Category Archives: Sustainable Finance

For more than three months, everyone wondered if Russia would attack Ukraine, as Putin decided to put troops around the borders. On the 24th of February, the invasion started with Russian missiles hitting Ukraine’s military installations and Russian troops crossing the border. The escalation of the conflict has brought NATO countries to react and inflictContinue reading “The Implications of Ukraine-Russia Conflict on Green Energy Market”

A closer look at ESG Investing Halfway between traditional philanthropy and return-driven financial investment, ESG investing – i.e. directing capital to companies which yield environmental, social and governance benefits in addition to profits – enables investors to “do well by doing good”. Lying within the broad range of responsible investments, ESG can be virtually anyContinue reading “ESG Investments: A panacea for sustainable growth or a wolf in sheep’s clothing?”

Livestock, COP26 and the lack of investment to date According to several studies, approximately a quarter of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that result from human activity come from food systems. A rise in these emissions alone could generate severe warming and lead the planet towards a temperature above 1,5°C. Livestock is by far the mostContinue reading “Is it the time for beef to take a bow? Why alternative proteins should be in the spotlight”

What is a COP? In 1990, the first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) assessment report was released. It highlighted that global warming is due to rising CO2 emissions and called for a global treaty on climate change. After two years of discussions, this treaty, called the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), wasContinue reading “Quo vadis climate change? – A brief look at the main takeaways from the 26th Conference of the Parties in Glasgow”

Sustainable Finance Landscape Map The Sustainable Finance Landscape Map is a non-exclusive list of actors across industries who are shaping sustainable finance. Research bodies, intergovernmental institutions, asset management firms and credit agencies are few of many who are changing finance and pushing the sector to incorporate ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria. Our map encompassesContinue reading ““Who are the key players?””

The expression money talks is particularly relevant for ESG. The confirmation about ESG being a solid value driver made ESG turn to center stage. Yet, although ESG is highly regarded and discussed, it remains difficult to establish what it corresponds to exactly within each company. When assessing companies and their competitors, ESG considerations are oftenContinue reading ““ESG rating – an arduous endeavour. Why ESG metrics still fail to provide a (single) source of truth””

Mixed signals have been given throughout the COVID19 crisis; Larry Fink insists on the fact that ESG is a top priority yet 52% of investors in the USA deem that it is unnecessary to fully pursue ESG related objectives during such unprecedented and arduous times. All of this leads us to question where ESG standsContinue reading “Does ESG Shine In The Dark?”

This week, the FT published an article about how BlackRock is highlighting the changing role of sustainable investments. They claim that “investors have been warned of the need to prepare for a potentially drastic repricing of assets as huge sums of money flowing into sustainable investment products threaten to upend traditional pricing models”. According toContinue reading “How the theory of the ESG-efficient frontier will impact ESG-investing in the future”

During 2019, issues related to sustainable finance have gained momentum throughout the world (Goldman Sachs pledging to invest more than $750 billon in ESGs by 2030 in December 2019) but especially in Europe and more precisely in the EU. This issue has indeed become the cornerstone of EU policy. The EU Green Deal demonstrates theContinue reading “The EU setting the pace for sustainable finance across the world”