Policy and research orgs

After two years of elections and policy upheaval, Templeton Global Investments expects 2026 to bring a period of greater stability, as the policy, macro and industry conditions now settle into a clearer framework.

Report here

What vehicle types dominate the US market in 2026?

Light-truck sales dominated for the 13th straight year to close out 202, High auto loan delinquencies in reached a 15-year peak in Q4 but show no signs of widespread credit contraction. More affordable monthly payments could become available to consumers in 2026 as leasing is predicted to recover steadily. 

Crossovers struggled for the first time in over a decade, but light trucks remain a high-profit sector across automakers. With affordability concerns and constrained EV adoption, hybrid vehicle models are gaining ground, which account for over 12% of sales. As for consumers, strong demand for mobility is present. Annual miles driven rose for the fifth consecutive year, signaling opportunities for automakers and investors alike to align strategies with rising demand patterns.  

Download the full report to explore the comprehensive insights leaders in the auto industry are using to prepare for the challenges and opportunities in 2026. 

Asset managers' voting decisions vary substantially by location and firm size.

It’s been a bumpy ride for sustainability-focused investors over the last year or so. 

This year’s proxy season is getting into full swing against the backdrop of continued geopolitical and economic volatility— demanding answers to some tricky questions about what to prioritize in sustainable investing.  

And that’s all coming on top of reduced communication between investors and companies on environmental and social matters, prompted by abrupt changes in the policy landscape. 

The latest Morningstar research paper on asset manager proxy voting takes a close look at how US and European asset managers are voting on sustainability resolutions backed by a significant proportion of independent shareholders. 

Segregated mandates emerge as a preferred solution for asset owners seeking greater control.

The divide between how the largest US asset managers and their European asset owner clients approach investment stewardship—both in terms of approaches and priorities—has grown in recent years. It’s a conundrum that asset owners continue to wrestle with in 2026. 

The much-reduced presence of US asset managers on the latest signatory list for the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative well illustrates this. Political and regulatory hostility to all things “ESG” in the US—first in several states, and now within the White House—has undoubtedly risen over recent years.  

In turn, this has given US asset managers little room to accommodate the kind of ambitious goal-setting on climate-related stewardship that we saw earlier in the 2020s. 

"We invest in the transition to a sustainable economy." Group report via link below

Investment managers have the power to embed equity into the financial system, but this requires going beyond compliance-led approaches. As the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) debate evolves, investors should be bold in pointing to its value.

With £13.7bn under management across a broad investment universe, Foresight invests at a meaningful scale to drive change across a range of asset classes and markets. 

Ty Lee, Associate Director - Investments, considers how a major new source of water demand may come not from agriculture or heavy industry, but from digital infrastructure, particularly artificial intelligence. Public debate has primarily focused on data centre cooling but the bigger story lies elsewhere... 

Longtemps reléguée au second plan face aux enjeux climatiques, la biodiversité s’impose désormais comme un enjeu systémique majeur, que les investisseurs ne peuvent plus ignorer tant elle constitue un véritable facteur de risque et de performance.

Ever wonder how fruit stays fresh on its journey from farm to supermarket shelf?

Meet Brambles, a company that has been specialising in supply chain logistics for 150 years and a long-term holding in our U Ethical Australian Equities Trust.

In this article we explore how Brambles is using data to enter a new phase of intelligent distribution and create a competitive advantage competitors can’t easily replicate.

Since the energy shock of 2022, Europe has been trying to rethink its model to reduce its dependence on foreign hydrocarbons. Between diversifying gas supplies, reviving French nuclear production, and the increasing integration of renewable energies, where does the continent’s energy sovereignty really stand? Analysis by Juliette Cohen, Senior Strategist at CPRAM.

Even before the outbreak of the war in Iran, the issue of energy costs and the competitiveness of European industry was at the heart of the European Commission’s discussions. Recent events have only reinforced the urgency of making progress on these issues, and the discussions of the European Council on 19–20 March have provided some guidance for the coming months.

Includes section on sustainable investing

Includes information on engagement activities

Spotlight on nature report here

Published Oct 2025

VOTING OVERVIEW
We voted at 202 meetings, comprising 1,582 agenda items.

ENGAGEMENT OVERVIEW
There were 664 engagements with companies.

2025 PROXY VOTING REPORT
We have published our 2025 Proxy Voting Report. The report details our voting activity during the 2025 AGM season, including how our updated voting policy has been put into practice. It also contains insights into the AGM season, which this year include the improving quality of company climate transition plans being put to shareholders at AGMs.

Since early 2023, Border to Coast has engaged the UK water utility sector as part of an investor collaboration with Royal London Asset Management (RLAM). As the engagement programme comes to an end, we assess the progress made and highlight Border to Coast’s role in raising the bar for the sector, protecting and preserving long-term investment outcomes on behalf of Partner Funds.

The massive power build-out required for AI data centers has become the defining narrative for the utility sector. As these companies prepare to invest hundreds of billions in new infrastructure, executive compensation programs are shifting to align leadership incentives with this unprecedented demand growth.

American Electric Power issued $20 million of one-time awards to its CEO and CFO, Southern Company is dropping its 10% long-term pay link to carbon-free power additions (NextEra Energy faces a shareholder proposal after ending its corporate carbon goals last year), and all electric utilities could see pay performance continue to come in above-target with strong earnings growth.

The data center build out is driving many changes, including to electric utility executive pay programs. Understanding the incentives means digging deep into the many different -- and changing -- metrics and goals...

Join us for an immersive training session on leveraging AI for sustainable investment analysis and decision-making.

Methane is responsible for roughly 0.5°C of current global warming. Over 80 times more potent than CO₂ over 20 years, methane is the fastest lever we have to slow near-term heating. Agriculture, including livestock and rice, generates around 40% of methane emissions, more than fossil fuels.

However, banks are failing to act on rising methane emissions in the agriculture sector.

Planet Tracker examines 25 banks that provide and facilitate finance to 15 of the largest meat, dairy and rice companies. These banks provide lending and underwriting worth USD 159 billion to these 15 companies.   The companies generate an estimated 1.3 million tonnes of methane emissions per year, highly concentrated in a small number of multinational meat and dairy processors, including Tyson Foods and JBS.

Key findings

Analysis of their policies and targets shows that:

• All 25 banks have targets for reducing GHG emissions from high-emitting sectors but only two banks have targets specifically for Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Uses (AFOLU) sectors: Barclays (UK dairy and livestock only) and Rabobank (10 agriculture sectors).
• None of the 25 banks have policies or targets explicitly for agricultural methane. Rabobank is the only bank to name methane, but its commitment is to “significantly reduce” by 2050 rather than a specific medium-term (e.g. 2030) methane reduction target.
• Only one bank (Deutsche Bank) has a stated policy of withdrawing funding from companies “not willing or able to transition away from carbon-intensive activities” and only then as a last resort.
• Only JPMorgan, Barclays and Citi have GHG targets that also cover arranging bond financing (“facilitated debt”); the other 22 banks have targets for bank loans only (“financed emissions”). Yet bonds account for 96% of total debt of the 15 companies analysed.
• Bonds (rather than loans) account for 96% of the companies’ debt. However, most banks’ emissions targets apply only to lending, excluding the far greater climate impact of their role in arranging bond financing.  

Banks should use their leverage to reduce these emissions by restricting or withdrawing finance from companies that fail to act.

Planet Tracker recommends that:

• Banks adopt robust and credible policies for methane emissions from the food and agriculture sector.
• These policies should cover both financed and facilitated debt, and include a commitment to exiting companies that are not willing or able to transition away from methane-intensive activities.
• Standard setters require banks’ disclosure of facilitated methane emissions.

Whilst Aviva set to put its climate plan to a shareholder vote on 6 May, the FIR, in collaboration with ADEME, the World Benchmarking Alliance and the Ethos Foundation, provides an analysis of the plan.

The analysis is divided in two parts: the first assesses the plan’s transparency using the FIR methodology, whilst the second evaluates the company’s performance using ADEME’s ACT methodology.

To find out about the company’s results, how they compare with last year’s figures, and areas for improvement, please take a look at its analysis sheet.

Key Takeaways

• "Sustainable funds’ assets under management (AUM) reached a record $4.13 trillion at the end of December 2025, up 4.0% from June, but their share of total global fund assets declined to 6.5%, as traditional funds saw stronger flows.
• Sustainable funds recorded net outflows of $86.4 billion in 2H 2025, more than offsetting inflows earlier in the year. Europe-domiciled sustainable funds recorded outflows for the first time, although much of this was driven by reallocations to bespoke mandates.
• Sustainable funds delivered median returns of 5.3% in 2H 2025, just below traditional funds at 5.5%. Sustainable funds outperformed in most regions, but differences in geographic exposure offset this overall."

… contains …

• Do you need to be radical to be heard?
• The absence of shareholder engagement: A strategic and financial risk?
• Engagement strategy 2025
• Narrative and quantitative report on engagement

Integrated report (financial + ESG), published in 2026 for FY2025.

Publication date: 3 March 2026

Contains:

• "Electrification is unstoppable"
• Iberdrola today
• Business model and strategy
• Human and social capital
• Ethics, transparency and good governance
• Nature and efficient use of resources
• Supply Chain

Integrated-style disclosure (financial + ESG), typical for APAC; includes emissions intensity, LNG exposure, and transition positioning.

… contains:

• Sustainability Report (voluntary)
• Sustainability Report (mandatory)
• Corporate Governance

SASB-aligned with operational ESG metrics (safety, emissions, governance).

Publication date: 20 March 2026

... covers:

• Governance
• Environment
• Social

Flagship climate/ESG update aligned with CSRD; includes detailed Scope 1–3 progress and transition strategy execution.

Publication date: 26 March 2026

"These results underscore once again the robustness of the Company’s integrated multi‑energy model and confirm the relevance of a strategy designed to combine growth in the energy supply, competitiveness, and emissions reduction."

The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is at the forefront of one of the most transformational periods in modern history. However, the rise of AI comes with an increasing demand for water to cool the energy-intensive data centers that power AI computations. As the water withdrawal required to quench global AI demand is expected to reach up to 6.6 billion cubic meters in 2027, and the UN predicts that nearly half of the world’s population will face the risk of serious water scarcity by 2040, many investors are paying closer attention to the sustainability risks associated with rising data center demand. 

This report highlights the key water risk trends associated with artificial intelligence usage, and assesses how companies in the Software & Services industry are currently managing their water risks. It also provides a case study on the Big 4 data center companies – Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft – assessing their relative performance as the market leaders in AI investment.

Markets respond differently to risk. So does portfolio performance.

Portfolio resilience, return potential, and purpose‑aligned priorities are not mutually exclusive.

Our latest research examines how different regions price risk, how investors can evaluate trade‑offs between resilience, returns, and sustainability, and how these dynamics shape portfolio construction with lasting performance implications.

Building on our 2025 analysis, we study stress‑tested US and EU equity market data across multiple major market shocks to demonstrate how portfolios perform under pressure—and why outcomes differ by market structure and regulatory environment.

Download the report to see how these risk signals can be applied across regions to strengthen portfolio resilience in any market.

As the energy transition reshapes markets, investors are seeking clearer ways to assess how transition risks and opportunities may affect portfolio outcomes. In this paper we analyzed more than 37,000 mutual funds and ETFs globally to examine whether transition characteristics were linked to financial performance.  

The results suggest they were. Between 2022 and 2025, higher fund Energy Transition Scores were associated with stronger returns, particularly among climate- and transition-focused funds.

A one-point increase was associated with +1.7% per year higher returns, rising to nearly +3% for climate and transition funds. Managing exposure to transition pressures — such as policy and technology risks — showed the strongest relationship with performance, while transition readiness was more closely tied to improved decarbonization outcomes.

Not all sustainability investments carry equal weight for corporate performance. For executives making the internal case, our analysis offers a clear takeaway: Companies that strongly managed their most financially material sustainability risks tended, over a 12-year study period, to run more stable and predictable businesses than peers that did not.

The finding draws on data from more than 13,500 companies. Controlling for size, sector and region, those in the top quintile of MSCI ESG Ratings showed consistently lower variability in both sales and cash flows than bottom-quintile peers — a difference significant at the 99% confidence level. The pattern held across 10 of 11 sectors, suggesting a structural rather than incidental relationship. 

The results are consistent with the logic underpinning MSCI’s ESG Ratings model, which identifies environmental and social risks that are industry-specific and financially material, rather than treating sustainability as a uniform set of obligations. A chemicals company, for example, faces a different risk profile from a retailer or a bank. 

In this episode

For years, biodiversity risk has been a blind spot for investors — difficult to measure and even harder to link to financial performance. But that’s starting to change. In this episode, we explore how more granular, location-based data is helping investors see where companies are truly exposed to nature-related risks. 

"Stewardship at Dimensional is a global effort to protect and enhance shareholder value through engagements, proxy voting, and advocacy. The Annual Stewardship Report details these initiatives.

... contains:

• Approach to Investment Stewardship
• Investment Stewardship Activities
• Voting and Engagement Case Studies
• Public Policy
• Appendix: Portfolio Companies Engaged in 2025

"As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) has grown over the past few years, so have the energy needs of the data centers that power AI. In 2024, US data centers used approximately 200 terawatt-hours of electricity, about what it takes to power the country of Thailand for a year. And in 2025, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the US increased by 2.4%, driven in part by the expansion of data centers for AI and the increased combustion of coal to keep up with the growth in electricity demand.

What does this mean for the carbon footprint of companies involved in AI? We sat down with Michael Gillenwater, the executive director, dean, and co-founder of the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute and a member of Dimensional’s network of ESG researchers and academics, to better understand the challenges of carbon accounting and the implications of widespread adoption of AI on companies’ carbon footprints.

In Part 1 of this two-part series, Gillenwater explains the basics of carbon accounting. In Part 2, we explore how the growth in energy usage by AI data centers will be reflected in a company’s carbon footprint."

Part 1

Part 2 

What will it take to price physical risk with confidence?

On November 10, 2025, in Toronto, CPP Investments Insights Institute convened an invitation-only discussion on the challenge of underwriting and pricing climate-related physical risk.

Building on Investing in a Changing World: How public funds are addressing climate-related physical risks, a recent report from the Institute, the event brought together investors, banks, insurers, reinsurers, and data and modelling providers from across Canada’s financial ecosystem.

In this panel discussion, participants compare approaches and surface practical tools currently in use across the market. They explore what “good” looks like in pricing physical risk, and the data, modelling, governance, and disclosure barriers that must be addressed to move the market forward.

Fruuit Consulting is proud to announce a short two-day series on ESG Ratings.

ESG ratings are no longer an ESG team topic.

They show up in investor conversations, influence which funds can hold you, and increasingly shape how your disclosures get read and trusted.

That is why Fruuit is running ESG Ratings Workshops this spring, built for Investor Relations, Sustainability, Compliance, and Reporting teams, taught by former MSCI and Sustainalytics professionals.

Two options, depending on where you sit:
✅ ESG Ratings 101 for junior and mid-level professionals
Covers the ESG ratings landscape, how to report effectively for ratings, and how corporates should engage raters.

✅ Advanced ESG Ratings for senior professionals
A deeper dive into how investors use ESG ratings to allocate capital, how ratings link to regulation (including IFRS and CSRD), plus industry breakout sessions for banking, mining, and oil and gas.

If your job touches external reporting, risk, compliance, or investor confidence, this is designed to make the ratings world feel legible and actionable, fast.

Dates:
May 27 and 28, 2026, 8:30 AM ET
June 10 and 11, 2026, 2:00 PM ET

Show the math: with different agendas, shareholder proposals want to know if Amazon can really achieve its 2040 net zero goal

Amazon has made bold commitments to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, which has seemingly united pro-ESG and anti-ESG groups in wanting to know if the company can really achieve this in the face of a massive data center build out. This is a question all shareholders may want more information on given Amazon’s potential $150 billion data center spend.

Environmentally-focused As You Sow and Mercy Investments and conservative National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) have each filed shareholder proposals on Amazon’s 2026 proxy that want to know if the Everything Store is really committed to keeping its climate pledge given the massive energy needs for its data center expansion. They come from different places but are ultimately asking the same thing.

Rules, risks, and the energy transition...

"What is the global state of play regarding climate and sustainability regs and their applicability for the energy transition?

In this episode, I talk with David Carlin, founder of D. A. Carlin and Company, the New York-based sustainability advisory firm, about the fast-evolving world of climate and sustainability regulation."

We explore what today’s regulatory landscape means for the energy transition and for businesses navigating increasing complexity:

• how policymakers are shaping more realistic and pragmatic rules
• how companies and investors are responding to shifting global regulations
• which sectors are undergoing the most significant transformation
• which reporting and risk frameworks matter today and what comes next

David also shares his Transition Tapes playlist - a selection of standout rock storytelling, along with a curated list of recommended books and films."

Listen via Spotify

Listen via Apple

"I often hear how we can’t afford to move to renewables because they are too expensive and need too many subsidies to be competitive. Well, have these critics thought about how much we subsidise natural gas and petrol?

A group of economists from the World Bank and IMF went into great detail to sum up all the explicit subsidies given to producers of fossil fuels across 170 countries. They calculate that explicit subsidies amount to $725bn worldwide or some 0.6% of global GDP. Meanwhile, they calculate that there are an additional $6.7 trillion (5.8% of global GDP) provided in implicit subsidies by not taking into account the damage fossil fuels cause to the environment and human health ... "

Asia Pacific insurers are entering a defining phase for portfolio construction. Regulatory frameworks across Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore are tightening, sustainability commitments are accelerating, and global credit conditions continue to shift. In this environment, insurers must navigate an increasingly complex set of constraints without compromising the stability that fixed income portfolios are expected to provide.

Focal points

• The 13th edition of the Carbon Clean200™, released February 2026, ranks 200 publicly traded companies by sustainable revenues; collective revenues from clean-economy activities reached a record US$2.8 trillion in 2025 — up 12% year-on-year and 710% since 2017.
• The Clean200 has outperformed fossil fuel and broad market benchmarks over a 10-year horizon: US$10,000 invested on 1 July 2016 would have grown to US$38,290 by January 2026, versus US$21,100 for the MSCI ACWI/Energy fossil fuel benchmark.
• The 2026 list is concentrated in Asia-Pacific (36%), Europe (33%) and North America (26%); IT companies generate the largest share of sustainable revenue at US$782 billion, followed by Consumer Discretionary (US$649 billion) and Industrials (US$611 billion).

Contents

... includes ...

• Methodology: revenue-based selection criteria and exclusionary screens
• Performance analysis: Clean200 vs fossil fuel and broad market indices over 10 years
• Regional and sectoral distribution of the 2026 Clean200
• Top-ranked companies and sustainable revenue growth trends

[Selected by Mike (54) | Summarised by Sonnet 4.6 | Human-directed; AI-powered]

Focal points

• ACGA identifies persistent governance shortcomings in the revised ¥18,800 tender offer for Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO), despite improvements including a positive Special Committee recommendation and voluntary alignment with the updated TSE code of corporate conduct.
• The majority-of-minority condition remains diluted in the updated tender offer documentation, and no active solicitation of competing bids was conducted — a passive approach to price discovery that ACGA considers inadequate for a transaction of this scale and governance significance.
• For global investors and governance reformers, the TICO transaction is framed as a referendum on the credibility of Japan’s corporate governance revolution — with the founding Toyoda family identified as the primary beneficiary of the deal structure.

Contents

... includes ...

• Revised tender offer terms and Special Committee recommendation
• Persistent governance concerns: majority-of-minority dilution and price discovery
• Japan corporate governance reform context and TICO’s significance
• Implications for minority shareholders and global investors

[Selected by Mike (54) | Summarised by Sonnet 4.6 | Human-directed; AI-powered]

Pipeline contraction among large pharmaceutical companies undermines progress on antimicrobial resistance, even as pockets of innovation and supply chain improvements emerge.

Focal points

• The 2026 AMR Benchmark — assessing 25 pharmaceutical companies — identifies a 35% decline in antimicrobial pipeline candidates from large research-based companies since 2021, falling from 92 to 60 active candidates, with industry-wide efforts being outpaced by drug resistance.
• Despite pipeline contraction at large companies, SMEs are driving innovation for critical- and high-priority pathogens, and two recent FDA approvals — zoliflodacin and gepotidacin — mark the first new oral treatments for gonorrhea in decades.
• Critical access gaps persist: only five of 35 assessed projects are designed for children under five, and no assessed company has registered child-friendly antibiotic formulations in 17 sub-Saharan African countries where the AMR burden is highest.

Contents

... includes ...

• Pipeline analysis: large company contraction and SME innovation
• Supply chain compliance: antibiotic discharge standards
• Access gaps: child-friendly formulations and low- and middle-income countries
• Company performance rankings and sector-level findings

[Selected by Mike (54) | Summarised by Sonnet 4.6 | Human-directed; AI-powered]

Sustainability skills are a top learning requirement for investment managers, according to CFA Institute’s conversations with talent development teams across the industry. 

The evolution of sustainable investing and the new opportunities presented by artificial intelligence (AI) are driving demand for more sophisticated skillsets in investment management.

In discussions with CFA Institute’s business development team last year, employers told us that the skills related to all aspects of sustainability and climate investing were among their top learning requirements.

They are also among the most challenging. As highlighted by the organizations we spoke to, sustainability-related roles in finance today demand a complex combination of technical and human skills – as well as an ability to leverage AI for analytical power.

​The Environment and Sustainability recruitment market has started 2026 with steady, sustained activity.

Demand remains strong across construction, infrastructure, energy, and environmental services, driven by a continued shift from high‑level ESG strategy toward physical delivery.

Many organisations are now expanding their sustainability teams to support more mature programmes, meet regulatory expectations, and demonstrate real progress against net zero goals. As a result, hiring is particularly active at the mid‑senior level, where professionals are expected not only to advise but to lead, influence, and embed sustainability into day‑to‑day operations.

"Navigating sustainability reporting courses and training can be overwhelming. With simplified CSRD coming into force, IFRS standards being adopted across 35+ jurisdictions, GRI standards evolving, and many training providers popping up on the scene while your training budget shrinks, choosing the right course really matters. 

We’ve compiled this comprehensive comparison of leading sustainability reporting courses from top providers including Earth Academy, Sustainability Reporting Institute (formerly CSRD Institute), and Sustainability Reporting Navigator Academy. 

Whether you need CSRD compliance training, GRI certification, materiality assessment skills, or carbon accounting expertise, this guide helps you find the right fit based on: 

– Framework coverage (ESRS, GRI, IFRS, etc.) 

– Price and format 

– Skill level and prerequisites  

– Practical components included 

– Access duration" 

Why space is becoming an ESG story for public markets

As NASA’s Artemis II mission swings around the Moon and puts space back on front pages, it is worth asking a very Earth-bound question: what does the new space race look like through an ESG lens? Artemis II launched on April 1, 2026, marking the first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years, and this week’s flyby has revived the sense that space is back as a serious industrial theme, not just a science project.

Numerous listed players

That matters because this is no longer only a private-markets story. Even before any potential SpaceX IPO, public markets already offer meaningful exposure to space: Rocket Lab spans launch, spacecraft and satellite components; Redwire is building space infrastructure; Planet and BlackSky sell Earth-observation data and analytics; Iridium, Viasat and Globalstar are satellite communications plays; and AST SpaceMobile is trying to build direct-to-device connectivity from orbit. This is not yet a huge sector, but it is large enough for equity investors to care about the externalities as well as the growth narrative.

The sunny side

The bull case, from an ESG perspective, is real. Satellites can help monitor deforestation, track methane leaks, improve disaster response and extend connectivity to remote areas where terrestrial networks are weak or uneconomic. OECD notes that satellite networks are an important broadband option for rural and remote communities, while Planet explicitly positions itself around daily Earth data and insights. In the best version of the story, space is not an escape from Earth’s problems. It is a tool for measuring and managing them.

And the economic backdrop is only getting bigger. McKinsey estimates the global space economy could grow from about $630 billion in 2023 to $1.8 trillion by 2035. That kind of expansion is exactly when ESG questions stop being optional. Once an industry is scaling fast enough to attract mainstream equity capital, investors have to ask not just whether it can grow, but what costs it creates on the way.

The darker side

Those costs are increasingly hard to ignore. NASA’s own 2024 technical memorandum says rocket launches and re-entering satellites and upper stages emit gases and aerosols into every layer of the atmosphere, with potential effects on climate and ozone. NOAA-linked research similarly finds that black carbon from rockets can accumulate in the stratosphere, absorb solar radiation and warm the surrounding air. Space may still be a small emitter compared with aviation or heavy industry, but that is not the right benchmark. The more relevant point is that launch activity is rising, and so are the associated atmospheric impacts.

Then there is orbital congestion — the environmental issue space enthusiasts too often treat as somebody else’s problem. ESA’s 2025 Space Environment Report says about 40,000 objects are now tracked in orbit, including roughly 11,000 active payloads, while the estimated population of debris fragments larger than 1 cm exceeds 1.2 million. ESA’s conclusion is blunt: active debris removal is now required to stop the situation deteriorating further. In other words, the industry is not just using space. It is polluting it.

The social case is more awkward than the marketing usually suggests. Yes, there are obvious benefits in connectivity, climate monitoring and emergency response. But there is also a fair question about social utility. Not every mission that is technologically impressive is socially valuable. Investors should be able to distinguish between companies that help solve terrestrial problems and those whose business models depend on ever more launches, ever larger constellations, or vanity-driven demand with unclear public benefit. “Because it is cool” is not an ESG framework.

Conclusions

That pushes governance to the centre of the story. For space companies, ESG is not just about carbon disclosures. It is about whether management teams can show credible stewardship of launch intensity, fuel mix, debris mitigation, collision avoidance, end-of-life disposal and the real-world usefulness of their services. The investable question is not whether space is good or bad. It is whether a company’s revenues are tied to measurable benefits on Earth — or to externalities that regulation has not yet fully priced.

So perhaps the dark side of the Moon is not a lunar metaphor at all. It is the risk that public markets fall in love with the romance of space before they do the harder ESG accounting. Artemis makes the theme feel heroic again. But for equity markets, the more interesting question is less “can we go?” than “what are we bringing back — value, damage, or both?”

Monthly sustainable bond market commentary and analysis (professional investors)

Focal points

•       MySustainableCorner is Ostrum Asset Management's monthly analytical newsletter dedicated to developments in the sustainable bond market, applying Ostrum's proprietary Sustainable Bond Rating methodology which evaluates instruments on quality and value at both issuer and project level.

•       The March 2026 edition covers sustainable bond market conditions, new issuance trends, regulatory developments and pricing dynamics relevant to ESG-oriented fixed income investors.

•       The newsletter is part of Ostrum's broader sustainable fixed income capabilities, which include dedicated Just Transition bond strategies and an Article 9 SFDR-classified global sustainable transition bond fund.

•       Note: Full content is accessible to professional investors only via profile registration on the Ostrum website.

The Director of Communications provides senior strategic communications leadership for PRI, using communications as a deliberate lever to reinforce PRI’s value, credibility and coherence with signatories and external stakeholders. The role shapes the external narrative, protects and enhances reputation, and translates complex technical and policy work into clear, decision‑useful messages that strengthen the enabling environment for responsible investment.

Responsible Investment Manager, RI Markets - OCEANIA (Close 3 May)

Director, EMEA - RI Markets (Close 19 Apr)

12month Fixed Term Contract

IFM Investors is a global asset manager, founded and owned by pension funds, with capabilities in infrastructure equity and debt, private equity, private credit, real estate and listed equities. 

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to work in ESG Reporting. There is an increasing drive to promote transparency and comparability of ESG reporting across organisations to support sustainable investment decisions and progressive agendas in this space.  This includes the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which is a new reporting requirement covering the full breadth of ESG with a large number of disclosure requirements alongside the EU Taxonomy which assesses the sustainability credentials of a company’s financials.

Job Title: ESG Credit Analyst

Contract Type: Permanent

Location: London

Working style: Hybrid 50% home/office based

Closing date: 13th April 2026

We have an opportunity for an ESG Credit Analyst to join the Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) Credit team on a permanent basis.

The role focuses on sustainable credit research and ESG integration across a range of sectors and offers opportunities for interaction with stakeholders across the wider business, as well as external clients and consultants.

You’ll join a collaborative and inclusive team, with significant opportunity for development and career progression.

New York, New York, United States • Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Sustainability Investments Manager - 
Purchase, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Plano, Texas

Within this role, you will be undertaking high-quality and insightful ESG research, risk advice, stewardship and other activities that make a decisive contribution to a range of asset classes and themes. By working with initiative and in collaboration with colleagues from across the business and at all levels, these actions help to secure members’ futures by identifying and managing the ESG risks and opportunities that matter most to financial outcomes for members. A key part of your role will be ensuring our ESG risk advice on public and private investments, both managed internally and by external asset managers, is evidence-based and impactful.

The team is looking for a dynamic, engaged professional to support cross-functional reporting initiatives and carbon reduction activities. The role includes supporting the operations and integration of the team and working with internal colleagues at all levels and external stakeholders to advance the team’s overall impact. This role is ideal for someone who excels at coordination, stakeholder communication, and process improvement.

The role is accountable for the implementation, ongoing development and effective delivery of the PPF’s Stewardship Strategy, supporting the management of investment risks through engagement and voting and contributing to the achievement of sustainable long-term investment return across the Fund.

This role offers a genuine opportunity for a candidate who is passionate about sustainability, climate change and the transformation of the investment industry in a way that is additive across the value chain for the business.

Employment Type Full time Please note, where PRI has an office there is an expectation to work a minimum of 2 days per week
Location Hybrid · Singapore
Team Markets
Seniority Senior
Closing: 11:59pm, 22nd Mar 2026 +08

As a Senior Sustainability Analyst, you will play a key role in advancing Broadridge’s sustainability strategy and driving progress toward near-term and long-term emissions reduction goals. In this role, you will lead the development of supplier engagement program and contribute to disclosures aligned with global sustainability frameworks. You will collaborate with internal stakeholders and external partners to deliver accurate insights, identify opportunities for improvement, and recommend strategies that drive meaningful progress toward Broadridge’s environmental commitments.

Macmillan is seeking a Sustainability Specialist to support its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) program. This role will be key in driving sustainable business practices and strategies to help Macmillan achieve its environmental targets. The Specialist will collaborate across various teams to ensure the company meets its sustainability goals, adheres to environmental regulations, and integrates eco-friendly practices into daily operations.  Reports to the Director, ESG. 

You will join the ESG analyst team within the Fixed Income platform, to perform the following:

-Labeled Bond Research and Analysis: perform the ESG assessment of Green Social and Sustainable bonds (GSSB) according to BNPPAM internal framework and taxonomy. Provide opinions on new and recurring issuances when announced in the market. Maintain the database and processes linked to the assessment framework in collaboration with RI Techno.
-Coordination: Assist the coordination work within the Fixed Income and Core Investment platforms (meeting preparation and follow up, internal stakeholder management, coordination with other teams, etc)....

You will work collaboratively with our investment professionals to integrate sustainability considerations into our investment process including engaging with our investee companies on ESG issues. In this capacity you will work across the IM platform globally, with an initial focus our UK and European based investment teams. You will contribute to the development of Fidelity’s global sustainable investment frameworks and solutions. You will also work with client-facing teams to evidence the ESG integration process to our clients and consultants, particularly those based in the UK and Europe, acting as an ESG spokesperson both internally and externally.

This is a 12- month fixed term contract.

As a Sustainable Investing Analyst (AVP), you will report to the Head of Sustainable Investing Operations and will be responsible for the following:

-Play a leading role in the firm’s reporting to satisfy sustainable investing-related disclosure frameworks and external commitments
-Help meet sustainable investing-related regulatory obligations in various....

End Date:

Tuesday 17 March 2026

12 Month Fixed Term Contract

To identify, develop, and embed an approach to managing Barclays' sustainability-related risks, strategy, and ambitions; and supporting the banks’ business objectives, priorities, and regulatory requirements.

-Oversee the development of the EMEA risk management framework for ESG in collaboration with partners in other regions, Tokyo, within EMEA and with the first line of defence.
-Understand evolving regulatory and other stakeholder expectations and propose solutions to management that will continue to promote EMEA and MUFG’s ESG ambitions from both a business and risk perspective.
-Work closely with the Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer to ensure the risk framework meets the ambitions as agreed by the EMEA Sustainability Committee.
-Provide cover and support to other areas of the team and wider ERM responsibilities.

You will have the opportunity to manage project deliverables and have ownership of transformational topics, specifically within transition finance and net zero. A key feature of the role is close cross-divisional collaboration with all IBCM business units, as well as with the Chief Sustainability Office, IBCM and Global Communication teams, and the Chief Financial Office.

You will be part of a highly visible team with a direct impact on the execution of our product roadmap and vision, helping to deliver trendsetting products focused on Emissions & Environmental Data.

You will interact with internal partners to identify opportunities and respond with meaningful enhancements.

As Head of Sustainable Index Product, you will be responsible for the strategy, growth, governance, and risk management of Bloomberg’s ESG, Climate, and Sustainable index offerings. You will lead a global index product team within the Enterprise Data Product division and act as a senior control owner, balancing client demand and commercial objectives with regulatory and governance requirements.

Associate, Signatory Operations - Beijing
Principles for Responsible Investment
Employment Type Full time Please note, where PRI has an office there is an expectation to work a minimum of 2 days per week
Location Hybrid · Beijing, China

Team Signatory Operations
Seniority Junior
Closing: 11:59pm, 1st Mar 2026 KST

What you will be responsible for:

-Lead and conduct research on sustainable investing themes, including emerging topics such as natural capital and biodiversity, with a focus on building the associated investment thesis behind these topics
-Develop thought leadership pieces to demonstrate State Street Investment Management’s sustainable investing capabilities, focusing on financial materiality
-Enable sustainable investing product innovation by developing and supporting credible implementation methodologies to new investment approaches, e.g., sustainable outcome investing
-Partner with PM teams to conduct asset class-specific research on sustainability factors and to support client solutions

This is a critical role as part of our commitment to innovation and relevance in Sustainable and Transition Finance. The position will lead a global team of direct, commission-based sales professionals across EMEA, APAC, and the Americas to deliver against sales targets, including new sales, revenue growth, market coverage, and customer retention.

As Head of Sustainable Index Product, you will be responsible for the strategy, growth, governance, and risk management of Bloomberg’s ESG, Climate, and Sustainable index offerings. You will lead a global index product team within the Enterprise Data Product division and act as a senior control owner, balancing client demand and commercial objectives with regulatory and governance requirements.

As a Research Analyst, the candidate will work closely with our Global Equity Research and Data Science groups which provides in-depth company, sector and macro expertise to identify investment recommendations and emerging industry trends for the firm.

• Horizon Environmental & Climate Solutions, Associate

The primary duties of this role include:  

-Internal and external ESG and sustainability reporting, including responsibility for data quality, transparency, assurance and alignment with best practice frameworks and regulatory requirements (e.g. TCFD, EPRA best practices, SECR, GRI and ISSB). 
-Determine relevant ESG benchmarks, prepare submissions and manage relationships with benchmark providers......

We’re seeking a Senior Manager – Sustainability (Water) to guide and grow our water stewardship, nature strategy, and beyond-value-chain mitigation work across our markets. This is a high impact role at a pivotal time, ideal for someone who blends technical sustainability expertise with strategic thinking, partnership-building, and a desire to create measurable change.

Unilever is seeking a dedicated expert to strengthen its capacity for standards and frameworks engagement and advocacy across its climate and nature goals. This role will ensure alignment and coordination across internal teams and be a strong external voice in shaping global standards and frameworks such as the GHG Protocol, Science Based Targets initiative, Science Based Targets for Nature and key certification schemes.

We are seeking an experienced Director, Sustainable Research & Analytics to join the Sustainable Leadership team at FTSE Russell, a fully owned subsidiary of London Stock Exchange Group. The role reports directly to the Global Head of Sustainable. This is a pivotal role in ensuring the integrity, relevance and strategic value of the sustainable indices and index-based research, reporting and analysis for our clients. The team work closely with both internal stakeholders across FTSE Russell, wider LSEG and FTSE Russell’s partners and key clients, including major asset owners, asset managers and investment banks in the creation of new index products.

We are seeking an experienced Director, Sustainable Research & Analytics to join the Sustainable Leadership team at FTSE Russell, a fully owned subsidiary of London Stock Exchange Group. The role reports directly to the Global Head of Sustainable. This is a pivotal role in ensuring the integrity, relevance and strategic value of the sustainable indices and index-based research, reporting and analysis for our clients. The team work closely with both internal stakeholders across FTSE Russell, wider LSEG and FTSE Russell’s partners and key clients, including major asset owners, asset managers and investment banks in the creation of new index products.

Join us as a Sustainability Structurer where you will support the UK Corporate Sustainability Finance product offering for both new business and existing portfolio, adopting sustainable and transition finance products by UKC client with the execution and optimisation of structured ESG portfolio transactions to meet objectives. Build long term and economic key partnerships across various sector and coverage teams aligned with the sustainable agenda. Optimising returns from client opportunities either at bespoke or at structured portfolio levels and work in collaboration with other UK Corporate origination teams and coverage.

Lazard Asset Management is currently recruiting for a Head of Quantitative Sustainable Investment Research to join its Sustainable Investment and Quantitative Research teams across New York, Boston, and London. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a growing team within a large global organization. This position will play a key role in leveraging the firm’s existing Sustainable Investment research capabilities to set and drive the quantitative ESG and climate research agenda. The ideal candidate will have a passion for sustainable investing combined with strong quantitative research skills.