Shareholder resolutions are one of the only ways for investors to have impact on public companies
And they’re under threat. The Trump administration and legislators are pushing a proposal to make it harder for shareholders to get a vote …
Tagged with: Intelligence
How to build a total impact portfolio
Carving out $10 million to do a few impact deals is no longer enough for many investors, says William McCalpin, managing partner of …
Drop in global remittances hits families in poor countries
“A weakening of remittance flows can have a serious impact on the ability of families to get health care, education or proper nutrition,” …
Low-cost mobile money increases access to financial services in Tanzania
Mobile money platform M-Pesa has been credited with helping lift two percent of Kenyans out of poverty. But mobile money’s impact in neighboring …
Sustainable aquaculture is a $100 billion opportunity for feed producers
Farm-raised fish every year devour 30 million tons of wild-caught fish worldwide. With seafood consumption hitting record levels in recent years — more than 20 …
More credit guarantees could mean more capital for education, health and conservation investments
Credit guarantees, typically provided by philanthropic organizations, are designed to encourage new investors or commercial capital to enter “risky” or undercapitalized investment sectors. …
Sustainable agriculture in Africa is key to meeting Zero Hunger goal by 2030
Close to two-thirds of sub-Saharan Africa’s one billion people and 90 percent of the continent’s extreme poor make their living from agriculture, according …
How Australia’s New Forests measures the sustainability of its forests
Climate Finance In its latest sustainability report, New Forests details how it is deploying technology and R&D to enhance sustainability and track productivity …
IKEA creates a pathway for refugees to join its supply chain
Swedish furniture giant IKEA seems to take the global refugee crisis personally. In 2015, the company partnered with United Nations High Commissioner for …
Apple says it will make all products from renewable or recycled resources
Climate Finance Three years ago, Apple said it planned to make its facilities 100 percent run on renewable energy. It’s 96 percent of …
Countries have set renewable energy targets; now they must make them law
2030 Not all renewable energy targets are created equally. More than 160 countries have set renewable energy targets, up from only 43 in …
Food for thought: What makes Juiciero more than juice in a bag?
Tech bloggers have had a field day at Juicero’s expense since Bloomberg reported on Wednesday its reporters didn’t need the $400 juicer to …
Cities shouldn’t try to imitate Silicon Valley to support startups
Cities shouldn’t try to imitate Silicon Valley to support startups. “They should be the best version of themselves,” writes Ross Baird, founder of …
Oil-rich Nigeria moves to boost renewables to 30 percent by 2030
2030 From Norway to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, big oil producers are becoming big backers of renewable-energy. Now, Nigeria has …
Global elections are coming. What will they mean?
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, responsible for selecting the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, holds a global election to choose the most deserving …
Emerging market private equity to take on SDGs at the Global Private Equity Conference
The SDGs are the new black on the investment conference circuit. The IFC’s Global Private Equity Conference, May 16–17 in Washington D.C., will …
SDG Finance Lab: “Vast pools” of institutional capital for sustainable development
How to close the $6 trillion annual gap in finance needed to reach the global goals for 2030? Tap the $80 trillion held …
Steve Ballmer’s new project aims to bring back facts to policy debates
In an interview with the New York Time’s Andrew Ross Sorkin, the billionaire former Microsoft CEO said he had been surprised by the …
How to bridge Kenya’s housing gap
Kenya has a housing deficit of over two million units, and more than six in 10 urban Kenyans live in slums. Its Vision 2030 …
Seven of every 10 new cars could be hybrid or electric by 2030
2030 Follow the money, right? When it comes to the future of transportation, follow the car-parts maker. A year ago, Schaeffler, a German …
The investment miscalculation that caused the Flint water crisis
Cost savings were the stated driver of the 2014 decision by Flint, Mich. officials to switch water systems — to one tainted with lead and …
World Bank tiptoes toward impact bonds and a focus on results
The World Bank’s first CEO, Kristalina Georgieva, is moving the bank to encourage more private investment in emerging markets, in addition to its …
Big-ticket social impact bonds could justify transaction costs
A new report from the Centre for Public Impact says the complexity of the deals and the high cost of evaluation means social …
Can the end of ‘bullshit jobs’ spark a renaissance in meaningful work?
First they came for farmers. Then they came for factory workers. But now the professional class is feeling the pain, as automation and …
Impact Capitalism Summit to Take Stock of the ‘Trump Effect’ on Impact Investing
The conventional wisdom among impact investors and observers is that the election of President Trump has sparked a wave of investor activism, as …
Housing startups test new approaches to increase supply and affordability
Urban.Us, a U.S. venture capital firm targeting the challenges of cities, opened its playbook for investing in housing startups. “The top 10 home …
S-Ray aims machine learning and big data at the sustainability of big businesses
Arabesque’s new S-Ray aims machine learning and big data at the sustainability of big businesses. The new tool will “capture vast amounts of …
SerenityShares says its exchange-traded IMPACT fund goes “beyond ESG”
Exchange-traded funds became popular as a low-cost way for investors to track standard indexes and gain exposure to entire sectors or geographies. A …
Three keys to progress toward 2030 goal of sustainable energy for all
2030 The good news: More than 90 percent of Afghans have electricity, up from 40 percent in 2010 — and solar accounts for most of …
Free college tuition comes to New York, with strings
A year after Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders floated proposals for free college education nationwide in last year’s presidential campaign, New York will …
Scotland strengthens European social enterprise ties for the Brexit era
As the U.K. begins its two-year process to leave the E.U., Scotland is seeking ways to stay connected. The Scottish government’s three-year Social …
The present is the future of the past
“Today’s robot is controlled by computer, rather than magician. It is an attempt to realize one of man’s most sophisticated ideas: the embodiment …
Webinar 4/18: How can impact investors combat wage stagnation and income inequality?
Webinar 4/18: How can impact investors combat wage stagnation and income inequality? Economic inequality creates social and political unrest. It also creates long-term …
Black lives matter in investing (and divesting)
The economic platform of the Movement for Black Lives includes demands for progressive tax policy, job creation, environmental restoration and the reallocation of …
Introducing Agents of Impact. First up: Root Capital
The response to our call last week to ‘name your favorite impact investor’ demonstrated the breadth of the talent pool under the big …
UBS calls for “civic capital” to finance modern infrastructure
Transport, energy distribution, clean water and broadband access: infrastructure has broad (and bipartisan) appeal. The Swiss bank UBS wants to use that appeal …
The death of coral reefs signals massive economic losses
Climate Finance Worldwide, reefs support around 500 million people in 50 countries. A 2015 WWF report, “Reviving the Ocean Economy,” suggests the value …
Gas-powered Russia could (and should) double its share of renewables by 2030
2030 Russia is not known for its sunshine. Nor for its renewable energy supply (which is dominated by hydro). Russia’s energy strategy calls …
Sonal Shah has a thing (or five) to say to Jared Kushner
Women Rising Sonal Shah, the first head of the Obama administration’s Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, collected some lessons for her …
Africa’s startup scene is powered by social impact
Ventures Africa’s new Top 10 “Tech for Good” Start-ups to Watch list includes OneUni, a Nairobi and California-based startup offering a low-cost smartphone …
Bono challenges impact investing for being “hippy-ish” about financial performance…while others debate impact
At last week’s Skoll World Forum in Oxford, England, the music icon doubled down on his diss of impact investing as an excuse …
Risk-Adjusted: Finding value in reduced risks for companies and communities
https://medium.com/media/3354560be39150c6602b9d61e7096312/href Risk is getting an impact makeover. Systemic risk reduction is emerging as a powerful investment argument for enterprises that can mitigate risks …
Where Tesla still lags Ford: Self-driving cars
Electric car maker Tesla hit a milestone last week when its market value of $49 billion overtook Ford’s $46 billion (while selling 76,000 …
Can the U.S. cut food waste in half by 2030?
The United States wastes more food than any other country in the world — more than 60 million tons per year that are worth $160 billion. …
Sustainable Investing Challenge Winner: Flexible Finance for Low-Income Schools
A team of MBA students from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management that proposed a low-interest loan fund for India’s 400,000 low-fee private …