that every investor must be familiar with from an ESG perspective.

Jefferies hosts Experian to hear the latest developments in regard to its ESG credentials. Evelyne Bull (VP Director, Investor Relations) and Abigail Lovell (Chief Sustainability Officer) will talk to those ESG factors that are most material to Experian, including:

• How Experian’s focus on financial health supports growth as well as driving positive social impact
• The firm’s efforts around data security and use
• Experian’s industry leading human capital management practices

Listen in on 11 March 2025 at 2:00 PM GMT / 3:00 PM CET / 10:00 AM EDT to learn more!

Company Speakers:

• Abigail Lovell, Chief Sustainability Officer
• Evelyne Bull, VP Director, Investor Relations

Jefferies' hosts: 

• Ryan Flight, Business Services Research Analyst
• Luke Sussams, Head of EMEA ESG Strategy

Format (45 mins):

• Brief presentation ~15 mins
• Q&A ~30 mins

ESG rating agencies, companies and investors are now having to distil vast amounts of ESG metrics into bite size chunks. AI will have to play a big role in this transition. But while it will spit out grades, will it really inform shareholders about what really matters?

We believe the best place to understand material ESG issues is the ESG investor roadshow, where real people not machines talk to each other.

Drafted by our Sustainability Consultant Andy White

WHEB: WHEB to remove the MSCI World Index as a benchmark

This month George Latham explains why we are removing the benchmark from the FP WHEB Sustainability Impact Fund. How it will allow for richer and more constructive conversations with investors about the returns we achieve on your behalf, and provide better information and transparency.

Hardman & Co: UK energy policy – up for grabs?

UK energy policy has changed of late, following the election of a Labour government last summer. The quest for Net Zero by 2030 – a hardly realistic target – is now a priority. Rightly or wrongly, the issues of security of supply, electricity prices and generation investment have all been superseded by this overarching aim.

In recent months, the government has withheld licensing approvals for various oil and gas projects – the latter, in particular, is much needed. Irrespective of the ca.£40bn Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, the commissioning of which is now unlikely before 2030, other nuclear new-build projects are also being discussed. Financing them will be a significant challenge, especially given the very high level of UK public sector net debt.

...

Fossil fuel assets are subject to unique pressure from a global shift aiming to avoid the cascading impacts of climate change. Many countries including the UK have set decarbonisation targets, looking to curtail demand for fossil fuels through policy which supports renewables, energy efficiency, and electrification.

While policy and legislative measures exert pressure on fossil fuel companies from one direction, market pressures from consumer choice and price competition from renewable energy alternatives exert pressure from the other direction. The result is a mounting risk of value erosion for fossil fuel assets. Nonetheless, many oil and gas companies continue to  The disjoint between global decarbonisation targets and some investors’ expectations of long-term fossil fuel returns, gives rise to a distributed risk of loss from stranded assets.

Stranded Exports: How export credit agencies continue to finance risky overseas oil and gas projects

While many governments have reduced financial support for oil and gas projects through their export credit agencies (ECAs) in recent years, some continue to provide loans, guarantees and insurance to the sector.

This report explores the risks inherent in such financing as the energy transition progresses.

The state for two of the nation’s top economic indicators – the employment rate and GDP – is presenting a gloomy outlook for Black Americans when it comes to job prospects. The unemployment rate for Black workers is projected to rise to 6.8% for February 2025, up from 6.4% the previous month, according to a new analysis by Creative Investment Research. The calculation means that the firm believes Black Americans will lose an additional 78,000 jobs between January and February this year.

On 25 March, dsm-firmenich will present the ESG philosophy, strategy and plans of the merged company and present the new data (for the combined company) from its recently-published 2024 Integrated Annual Report.

This event is set-up for analysts and ESG specialists who are looking for a deeper understanding of dsm-firmenich's ESG credentials and seeking an engagement with the company's ESG specialists.

Our event will highlight dsm-firmenich’s core beliefs on sustainability, our sustainability agenda, and the business value it brings.

The program includes keynotes from and Q&A with dsm-firmenich's CEO, CFO, and CSO and a networking lunch with senior management of dsm-firmenich.

Also, there will be in-depth sessions on:

• nature and biodiversity
• health and wellness
• carbon reduction
• value chain projects
• the science capabilities of dsm-firmenich as enablers of sustainable solutions

RSVP

To request an invitation to the event, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

FOR RECORDING / MORE INFO

If you cannot attend the event in person but are interested in the company / subjects covered or would welcome contact on sustainability with dsm-firmenich, please complete the form below:

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RFI Foundation: What banks are (and are not) disclosing in their transition plans

Many financial institutions will this year make their first transition plan disclosures in line with the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Despite recent efforts to limit the applicability of CSRD so as to streamline reporting requirements, many companies will start to file sustainability reports in line with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards covering their activities during 2024.

The Sustainable Finance Observatory (formerly 2 Degrees Investing Initiative) has released a report evaluating some of what can be expected to be in the forthcoming reports, and what may be missing. Their analysis is based on the disclosures to date made under transition plan guidance for signatories to the Net Zero Asset Management and Net Zero Banking Alliances.

Although the Net Zero alliances have been facing significant shifts of focus, their previously issued reporting guidance has had an impact on transition plan disclosures for ‘financial market participants’ (banks and asset managers). The disclosures have presented some information about Net Zero targets, and about climate solutions and transition financing activity targets for financial institutions.

The Sustainable Finance Observatory compared voluntary reporting under the Net Zero alliance guidelines with what is spelt out in a mandatory standard without sector-specific requirements. The outcome presents a list of issues that are likely to occupy standards setters for some years if transition plan reports are to become useful, credible and comparable for the financial sector globally.

The issues highlighted by the Sustainable Finance Observatory include:

• Transition plan disclosures for diversified financial sector institutions will often be able to meet disclosure requirements but, as a result of consolidated reporting, still fall short in providing sufficient detail for each business unit and addressing transition criteria relevant to financed, facilitated, and advised emissions.

• Many banks have reported sectoral decarbonization targets but are not showing progress (48% of reviewed disclosures showed no progress on sectoral decarbonization targets).

• Banks are providing limited disclosure of full Scope 1, 2 and 3 absolute emissions, and the data they do provide omit some high-emitting sectors or include data that inhibit comparability with other institutions. An example is where some institutions report physical emissions intensity, others report monetary emissions intensity and few report complete data on the absolute values of financed emissions.

• Many transition plans omit details about the customer activities they continue to finance while they pursue alignment with announced fossil fuel exit dates (many of which only cover coal power and rely on data which include gaps in the coal value chain).

• Many financial institutions state only their intention to be ‘Paris aligned’ and don’t provide enough information for users of their transition plans to evaluate whether their strategy and business model are credible.

• There is a lack of comparability between different financial institution decarbonization levers and the key actions planned because these levers are highly variable and it is “nigh on impossible to assess overall effect […] or to compare between different organizations”.

• Many financial institutions don’t discuss impacts that could force them to revise interim targets, and few are developing internal capabilities sufficient to reach these targets.

Transition plans are inherently more complex for financial institutions than most other businesses because they depend on the activities and credibility of their customers’ transition plans. Yet, finance plays such an important role in enabling the flows of funds to support climate transition that new mandates for disclosure are likely.

The review by the Sustainable Finance Observatory of the state of European financial institutions’ transition plan disclosure ahead of their first mandatory reports shows how wide the gap is between the aspiration of voluntary guidance on financial institution transition plans and current reports.

For investors and financial institutions in OIC markets with less robust non-financial transition plans and sustainability reporting, the gaps are surely wider, even as a successful transition carries a significant opportunity (and risk mitigation) outcome for the economy and financial sector. These will be compounded by an increased focus not only on the ‘credibility’ of transition plans, but also on the alignment of transition plans with Just Transition principles.

Want to stay updated about the implementation of responsible finance in OIC markets & Islamic finance? Subscribe to RFI’s free email newsletter today!

Analysis: Climate change is increasing temperatures year-round in West Africa, impacting cacao quantity and quality

• Climate change, due primarily to burning oil, coal, and methane gas, is causing hotter temperatures to become more frequent in the four West African countries responsible for producing approximately 70% of the world’s cacao — the key ingredient in chocolate.
• Analysis of daily maximum temperatures during the past decade shows that climate change added at least three weeks above 32°C (89.6°F) annually during the main cacao crop season (October-March) in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. Such temperatures are above the optimal temperature range for cacao trees.
• Over the same time period, climate change added just over two weeks above 32°C annually during the main crop season in Cameroon and more than one week in Nigeria.
• In 2024, human-caused climate change added six weeks’ worth of days above 32°C in 71% of cacao-producing areas across Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria.
• While many factors, such as precipitation and insect-borne infections, can affect cacao trees, excessive heat can contribute to a reduction in the quantity and quality of the harvest — potentially increasing global chocolate prices and impacting local economies in West Africa.

Direct link to download sustainability statement

... contains:

• Stakeholder engagement
• Double materiality assessment
• Environmental information
• Social information
• Governance information

Contacts at ABB registered with SRI-Connect

• Ruth Jäger - Investor Relations

SustainAX: How the ESG* risk analyst should think - How your choice of climate scenario alters the ESG risk materiality

🔔 ESG risk is today tilted towards transitional climate change risk

The environmental part of most ESG risk research is tilted towards transitional risk in the climate related area. This is seen in the large selection of environmental risk subareas related to a company’s own adverse impact, both direct and indirect through the value chain. From GHG emissions and other pollution as examples of performance areas to programs like initiatives to reduce GHG emissions to curb the adverse impact of all types, passing by systems and governance like environmental management systems. This is a sensible approach if you have a climate scenario close to the IPCC 2.6 where transition risk is relatively important compared to physical risks. So what is the issue here?

🔔 Current geopolitical development has impacts

In addition to the steady news flow on how the world is not making progress with regards to net zero goals, we see companies leaving the net zero alliances, we see the EU reducing ambitions through the Omnibus, and the US on march to change the world order and leaving all considerations for the environment.

🔔 We are likely heading for more severe physical climate scenarios

From what we have seen so far and what we see in the world today, we are likely moving further out on the IPCC scenario menu, in the wrong direction. If this is the case, the way we assess environmental risk today must turn some of the focus away from transitional risks towards physical risks.

We drill into details and also try to simplistically model and graph this with a target to serve as base for discussion.

🌟 We can send you the Excel model file!

If you would like us to send you the Excel model file we made for this modelling you simply need to comment this post with your thoughts and let us know you would like to have the model file sent over.

🌟 And of course as always, we are very keen to hear your thoughts.

Report covers:

'Our value creation model'

PEOPLE

• Security, safety, health and well-being
• Our people
• Social impact
• Nutrition and health

PLANET

• Climate
• Nature

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

• Internal engagement on sustainability
• Supplier engagement
• Investor engagement
• ESG ratings and certifications
• Community engagement
• Partnerships
• Business ethics

Link to sustainability section online

JobPost: Goldman Sachs - Asset & Wealth Management, Private Credit, Global Head of ESG, Vice President (NYC | Close unknown)

Senior Learning & Development Partner - People & Culture Team - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Senior Internal Communications & Engagement Business Partner - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Specialist, CRM Administrator - Solutions & Technology - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Growth Marketing Manager - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Specialist, Stewardship Climate Action 100+ (12 Month Fixed Term Contract) - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

JobPost: PRI - Senior Specialist, Sovereign Engagement (Canada) 2 Year Fixed Term Contract
 

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 · Canada    Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal
 
Seniority Senior
Closing: 8:00pm, 6th Apr 2025 CDT

JobPost: Business Analyst, Technology & Infrastructure - PRI (London | Closing: 8:00pm, 2nd Mar 2025 GMT)

JobPosts: 3 @ PRI (1 x Brazil, 2 x London)

Associate, Signatory Operations (Bilingual) - Brazil - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Senior Press Officer, Communications - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

People Administrator, People & Culture Team - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

People Partner (Projects & Initiatives) - People & Culture Team - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

UKSIF – Membership Manager

UKSIF – Media Relations Manager

UKSIF – Committee Members

Senior Analyst, Policy (18 Month Fixed Term Contract) - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Specialist, Sustainability Initiatives (18 Month Fixed Term Contract) - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Senior Policy Analyst, Japan - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Associate, Responsible Investment Engagement & Innovation (12 Month Fixed Term Contract) - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

JobPost: TrustPilot - Group ESG Strategy & Reporting Manager (London | close unknown)

JobPost: Zurich Insurance - Climate Change & Sustainability Risk Consultant (remote | close 19 Feb)

Stewardship Intern (4 Month Contract) - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

Policy Specialist LATAM (Mexico) - Principles for Responsible Investment - Applied

JobPost: Chanel - ESG Due Diligence & Governance Manager (Paris | Close Unknown)

JobPost: Lloyds Banking Group - Head of Reporting & Controls - ESG (London | Close 7 Feb)

JobPost: Blackstone Credit & Insurance (“BXCI”) – Sustainability Analytics and Reporting, Vice President (NYC)

JobPost: GE Aerospace - Sustainability & ESG Ratings Lead (Various locations)

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) & Climate Strategist
Apply via LinkedIn

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Manager

Apply via LinkedIn