Greetings, Agents of Impact,
Impact- and gender-lens investing lost a champion last week. Suzanne Biegel, founder of GenderSmart (now part of 2X Global), passed away in London, surrounded by friends and family.
“She spoke her convictions without filter or fear; she tapped her deep sense of purpose in shaping a field; she inspired so many to find their courage and convert it to action,” wrote Laurie Spengler, among hundreds of testimonials (see ImpactAlpha’s tribute to Suzanne, below).
In this week’s Open:
- Remembering Suzanne Biegel
- Climate Week takeaways
- Three tips for measuring impact
- Growth in UK impact investing
Let’s get to it. – Dennis Price
Must-reads on ImpactAlpha
- Remembering Suzanne Biegel. When you put capital into the hands of women – as fund managers, as entrepreneurs, as consumers – good things happen. That was the mantra of Suzanne Biegel, among the most consistent and clarion voices across ImpactAlpha’s posts, podcasts and Agent of Impact calls. Suzanne herself was the quintessential Agent of Impact, present at the creation of the field of gender lens investing and a tireless champion for its growth. Suzanne’s legacy.
- Climate Week takeaways. At ImpactAlpha, we felt the urgency – and, yes, the optimism – last week, as Amy Cortese and Roodgally Senatus fanned out across Climate Week NYC. Among the dispatches from ImpactAlpha and guests:
- “Five climate change narratives shaping discourse and decisions” (by Bob Eccles and Melita Leousi)
- “Policy tailwinds, green banks, talent pipeline”
- “Writing down fossil fuels”
- “Protesters and private investors to pressure global leaders”
- “With laws and lawsuits, California takes on Big Oil”
- “The $100 billion opportunity in climate-finance accountability”
- Three tips for measuring impact. The impact investing advisory firm Candide has moved more than $200 million into 110 social justice-focused companies, funds and other organizations. In a guest post for ImpactAlpha, Candide’s Jasmine Rashid shares tips for designing meaningful impact measurement processes “that serve all stakeholders – not just those providing financial capital.” Collect the set.
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Agents of Impact
🏃🏾♀️ People on the move
- Kristi Cunningham Whitfield, ex- of the DC Department of Small and Local Business Development, will join Nathan Cummings Foundation as its chief impact officer and director of racial justice.
- Drawdown Fund, managed by Tiger Grass Capital, hired Lisa Schule as managing director.
- Luminate promoted Toyin Akinniyi to vice president of Africa.
Impact Briefing
🎧 On the podcast
David Bank is joined by Marjorie Kelly of The Democracy Collaborative, who challenges impact investors to “move beyond the portfolio level, imagining together the broader, deeper, truly radical changes we need, including in policy and culture.” In her new book, “Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Today’s Crises,” Kelly asks, “How do we shift the role of capital so it’s no longer in charge of, but in service to, the public good?” Host Monique Aiken has the headlines.
- Listen to the latest episode, and follow all of ImpactAlpha’s podcasts on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.
- Read Kelly’s essay on ImpactAlpha, “Challenging wealth supremacy to realize the dream of systemic change.”
Short Signals: What We’re Reading
🇬🇧 UK impact investing grows 18%. Social impact investing in the UK grew by nearly a fifth last year, increasing to £9.4 billion, from £7.9 billion in 2021. Investment in the sector has increased more than ten-fold since 2011. (Big Society Capital)
💸 Greening corporate cash. Corporations’ cash holdings can significantly add to their total greenhouse gas emissions depending on how their banks manage their holdings. A new guide outlines seven actions climate-leading companies can take to assess and curtail emissions. (Exponential Roadmap Initiative)
⚡ 20 million heat pumps. A coalition of more than two dozen US state governors announced a push to reach 20 million deployed heat pumps by 2030. That would represent a quadrupling from 2020 of the number of installed heat pumps. (CNBC)
Get in the Game
💼 Step up
- Morgan Stanley seeks a sustainable real assets senior associate or vice president.
- Tides seeks an impact investing vice president.
- Nuveen is recruiting an impact investing associate.
NEW FEATURE: Visit ImpactAlpha’s Career Hub for more impact investing jobs. Contact us for job postings.
🤝 Meet up
Don’t miss these ImpactAlpha partner events:
- Oct. 4-5: GIIN Impact Forum (Copenhagen)
- Oct. 5: Investing in an inclusive creative economy (virtual)
- Oct. 10: Ownership Economy Summit (New York)
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