Corporate Impact
Oklahoma on the map of USA
Impact Voices | January 30, 2023
Is ESG an emergency from which the public needs protection? Oklahoma legislators ride to the rescue.
Scores of anti-ESG bills were introduced in Republican-led states in January. The onslaught continues despite the more than $1.1 billion in financial costs …
Climate Finance | January 26, 2023
Voluntary carbon markets face a reckoning over credit quality and environmental impact
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 25 – Are carbon markets a key pillar of climate finance, or an empty exercise in double-counting and greenwashing? After soaring …
Policy Corner | January 25, 2023
The state of impact investing public policy – and opportunities for 2023
The past year has been one of both exciting growth and unexpected challenges for the impact investing industry. Amid an uncertain macroeconomic forecast …
Eric Glass
Muni Impact | January 24, 2023
‘You can’t do impact on a passive basis’: Q&A with activist muni-investor Eric Glass
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 24 – After 15 years as an analyst, trader, and portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein, Eric Glass was asked in 2015 to develop …
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announcing Rivian's $5 billion electric vehicle factory.
ESG | January 24, 2023
Local economic benefits spur GOP governors to tack toward the center on ESG
Last year’s attacks on ESG seemed to be a final nail in GOP’s “pro-business” coffin. The backlash to consideration of environmental, social and …
photo: World Economic Forum
Capitalism Reimagined | January 19, 2023
What if they threw an elite global forum in a Swiss ski resort and no one cared?
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 19 – At least for those of us who aren’t there, it is definitely cooler to skip Davos than to attend …
Muni Impact | January 12, 2023
The billion-dollar cost to the ESG culture wars
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 12 – Banks that use environmental, social, or governance, or ESG frameworks in their investing practice are being targeted by state legislators …
Newly elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy
Institutional Impact | January 11, 2023
GOP ditches ‘pro-business’ with attacks on ESG that hurt corporations, investors – and red states
Editor’s note: ImpactAlpha contributing editor Imogen Rose-Smith, a longtime senior writer for Institutional Investor, contributes a bi-weekly column on the policies, practices and …
Looking Ahead to 2023 | January 3, 2023
Big ideas and predictions for ESG in 2023
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 3 – ESG – for enterprise operations and investment decision-making that account for environmental, social and governance considerations – took a beating …
ESG | January 2, 2023
A baker’s dozen of shareable studies that make the case for ESG
ESG will continue to be a hot button in 2023. But research over the past year showed that environmental, social and governance investments …
"The Fearless Girl" statue facing Charging Bull in Lower Manhattan
Looking Ahead to 2023 | December 22, 2022
Using ESG and impact to sort leaders from laggards in 2023
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 22 – It’s not about the scores. It’s about the solutions. ESG – shorthand for the consideration of environmental, social and governance considerations …
ESG | December 19, 2022
Elon’s reputation tanks along with his credibility on ESG
Crypto-evangelist Dan McArdle was apparently peeved with ESG when he tweeted: “Clothes dryers in the US use more energy than all bitcoin mining… …
Corporate Impact | December 14, 2022
Are Elon Musk’s Twitter escapades putting Tesla’s climate impact at risk?
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 14 – Some Tesla shareholders are frustrated that CEO Elon Musk is hurting the electric vehicle maker’s share price with his acquisition …
Muni Impact | December 12, 2022
Cities embrace ESG in muni bonds even as overall market dips
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 12 – Municipal bond issues are down 17% this year compared to 2021 as interest rates have spiked, according to SIFMA. But …
Muni Impact | December 8, 2022
S&P Global acquires Shades of Green’s climate-risk assessments for bonds
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 8 – Issuers of social, green and other sustainability bonds seek “second-party opinions,” or SPOs, from ratings agencies like S&P Global to …
Source: Amplify ESG
Policy Corner | December 5, 2022
Pro-ESG forces rally to confront backlash against corporate accountability, workers rights and risk management
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 5 – It took a while, but advocates for the integration of environmental, social and governance factors in investment decisions are …
Institutional Shift | December 5, 2022
ESG is dead? European asset owners in venture capital think differently
The backlash to environmental, social and governance, or ESG, investing is in full swing in the U.S. In Europe, asset owners are to …
Policy Corner | November 23, 2022
For pension fund managers, Department of Labor puts ESG back on the table – again
ImpactAlpha, Nov.23 – Cannot! Can so! Just as some states are trying to block so-called ESG investing, the U.S. Department of Labor has …
Institutional Impact | November 22, 2022
Beware of paper billionaires bearing gifts, and other lessons of the FTX implosion
Editor’s note: ImpactAlpha contributing editor Imogen Rose-Smith, a longtime senior writer for Institutional Investor, contributes a bi-weekly column on the policies, practices and strategies of the …
Photo credit: Antoine Antoniol
Corporate Venture Capital | November 21, 2022
Schneider Electric commits €500 million for climate and industrial tech
ImpactAlpha, November 21 — French electrical equipment maker Schneider Electric launched SE Ventures, its corporate venture capital arm, with an initial €500 million …
ESG | November 8, 2022
Anticipating election wins, conservative politicians escalate attacks on ESG ‘collusion.’
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 8 – Republicans are feeling emboldened as Americans head to the polls for today’s midterm elections. Just days ago, a group …
Impact Investing | November 2, 2022
What’s at stake for climate, ESG and impact investors in the U.S. midterm elections
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 2 – The annual global climate summit known as COP27, this year in Egypt, will coincide with next week’s midterm elections …
Aaron Samuels and Brian Hollins | Photo by Collide Capital.
Return on Inclusion | October 31, 2022
Collide Capital raises $66 million to back early-stage diverse founders
ImpactAlpha, October 31 — New York-based Collide Capital has raised $66 million to invest in early-stage Black, Latino and female founders “we believe …
Impact Voices | October 27, 2022
Can’t tell the players without a scorecard: Sorting out ESG, impact and sustainability
The Land of ESG is embroiled in a two-front war. Identifying the combatants and their arguments may help practitioners keep track of the …
Clean Energy | October 27, 2022
Saudi Aramco launches a $1.5 billion fund for energy-transition technologies
ImpactAlpha, October 27 – Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco announced a $1.5 billion venture fund to invest in in carbon capture and storage, …
Impact Management | October 27, 2022
How private equity can unlock impact alpha with ESG data from portfolio companies
Terms like “small” and “local” have become shorthand for “ethical” – a way for consumers and businesses to signal virtue. Meanwhile, having large …
Impact Voices | October 19, 2022
Employees: The Missing ‘E’ in ESG
Workers, the people most important to capitalism, have been buried in the ‘S’ in ESG, for environmental, social, and governance risk factors in …
Impact Management | October 17, 2022
To ESG or not to ESG? Politicization complicates messaging, but trendlines are clear
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 17 – Politicians, or rather, ex-pols, were on the hustings last week with seemingly opposite advice for executives and investors trying to …
Return on Inclusion | October 17, 2022
In tough times, corporate leaders must double down on diversity, equity and inclusion
History has shown that our nation’s most vulnerable workers tend to be hit hardest during economic downturns. During the height of the pandemic, …
Impact Management | October 13, 2022
Overheard at the GIIN: As impact investing assets cross $1 trillion, investors eye a larger opportunity
ImpactAlpha, October 13 – Impact investing assets under management surpassed $1 trillion as funds, foundations, development finance agencies and other investors have sought impact …
The Net Purpose team | Photo by Net Purpose.
ESG | October 13, 2022
Net Purpose raises £10 million for a fact-base of social and environmental performance
ImpactAlpha, October 13 — London-based data analytics provider Net Purpose has raised £10 million to help investors measure the performance of their portfolios …
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard. Credit: Patagonia
Institutional Impact | October 12, 2022
How Patagonia’s private plan for the public good inadvertently reveals the limits of impact investing
Editor’s note: ImpactAlpha contributing editor Imogen Rose-Smith, a longtime senior writer for Institutional Investor, contributes a bi-weekly column on the policies, practices and strategies of the …
QED portfolio company RestLess is fighting ageism in the U.K. Photo: Shutterstock
Impact Voices | October 6, 2022
How venture firm QED Investors is embracing ESG to strengthen its fintech portfolio
As a concept, ESG is nothing new. The idea of explicitly looking at environmental, social and governance issues as a holy trinity of …
Impact Management | October 6, 2022
VCs ♥️ ESG
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 6 – Red state politicians are fanning the flames of an anti-ESG backlash. Venture capitalists are embracing environmental, social and governance …
Corporate Impact | October 5, 2022
How corporations can reduce greenhouse emissions – of their retirement plans and cash deposits
Corporations have embraced net-zero. Some 322 companies have signed The Climate Pledge and even more have made public commitments to address climate change. …
Personal Finance | October 5, 2022
Five steps to greening your 401(k) – and why it’s harder than it should be
Seems like it shouldn’t be that hard: Build a portfolio from the better sustainable funds. Add them to your company’s 401(k) fund lineup. …
ESG | October 4, 2022
SOCAP Spotlight: Using ESG for good, not for evil
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 4 – SOCAP is back in person this year and the conversation around ESG will be lively and urgent. I’m thrilled …
Impact Voices | September 26, 2022
How asset managers are digging in on diversity to stand out from their peers
ESG begins at home. As increasing numbers of investors are looking for environmental, social and governance investment opportunities, asset managers are directing more …
Climate Week NYC. Photo: Luiz C. Ribeiro for the Climate Group
Climate Finance | September 23, 2022
Trillions are the talk of Climate Week, as opportunities drive climate action.
ImpactAlpha, September 23 – The energy transition is moving from talk to action. Those not moving fast enough are finding themselves on the …
CNote co-founder and CEO Cat Berman | Photo by CNote.
Corporate Impact | September 20, 2022
CNote raises nearly $7.3 million to tap corporate cash for community development
ImpactAlpha, September 20 — CNote has raised $7.3 million to expand its network of more than 2,000 CDFIs, low-income designated credit unions and …
Capitalism Reimagined | September 20, 2022
Tanking one holding to boost returns and reduce risks across your portfolio
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 20 – Few big institutional investors would deliberately encourage their portfolio companies to make moves that hit their valuations. The Shareholder Commons, …
Photo by Jonathan Hung.
ESG | September 15, 2022
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan-backed Ethic raises $50 million growth investment
ImpactAlpha, September 15 — New York-based Ethic has raised $50 million to expand into new markets and products. The tech-driven asset management platform …
Policy Corner | September 14, 2022
Reclaiming ESG as pro-business and pro-worker
The culture wars have come for sustainable investing. Right-wing politicians at both federal and state levels have started latching onto the well-known term …
Muni Impact | September 14, 2022
To manage climate risk, municipal bond insurer taps data on community vulnerability
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 14 – Public finance investors buy hundreds of billions of dollars in municipal bond issuances each year, providing much needed capital for …
Personal Finance | September 8, 2022
Young savers, if not Republican governors, want their banks out of fossil fuels
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 8 – Politicians that seek to ban ESG investing are up against some serious headwinds from the next generation. “Banking with …