Altiorem's backbone is our community of volunteers who summarise every piece of content that is on Altiorem. We offer our volunteers and university interns the opportunity to grow their knowledge and their profile by researching and writing about ESG issues which are published in the Australian Shareholders' Association and The Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association monthly magazines. We've anticipated that you'll be looking for some lite sustainable finance reading over the holidays, so we're sharing these articles with you.

The responsibility to uphold human rights in complex supply chains is often unclear, leading to blame shifting. Investment choices significantly influence firms' human rights positions. Shareholder pressure and divestment can improve workers' conditions and reduce business risks. This article explores modern slavery and provides resources for minimising related investment risks.

Last month, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology confirmed that we’re up for a ‘triple dip’ La Niña. This La Niña phase is likely to have already peaked and is expected to return to normal conditions by early next year. While the occurrence of two consecutive La Niña winters in the Northern Hemisphere is common, a Southern Hemisphere ‘triple dip‘ La Niña lasting three years in a row has only happened twice since 1950. This article explains what La Niña is and what it means for investors.

Nuclear power generates 70% of energy in France, 30% in Sweden and 19% in the US. Policies aiming to phase out nuclear power in Japan and South Korea have recently been reversed while 19 countries have nuclear reactors under construction. In Australia, however, nuclear energy has been banned since 1998. Do we need to rethink nuclear?

Gender equality continues to be a key issue that companies are being called on to address with public attention focused on issues like the gender pay gap, harassment, and a lack of representation. However, like other Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues, some companies have been accused of overstating their progress or 'gender washing'.

The latest ASX Investor Study noted that women comprised 45% of total new investors over the 12-month period to March 2021, highlighting a positive uptick of female shareholders in the equity market, and progress toward enhancing women’s economic empowerment.

The global food system is at a critical moment requiring transformation to overcome significant challenges. Sadly, the world is not on track to achieve SDG 12.3 — and staggeringly, 14% of food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while an estimated 17% of total global food production is wasted. Agriculture is responsible for 30% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and this is only predicted to increase by 15–20% by 2050.

New report finds companies operating in industries known to be at high risk of slavery are failing to identify obvious risks of forced labour in their supply chains or take action to address them.

Responsible investor beliefs and practices which demand that the great sustainability challenges of our time fit within existing investment theory is bankrupt. It is the theory that must evolve to support what economist Kate Raworth calls a safe and just operating space for humanity. If the industry is unable to broaden its approach so that investment theory and practice fit within environmental and social guardrails, it will fail to capture the real-world value which must be its goal (and the key to its survival).

The Task Force on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) provides a framework for organisations to report and act on evolving nature-related risks and opportunities, thus supporting a shift in global financial flows away from nature-negative outcomes and toward nature-positive outcomes. This article provides an update on the development of the TNFD and explains why it matters to investors.

Altiorem welcomes you to the next post within a regular series where we profile the inspiring and generous people who are making Altiorem possible. We are excited to introduce our intern profile on the amazing Krisma Maskey.

The finance industry is a key enabler of climate action. Through clear and consistent company climate disclosures the finance industry is better equipped to assess climate risk and direct capital flows to limit emissions.

For investors in Australian livestock, significant headwinds have begun closing in; a changing climate, the spread of animal borne diseases, the rise of antibiotic resistance, animal welfare concerns, and the growth in alternative protein markets all point to a future fraught with uncertainty.

Impact investing seeks to add value to society whilst also achieving financial returns. It is different from sustainable or ethical investing as it explicitly seeks to make a measurable positive social or environmental impact from the investment. Impact investing in recent years has begun to gain traction, with young investors most notably taking part. This article will explore impact investing, recent trends, and what the future holds for impact investing.

Research by MarketMeter finds that climate risk management is close to the bottom of investment priorities in a sample of 115 institutional investors. This remains relatively unchanged over the past year, despite increased rhetoric by major firms that they are engaging with the opportunities and risks associated with the climate crisis. So is this just corporate greenwashing, or are there deeper issues at play?

In 2015, Indigenous Business Australia launched Indigenous Investment Principles (the Principles), aiming to provide a voluntary investment framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Preceding the launch was two years of consultations with 40 Traditional Owner groups and Indigenous organisations across Australia, along with investors, advisors, and the resource sector.