ESG
Photo credit: Bess Adler (used with permission)
Corporate Impact | April 10, 2024
Alison Taylor: The broken chain from transparency to accountability to corporate action (podcast)
The era of cake-ism (as in having it and eating it, too) has come to an inglorious end. “I think we’re in an …
Frontier and Growth Markets | April 4, 2024
Aavsihakaar backs Midland Bank to boost ESG in Bangladesh’s textile industry
Textiles account for 20% of Bangladesh’s GDP and 80% of its exports. Poor working conditions, human rights abuses, and water and land pollution …
ESG | April 1, 2024
Why I love ESG regulation… and tell VC funds to forget about it as quickly as possible
Measure what matters. Disclosures are key. Transparency leads to accountability. Which investor, and in fact regulator, wouldn’t agree with these common-sense business mantras …
House Republicans in Texas to kick off "Energy Week"
ESG | March 21, 2024
Texas boots Blackrock, saddling Texans with the costs of its campaign against ESG
House Republicans kicked off “Energy Week” on Monday with a tour of a Texas oil rig and a promise to “protect American jobs.” …
Corporate Impact | March 20, 2024
This proxy season, shareholders will have their say on AI, biodiversity and corporate political activity
Ethical guidelines for artificial intelligence and biodiversity protections for deep sea mining are among the newcomers among the environmental and social issues on …
Corporate Impact | March 11, 2024
Blue Earth Capital inks sustainability-linked loan for Asia’s garment sector
ImpactAlpha, March 11 – Asia’s garment sector, which feeds global fast-fashion demand, is notorious for human rights and environmental abuses. Q Collection is …
Impact Tech | March 6, 2024
Musk plays savior, Andreessen goes Marxist – and we should all be grateful
We need an impact source code for AI. How we structure the business of AI, along with the algorithms, could be the most …
Impact Investing | February 21, 2024
Impact investing at a crossroads
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 21 – “First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.” Mahatma Gandhi never said …
Impact Voices | February 21, 2024
We invest for the common good. So let’s call it ‘Common Good Investing.’
Any time two people come together, they have two choices. They can give priority to the common good of the two of them, …
Muni Impact | February 6, 2024
Red state bans on ESG-aligned underwriters raise costs for muni issuers
ImpactAlpha – Feb. 6 – The state of Texas has banned Barclay’s from underwriting municipal bond deals in the state. The reason: The bank’s adherence …
Looking Ahead to 2024 | December 20, 2023
At Stake in 2024: Impact as a driver of alpha in public and private markets
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 20 – The push: Limited partners and regulators are demanding more rigorous impact reporting. The pull: Fund managers are finding alpha in …
Jeffrey Ubben of Inclusive Capital Partners
Institutional Impact | December 13, 2023
Don’t take Jeffrey Ubben’s shutdown of Inclusive Capital for more than he’s worth
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 …
ESG | December 6, 2023
ESG and FTX: How VCs can invest more responsibility into crypto this time around
This crypto rally can be different. Crypto’s rise, then fall, then recent rise again, presents an opportunity for venture capitalists to invest more …
Impact Voices | December 4, 2023
The antitrust theories are weak, but the effects can be chilling on corporate collaboration for climate action
As the private sector has become increasingly engaged in the effort to combat climate change, debates have emerged about the impact and legality …
Economist Milton Friedman on a postage stamp
Capitalism Reimagined | November 27, 2023
Fiduciaries have a duty of care to their investors and to the world
Quoting his own book, economist Milton Friedman wrote in the New York Times Magazine in 1970, “There is one and only one social …
Impact Investing | September 11, 2023
How some US companies are preparing for mandatory impact reporting (Q&A)
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 11 – Markets around the globe are likely to require corporations to report on their social and environmental impact before the end …
Impact Investing | August 21, 2023
Developing a pro-ESG narrative around transparency, long-term returns and political freedom
As political and corporate actors continue to discredit the ESG movement in national publications and on broadcast television, it is more important than …
Photo: Mark Blyth @MkBlyth
ESG | July 19, 2023
BlackRock’s latest move has climate advocates asking, ‘What’s up with Larry Fink?’
ImpactAlpha, July 19 – Larry Fink has jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Last month, the BlackRock CEO said he was …
Institutional Impact | July 18, 2023
For ESG Month, let’s have an honest discussion about the limits of shareholder engagement
Move over infrastructure week. On Capitol Hill, it’s ESG month! It’s hard for me, too, to contain my excitement. Environmental, social and governance …
Corporate Impact | July 17, 2023
Flex of worker power raises the stakes for quality jobs
Investors focused on societal impact are often concerned with corporate treatment of workers. To assess job quality performance across a portfolio, they generally …
Impact Investing | June 28, 2023
Institutional investors shrug off ESG backlash to move forward on impact investing
ImpactAlpha, June 28 – The backlash against ESG is not (yet) hampering impact investing. It may even be driving some institutional investors toward …
ESG | June 28, 2023
Debunking six ESG myths to help investors drive real change
At the beginning of ‘Godfather III’, Corleone’s daughter gives $100m to the Catholic Church to ‘resurrect Sicily’ in the name of the family …
ESG | June 15, 2023
Active ownership, an overlooked path to collective liberation
As we approach Juneteeth while celebrating LGBTQIA+ this month, we should think about how active ownership of publicly traded stocks is imperative for …
Personal Finance | June 14, 2023
Targeting solutions with impact ETFs, ‘cut carbon notes’ and other new investment products
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 14 – A new family of exchange-traded funds will align around companies that derive the bulk of their revenues from solutions for …
Institutional Impact | June 5, 2023
Forget ESG. The greening of the global economy is a boon for institutional investors.
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 …
Corporate Impact | June 1, 2023
Impact reports from Tesla, Warby Parker and others tout climate and community solutions
Tired: ESG risk reporting. Wired: Reports on company impact. Almost nine in 10 companies in the S&P 500 now regularly issue some sort …
ESG | May 31, 2023
The mounting costs of the attacks on ESG investing
Where politics and finance collide, the crusade against ESG is a rollercoaster ride filled with intrigue, backroom deals, and unforeseen consequences. From politicians …
ESG | May 31, 2023
Big Chill: Political backlash and legal threats sap shareholder support for climate action and ESG
ImpactAlpha, May 31 – Shareholders are voting on a record number of resolutions related to corporate action on climate and ESG – for …
Policy Corner | May 25, 2023
US SIF’s Lisa Woll: Attacks on ESG demonstrate the growing importance of sustainable investing
The old adage still serves: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” For Lisa …
Impact Management | May 23, 2023
UN metrics measure enterprise impact on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
Time is running out to meet the ambitious UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set for 2030. There are real concerns that data related …
Impact Management | May 15, 2023
Leveraging ESG data for impact investing
Management guru Peter Drucker is credited with the popular maxim “what gets measured gets managed.” This holds true also in impact investing where …
ESG | May 11, 2023
ESG fund managers are going too far, or not far enough, depending on who you ask
ImpactAlpha, May 11 – It is a fraught moment for asset managers with ESG-labeled funds. In Washington, DC this week, Republicans staged a …
China | April 17, 2023
Can China’s impact investing ecosystem expand beyond green energy and ESG?
ImpactAlpha, April 17 – China manufactures more batteries than the rest of the world combined, by far. The country’s spending of $546 billion …
Human Rights | April 17, 2023
Managing human rights risk rises up the agenda of venture capitalists
Governance is the new big thing for tech investors, since the FTX fraud and investigations by the SEC have brought it out on …
Policy Corner | April 4, 2023
Get ready: ESG critics are coming for ‘S’ issues
The year ahead promises to be a momentous one for progress on ‘S,’ or social issues, in public policy solutions, as a recent …
Corporate Impact | March 23, 2023
This season’s shareholder resolutions are proxies in the ESG culture war
ImpactAlpha, March 23 – Votes on climate action, corporate political influence and reproductive rights will liven up this spring’s corporate annual general meetings. …
photo: World Economic Forum
Institutional Impact | March 16, 2023
In Larry Fink’s letter to investors, ESG is the business imperative that dare not speak its name
ImpactAlpha, March 16 – Don’t expect BlackRock to back off from ESG any time soon. Even if the acronym appears nowhere in chairman …
Return on Inclusion | March 6, 2023
Want to wring impact from ESG? Look to governance
If ESG is a foot in the door to an economy built around sustainability, inclusion and equity, then governance is the power that’s …
ESG | March 3, 2023
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: ESG in private markets
ImpactAlpha, March 3 — Limited partners in venture capital and private equity funds are deemphasizing ESG considerations, according to a survey by Adams …
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Muni Impact | March 1, 2023
The winding road to ESG standards in the municipal bond market
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 29 – In October 2021, a paper manufacturer in Kalamazoo, Michigan, issued $100 million of what it called “green bonds” through …
Policy Corner | February 24, 2023
Policymaking for workers and communities in the Year of the ‘S’ (video)
ImpactAlpha. Feb. 24 – “A labor market where workers have more opportunities and have more power and have more leverage is a good …
Impact Management | February 22, 2023
Streamlined, standardized and benchmarked: Optimizing impact data for capital markets
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 22 – It’s the data wonks’ time to shine. With more than $1 trillion in impact investing assets under management, investors are …
photo: dylan nolte
Policy Corner | February 21, 2023
New rules to account for a key corporate asset: employees
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 21 – Unemployment is at record lows. Manufacturing and union jobs are making a comeback. Workers are holding their employers to …
Kelly McCarthy
Impact Management | February 8, 2023
Q&A with Kelly McCarthy: Architect of IRIS+ is ready to put impact management theory into practice
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 8 – It’s not yet the holy grail of impact measurement, but IRIS+ has given investors a starting point for comparable …
ESG | February 1, 2023
How Europe is recalibrating tech, one ESG step at a time
A crisis is usually followed by learning. If in 2022 tech private markets were defined by the crash of some of the highest-valued …