Library | Resource Types

Research

We summarise credible research and reports on sustainable finance and ESG issues. Our summaries, along with our AI ChatBot saves members time reading large reports, to focus on knowledge building and action.

Refine
Resource type
Sustainable Finance Practices
ESG issues
SDGs
SASB Sustainability Sector
Finance relevance
Asset Class
Location
TAG
1232 results
REFINE
SHOW: 16

AI governance behind the scenes: Emerging practices for AI impact assessments

Future of Privacy Forum (FPF)
The report outlines emerging organisational practices for AI impact assessments, highlighting common process steps, information gathering challenges, evolving risk-assessment methods, and difficulties evaluating mitigation effectiveness. It notes increasing cross-functional governance, reliance on third-party transparency, and the need for stronger metrics, education, and executive support.
Research
1 December 2024

Harmonised framework for impact reporting for social bonds handbook

International Capital Market Association
The handbook provides a harmonised framework for issuers to report social bond impacts, outlining core reporting principles, target population disclosure, and preferred quantitative indicators. It introduces sector guidance—initially affordable housing—and offers templates to support consistent, transparent, and comparable impact reporting across social project categories.
Research
24 September 2024

Assessment of the biodiversity impacts and dependencies of globally listed companies

Finance for Biodiversity Foundation
The report assesses biodiversity impacts and ecosystem service dependencies of 2,369 globally listed companies using multiple footprinting tools. It finds impacts highly concentrated among few firms, driven mainly by climate change, pollution and land use, with food, energy and chemicals sectors prioritised for investor engagement.
Research
10 February 2024

A just world on a safe planet: A Lancet Planetary Health–Earth Commission report on Earth-system boundaries, translations, and transformations

The Lancet
The Lancet Planetary Health Earth Commission report quantifies eight safe and just ESBs for biosphere, climate, nutrients, freshwater, and aerosols. Seven ESBs transgressed globally. Defines safe and just corridor for minimum resource access amid transformations to avert harm to health and planet.
Research
8 October 2024

From ‘conflict minerals’ to peace? reviewing mining reforms, gender, and state performance in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

The review assesses how 3T mining reforms in eastern DRC affected state governance and gender inclusion. Findings show mixed results: limited improvements in demarcation, revenue collection and oversight, persistent armed interference, weak accountability, elite-captured cooperatives, and ongoing marginalisation of women.
Research
15 March 2021

Briefing paper: The fiduciary duty case for climate justice

Intentional Endowments Network
The report argues that climate justice is integral to fiduciary duty, as climate and inequality risks threaten long-term value. It outlines definitions, system-level investment frameworks, and practical tools that help investors manage systemic risks and support a just low-carbon transition.
Research
26 June 2025

Integrating ESG and AI: A comprehensive responsible AI assessment framework

The report introduces an ESG-AI framework enabling investors to assess AI-related environmental, social, and governance risks. Drawing on insights from 28 companies, it provides use-case materiality analysis, governance indicators, and deep-dive assessments to support transparent, responsible AI evaluation and investment decisions.
Research
10 June 2025

AI in anti-financial crime: The state of adoption in 2025

Themis International Services
The report surveys senior leaders on AI adoption in anti-financial crime, finding limited current use but rapid expected uptake. It highlights technology shortcomings, emerging AI use-cases, leadership awareness, and barriers including cost, skills and regulatory uncertainty, outlining opportunities for more efficient, integrated and adaptive AFC capabilities.
Research
27 June 2025

The impact of climate conditions on economic production: Evidence from a global panel of regions

The paper links subnational economic output with climate data, showing temperature increases reduce productivity levels, especially in hotter regions, without affecting long-run growth. End-century warming could lower global output by 7–14%, indicating larger climate damages than many models estimate.
Research
26 September 2020

Climate change impacts increase economic inequality: Evidence from a systematic literature review

This systematic review of 127 studies finds consistent evidence that climate change worsens economic inequality, disproportionately affecting poorer countries and households. Impacts arise across sectors and regions via channels such as reduced labour productivity and agricultural losses, with strong agreement that effects are regressive.
Research
9 April 2025

Global warming has increased global economic inequality

The report assesses historical warming’s effects on national income by combining climate model counterfactuals with temperature–growth estimates. It finds warming has likely reduced GDP in warmer, lower-income countries and moderately benefited some cooler, higher-income economies, contributing to increased between-country economic inequality since 1961.
Research
22 April 2019

Responsible Digital Finance Ecosystem (RDFE): A conceptual framework

Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)
The report outlines a framework for a Responsible Digital Finance Ecosystem, urging holistic, collaborative consumer protection amid rising digital finance risks. It defines ecosystem actors and four pillars—customer centricity, collaboration, capability, and commitment—to strengthen regulation, improve outcomes, and reduce harms in rapidly evolving digital financial services.
Research
1 September 2024

Institutional investment in addictive industries: An important commercial determinant of health

The study examines how Tobacco-Free Finance Pledge signatories apply exclusion policies to addictive industries. Investors show diverse thresholds, with European institutions more likely to exclude alcohol, gambling, and cannabis. Reputational and compliance considerations dominate justifications, highlighting investment decisions as significant commercial determinants of health.
Research
14 October 2024

The transition finance playbook: A practical guide for financial institutions

Accounting for Sustainability (A4S)
A practical guide outlining how financial institutions can scale transition finance through governance, eligibility criteria, portfolio segmentation, due-diligence enhancements and engagement. It highlights Canadian market context, barriers, and actionable “top tips” to support credible decarbonisation, stewardship and collaboration across the financial system.
Research
3 June 2025

Leakage in the common ground: How misalignment in sustainable finance taxonomies impacts cross-border capital flows

The paper models how misaligned sustainable finance taxonomies can cause cross-border capital leakage, reducing alignment with developed-market standards. It identifies four ratios determining whether endorsing common ground improves outcomes and shows leakage can be significant without regulatory measures to differentiate and prioritise higher-quality green bonds.
Research
3 July 2025

Missing ingredients: How agriculture and diet get overlooked in media coverage of climate change

Center for Biological Diversity
The report finds agriculture particularly animal agriculture and diet, receives disproportionately little climate coverage. Only small fractions of articles mention meat or dietary shifts, despite their emissions significance. Coverage is declining overall, limiting public awareness and policy momentum. The analysis urges more accurate, comprehensive reporting on food-system climate impacts.
Research
23 November 2025
PREV
3 of 77
NEXT
Join or sign in to use Alma, Altiorem’s AI Agent. While the Altiorem library is free, Alma is exclusive to paying subscribers.