All ESG/SRI articles
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White papersESG Thema #22 - Closing the gender gap in credit investing
Persistent gender disparities in economic opportunity and access to finance continue to constrain global growth and resilience – particularly in emerging markets, where institutional barriers remain deeply entrenched. According to the World Bank’s 2024 “Women, Business and the Law” report, eliminating discriminatory laws and practices that hinder women’s participation in the workforce could increase global GDP by over 20%, effectively doubling the global growth rate over the next decade. Reducing gender employment gaps could raise GDP per capita by an average of 35%, with productivity gains from workplace diversity contributing over half that value.
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White papersCatalyzing capital for gender equality: A guide to scaling gender-inclusive investing
Gender lens investing has traditionally focused on use-of-proceeds instruments such as social and sustainability bonds that earmark a portion of proceeds for gender-focused initiatives. These predominantly corporate-issued instruments, though still a small share of the overall market, have grown steadily in recent years - from roughly USD 5 billion outstanding in 2020 to nearly USD 15 billion by the end of 2023. They play a critical role in catalyzing awareness, innovation, and market credibility, with built-in accountability and transparency mechanisms that remain central to advancing gender-lens investing.
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White papersGlass box quant at MDT Advisers
What happens when a love of numbers meets the power of machine learning? Dan Mahr, Head of Federated Hermes MDT Advisers (MDT), was recently interviewed by Ted Seides for his “Capital Allocators” podcast.
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White papersAssessing COP30: Progress and Retreat
With the events in Belém, Brazil now concluded—defined by on the ground tensions, strong indigenous voices, and the notable absence of a formal climate delegation from the world’s second largest carbon emitter—we step back and take stock of COP30.
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White papersStewardship 2026 Outlook:A systemic shift in a changing world?
The coming year will bring both challenges and opportunities. Artificial intelligence, the climate transition and the shifting sands of geopolitics will all play an outsize role but in 2026, investor stewardship will increasingly focus on systemic economic risks and opportunities alongside the financial performance of individual investments. For universal owners – those widely invested in the economy with long-term horizons – absolute returns will matter and not just relative performance. This means stewardship needs to extend beyond corporate engagement to include active participation in shaping policy and market best practices that create environments for companies to grasp opportunities sustainably and grow profitably.
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White papersESG Thema COP30: Climate finance state of play and investor implications
From November 10th to November 22nd 2025, the 30th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly referred to as COP30, was held in Belém, Brazil. This was the first COP ever hosted in the Amazon region, and it was the second most attended COP after COP28 in Dubai. This conference is the largest annual international meeting on climate organized by the United Nations, since 1992: government representatives come together to attempt to agree on action for the climate crisis. With time, the conference has gathered also financial actors, corporates and civil society, with commitments going beyond policy making.
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White papersSocial impact and a resilient portfolio through Child-Lens Investing
Triodos Investment Management sets new standards in scalable, child well-being investments in small and midcap equities that enhance returns and portfolio resilience.
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White papersClosing the loop: Why circularity is now a strategic imperative
Once considered a sustainability buzzword, the circular economy has become central to the energy transition. The Sustainable Global Equity team outline why, in an era of increasing resource scarcity, the shift to a circular model is essential to helping governments and companies build resilience.
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White papersSustainable investing in 2026: The continuing path to a more resilient future
Recent years have seen investors operate in an environment shaped by conflicts, inflationary pressures, extreme weather events, and growing digital disruption. These events, coupled with the longer-term sustainability themes shaping our decade – climate change, biodiversity loss, and rising inequality – are redefining risks in capital markets and placing long-term investment resilience under scrutiny.
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White papersOutlook 2026: Core investment implications
While the global economy demonstrated remarkable resilience in 2025, the true impact of US tariffs – one of the year’s dominant stories - remains uncertain. However, the International Monetary Fund has raised its 2025 global growth forecast to 3.2% from the 3.0% it projected in July and has kept its 2026 estimate at 3.1%.
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White papersInvestors reveal their top ESG investment themes and more
At a time of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, our fifth annual ESG Global Study finds that most investors remain committed to considering ESG issues in the investment process.
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White papersLogistics real estate in Europe on a growth trajectory
Demand for modern logistics properties in Europe remains high, and matters such as location quality, energy efficiency, automation and flexible use are continuously gaining in importance. Germany in particular plays a key role in this framework – as Europe’s largest logistics market and as a hub for international supply chains. Swiss Life Asset Managers, with a Europe-wide logistics strategy, is amongst those actively shaping this change.
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White papersPower in Transition: Charting a path to a sustainable energy future through private equity investments
Power demand is accelerating from data center growth, electrification and population increases, while supply becomes more volatile and unpredictable due to extreme weather and variable renewable generation. The widening gap between demand and supply is driving more frequent outages and higher power prices, pressuring household and business budgets while threatening essential services. Bridging this gap requires significant investment on both supply and demand sides, creating opportunities to build a more resilient, affordable and sustainable energy system.
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White papersOcean pledges create waves of opportunity
At a UN ocean conference in June, dozens of countries promised to ratify the High Seas Treaty to bring it into force. The aim is to protect marine life by curbing overfishing, and ensure that the ocean is managed sustainably. What are the implications for companies and investors? By Ming Yang, Shoa Hirosato and Xinyu Pei.
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White papers2024-2025 Private equity impact report: Accelerating solutions for a world in transition
The world faces intertwined crises of escalating emissions, resource strain and growing inequality that amplifies vulnerability to climate change. Despite recent global market and regulatory shifts, a focus remains on backing growth-oriented, lower-middle market companies driving an inclusive transition to a low-carbon economy, with confidence in long-term fundamentals where impact initiatives align directly with performance rather than creating trade-offs. Our latest impact report highlights new investments across energy efficiency, resource optimization and circular economy solutions, enhanced ESG measurement and emissions tracking, industry partnerships, and portfolio case studies demonstrating growth and impact in action.
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White papersThe Nuance in Net Zero
Effective measurement of progress toward net-zero alignment has never been more important to investors and companies that have adopted net-zero ambitions.
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White papersBlended Finance: scaling capital for sustainable impact
With development financing needs outpacing available resources, attracting private capital into social and environmental projects in risky markets (e.g., emerging markets) is vital. We believe that Blended Finance (BF) offers a strategic solution. Specifically, this investment approach involves the public sector leveraging private money to finance projects focused on achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) and addressing climate change.
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White papersAutomating Insight Extraction from Oil And Gas Sector Climate Disclosures with AI
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting has become a cornerstone of corporate transparency and accountability, especially within high emission sectors such as oil and gas. However, the traditional methods of extracting meaningful insights from ESG data are time-consuming and are in general processed manually.
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White papersESG Thema #21 - From access to empowerment: how financial inclusion fuels resilience
Financial inclusion spans savings, credit, payment services, insurance, and investments. Many low-income households and small businesses, particularly in developing countries, remain excluded or underbanked, relying mainly on cash transactions that expose them to risks and hinder their saving and investing activities. Credit access is often limited or costly, pushing many to informal lenders or expensive formal options. Digital finance—financial services delivered via mobile and internet platforms—is central to expanding access.
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White papersWhat do we know about retail responsible investors?
The Amundi Investment Institute, in partnership with Crédit Agricole du Languedoc, the University of Montpellier, and Montpellier Business School (MBS), has forged a unique collaboration dedicated to advancing our understanding of individual investors’ financial preferences and needs. This partnership combines academic rigor with practical insights from the financial industry, creating a rich foundation for exploring the evolving landscape of retail investment behavior.
