About | Mentor | Fiona Donnelly

Fiona Donnelly

Based in Hong Kong since ’95, Fiona is a CA who moved into commercial roles and consulting with increasing sector focus in sustainability since 2007 Hardwiring as CA has drawn Fiona to contribute to the finance/investment side of sustainability.

PROFILE

Fiona is a B to B veteran, starting with nine years with two of the Big 4 qualifying as a Chartered Accountant then moving into broader business roles including in other professional services. Today she operates as Red Links, either consulting solo, joining other teams delivering sustainability consulting projects or working with the unique consortium of experienced sustainability and business professionals that she leads and co-ordinates. Through these channels Fiona provides tailor-made, business-ready solutions to fund managers, issuers, and many others..

Her interest in sustainability peaked in the mid-noughties when serving her third foreign direct investment agency – Scottish Development International – as cleantech and renewables were and remain a key selling point and opportunity for the country. Since then she has worked with various clients in cleantech, recycling, carbon innovation, as well as sustainability consulting. She applies her business perspective to sustainability across projects, articles, engagement, events. Besides Altiorem, her pro bono work includes being a member of the Sustainability Panel of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Fiona is committed to lifelong learning and most recently passed CFA’s exams of ESG Investing, and Climate and Investing.

Fiona’s diverse skills and experience give her an unusual business perspective that cuts across traditional functions. For sustainability, it’s a view that is becoming increasingly relevant and urgent as businesses and finance grapple with balancing their greater roles and responsibilities, and profit objectives.

An enthusiastic Scot, she enjoys playing a game that loosely resembles what other folks call golf.

RECENTLY REVIEWED BY FIONA DONNELLY

Tracking the transition

Asia Research and Engagement

3 October 2019

This report examines the impact of China’s coal-fired power companies, and their inaction in responding to climate change. The report presents China’s six largest listed power companies and their associated CO2 emissions, as well as recommendations for investors to act on.

Climate solutions at work: An employee guide to drawdown-aligned business

Project Drawdown

21 September 2021

This guide is for employees concerned about climate change and offers a suite of transformative actions that redefine business climate leadership by looking beyond “net zero”. It aims to democratise climate action so that all employees can contribute to climate solutions and helps employees across all sectors find their inroad.

Investing for the climate in Asia

Asia Research and Engagement

1 September 2016

Are “green finance" and climate change gaining traction in the Asian financial sector? Asia Research and Engagement (ARE) reviewed the practices of 88 leading financial institutions across Asia-Pacific to find out. Growing momentum is discovered: 28% of banks and 30% of investors have incorporated climate change into their respective policies.

Point of no returns: A ranking of 75 of the world’s largest asset managers’ approaches to responsible investment

ShareAction

31 March 2020

In this first of a series of reports released by ShareAction, 75 of the worlds largest and most influential asset management companies from across Europe, the United States, Africa and the Asia Pacific are ranked according to an analysis of their performance on stewardship, transparency and governance.

Sustainability: The bond that endures - Tools and insights for ESG investing in fixed income

BlackRock

19 November 2019

BlackRock considers four key areas for environmental, social and governance (ESG) in fixed income: sustainable building blocks such as ESG indexes, a lens for considering the sustainability of government bond issuers, the financial relevance/materiality of ESG characteristics across different industries, and how to build sustainable portfolios using fixed income.

RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY FIONA DONNELLY

Fiduciary duty in the 21st century: Final report

United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative - Principles for Responsible Investment

31 October 2019

This is the final report from a four-year, multi-stakeholder/multi-jurisdiction research and engagement exercise. It demonstrates that environmental, social and governance integration is a component of investors' fiduciary duty. In order to fulfill this duty, regulators and policymakers must better understand fiduciaries’ needs and establish policies that support this approach.