Library | ESG issues
Corporate Strategy
Corporate strategy involves the comprehensive plan a company employs to achieve its long-term objectives, encompassing decisions on resource allocation, market participation, and competitive positioning. Integrating sustainability into corporate strategy enables organisations to create long-term stakeholder value. This approach offers advantages such as enhancing brand value, meeting consumer demands, increasing efficiency, attracting top talent, and opening new market opportunities.
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Business-led blended finance: A practical playbook
This report examines business-led blended finance, which grew to US$24 billion in 2024. It provides a practical playbook for companies to move from passive recipients to active deal architects, addressing the US$4 trillion SDG financing gap through risk management toolkits, sector analyses, and eight global case studies.
Templates in the EU Inc. regulation proposal
This research evaluates the European Commission’s Proposal for an optional 28th corporate law regime. It argues that proposed model articles of association fail to support venture capital-backed firms. The authors identify four shortcomings regarding scope, process, logic, and safe-harbour effects, suggesting a dedicated drafting track and broader coverage.
Stakeholder governance and corporate purpose in certified B Corps: Minimizing conflict and fostering collaboration
This research examines how Australian and New Zealand B Corporations implement stakeholder governance through corporate purpose. Based on 20 interviews, it identifies six roles for purpose in decision-making and signalling. The findings suggest that purpose-led models help attract supportive stakeholders and foster collaboration beyond mere conflict resolution.
The total portfolio approach (TPA): A practical guide for navigating the transition to TPA
The report examines the Total Portfolio Approach as an alternative to traditional strategic asset allocation. Drawing on interviews and survey evidence, it explains TPA’s investment, governance, risk, sustainability and organisational foundations, outlines a five-level transition pathway, and provides practical guidance for asset owners assessing readiness and implementation.
Women's empowerment principles series
This series examines how businesses integrate women’s empowerment and gender equality across leadership, workplaces, marketplaces and communities. It uses the Women’s Empowerment Principles Gender Gap Analysis Tool to assess corporate policies and practices, support benchmarking and identify opportunities for businesses to strengthen gender equality approaches over time.
Corporate Health Check 2026: The annual state of Earth-positive business action
The CDP 2026 Corporate Health Check, produced with Oliver Wyman, demonstrates that environmental leadership aligns with financial performance. While a 15% leadership cohort achieves 4% annual emission reductions, a major gap persists in adaptation finance. The report identifies four key levers for building resilience and capturing emerging commercial opportunities.
FCLT Gold Standard: Information and resources
FCLTGlobal’s Gold Standard provides criteria for asset owners, asset managers and companies to support long-term value creation. It outlines recommended practices across governance, incentives, engagement, metrics and future success, including long-term performance measurement, aligned remuneration, sustainability reporting, carbon pricing, diverse decision-making and investment in innovation.
Profits and social impacts: Complements vs. tradeoffs for lenders in three countries
This research examines the tradeoff between lender profits and social impact using machine learning across three countries. It demonstrates that algorithmic targeting significantly boosts profit margins in South Africa and the Philippines but may reduce financial inclusion for women and low-income borrowers unless balanced strategies are implemented.
Financial Innovation Knowledge Platform
CPI's platform offering practical tools, research, and guidance for public and private actors developing and investing in climate finance vehicles.
Responsible investing maturity matrix: Emerging markets
A maturity framework for VC funds and LPs to assess ESG and responsible investment integration across emerging market fund operations.
Corporate diversification and corporate carbon performance
This research examines how corporate diversification and cash flow coinsurance reduce carbon intensity in Japanese firms. It finds that industrial diversification alleviates financing constraints, enabling substantial decarbonisation investments. The effect is most significant in carbon-intensive industries and for Scope 1 emissions following the Paris Agreement.
Understanding inequality as a macro-financial risk to markets and diversified portfolios
This research identifies economic inequality as a systemic macro-financial risk to markets. It examines how wealth concentration and market power destabilise economies, fuel social instability, and hinder progress on global challenges. The report advocates for new financial analysis tools and disclosure frameworks to integrate social-related risks into investment strategies.
Just transition metrics benchmark
Just Transition Metrics is a benchmark series developed by Shift in collaboration with multiple organisations. It provides a foundational, sector-agnostic set of quantitative metrics designed to assess the 'justness' of companies' climate-related transition plans, covering workforce, communities, and value chain impacts.
Using scenario analysis for future resilience: Top tips for pension fund chairs and trustees
This guide from Accounting for Sustainability supports pension fund chairs and trustees to move beyond simplified climate scenario analysis. It outlines the limitations of current models, provides practical examples from USS, NBIM and APG, and offers six actionable tips to embed scenario insights into strategic decision making.
EDHEC Climate Institute Resource Hub
EDHEC Climate Institute is a climate finance research resource that provides research, analytical tools and data on climate-related financial risks, transition pathways and climate policy. It supports finance professionals with evidence-based insights for investment analysis, risk assessment and decision-making on climate-related issues.
Project Preparation Support Database (PPSD)
Searchable database of project preparation facilities and climate-focused incubators helping developers and investors access support for bankable climate projects.
