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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.
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Competing in the age of disruption: A business briefing by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
The report argues that global industrial transition is inevitable and accelerating, creating material risks and opportunities. It urges businesses to pursue innovation, reshape market rules and influence policy to secure competitiveness, manage systemic threats and drive sustainable market transformation.
Long-term impact and biological recovery in a deep-sea mining track
The study finds that deep-sea mining disturbance leaves long-lasting physical impacts, with partial biological recovery after 44 years. Some mobile and sessile fauna have re-established, but communities remain altered. Plume effects are limited, yet track disturbance persists, indicating slow ecosystem recovery and informing future management.
Creating value from big data in the investment management process: A workflow analysis
The report analyses how investment professionals use AI and big data, noting moderate but rising adoption, multihoming across tools, and key challenges including skills gaps, data quality, and model opacity. It highlights organisational priorities such as upskilling and workflow automation to enhance efficiency and decision making.
AI governance behind the scenes: Emerging practices for AI impact assessments
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.
Harmonised framework for impact reporting for social bonds handbook
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.
Assessment of the biodiversity impacts and dependencies of globally listed companies
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.
A just world on a safe planet: A Lancet Planetary Health–Earth Commission report on Earth-system boundaries, translations, and transformations
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.
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.
Briefing paper: The fiduciary duty case for climate justice
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.
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.
AI in anti-financial crime: The state of adoption in 2025
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.
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.
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.
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.
Responsible Digital Finance Ecosystem (RDFE): A conceptual framework
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.
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.