Library | ESG issues
Environmental
The environmental pillar in ESG (environmental, social, and governance) assesses an organisation’s impact on the planet. It includes issues such as climate change, biodiversity, waste management and water management. Strong environmental practices help businesses reduce risks, comply with regulations, and drive long-term sustainability.
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Beyond energy infrastructure: A flexibility-first approach cuts costs and boosts security
This report argues that power system flexibility is core infrastructure essential for energy security and affordability. It demonstrates how quantifying flexibility can reduce costs, citing potential annual savings of £9.6–£16.7 billion in Great Britain by 2050. Policymakers are encouraged to prioritise flexibility-first design over traditional infrastructure-heavy build-out.
Stewarding a just transition: Frontiers of practice in listed equities
This report analyses just transition practices among 25 investment managers in listed equities. While policy recognition is high, active engagement remains a low priority concentrated in energy and mining. The research identifies barriers such as geopolitical headwinds and provides recommendations for investors, governments, and regulators to mainstream practice.
Natura Future P&L Tool
The Natura Future P&L Tool is a free digital platform that enables businesses to measure and monetise their environmental, social, and human impacts. It helps finance professionals integrate ESG externalities into traditional financial analysis to assess a company’s total value creation.
Toward a more human pace for data center development
This research examines the environmental and social impacts of rapid data centre expansion in the United States. It highlights how generative AI infrastructure disproportionately burdens marginalised communities through pollution, increased utility costs, and resource depletion. The authors call for a "more human pace" centred on environmental justice.
AI-driven productivity gains enable more CO₂ emissions than they avoid in a global energy–economy model
Research using a global energy-economy model indicates that AI-driven productivity gains increase net annual CO2 emissions by 0.47–1.8 gigatonnes under parallel adoption. Enabled emissions from fossil sectors consistently exceed avoided emissions from renewables. Achieving net reductions requires renewable productivity gains to be four to five times greater than fossil gains.
Clean investment monitor: US update series
The Clean Investment Monitor: US Update is a benchmark series providing a comprehensive database of clean energy and transportation investment across the United States. Produced by Rhodium Group and MIT-CEEPR, it tracks the manufacture and deployment of greenhouse gas emission-reducing technologies across manufacturing, energy and industry, and retail segments.
Connecting nature, climate, and capital: From data to decisions: Natural capital accounting in practice
This research explores Natural Capital Accounting in New Zealand, focusing on the SEEA EA framework. It provides practical steps for businesses to quantify nature-related risks and dependencies. Through case studies, it demonstrates how environmental data informs investment, lending, and strategic management to enhance organisational resilience and long-term value.
Asking better questions on nature: For chief financial officers
This guide helps Chief Financial Officers integrate nature-related issues into financial decision-making. It outlines how to identify dependencies, assess risks and opportunities, and respond to evolving disclosure expectations. The report emphasises nature as a core driver of performance, resilience and long-term value creation within the TNFD framework.
Mobility Diagnosis
Mobility Diagnosis is an open-source territorial analysis tool supported by ADEME. It helps local authorities and planners design decarbonised transport strategies by centralising data on travel practices and geographical profiles.
GRESB Guides
GRESB Guides is a comprehensive documentation hub providing methodology, reference manuals, and scoring documents for GRESB’s global ESG benchmarks in real estate and infrastructure. It helps finance professionals navigate reporting requirements and interpret sustainability performance data.
Guidance for voluntary climate change mitigation
This guidance outlines expectations for voluntary climate change mitigation in New Zealand. It details six core principles for high-integrity carbon credits, including additionality and permanence. It distinguishes between contribution and exclusive-use claims and clarifies the role of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme and Nationally Determined Contributions.
Assessing digital traceability systems for critical mineral value chains: Aligning upstream and downstream agendas
This report assesses digital traceability systems for critical raw materials, evaluating their architecture, feasibility, and impact. It emphasises aligning downstream regulatory demands with upstream producer realities, recommending that traceability should support due diligence and inclusion—particularly for artisanal mining—rather than serving as a standalone compliance burden.
Beyond commitments: Assessing real capital deployment for net zero across 26 high-emitting companies, against the IGCC Capital Allocation Alignment Framework
This research assesses capital allocation alignment with net-zero commitments across 26 high-emitting companies using the IGCC Framework. It finds that while climate strategies are strong, capital sourcing and fossil fuel phase-down plans lag. European companies lead in performance, while the Americas and oil and gas sectors trail significantly.
Expanding the investible market for adaptation: The value and path for institutional investors
This report examines the business case for institutional investors to prioritise climate adaptation. It identifies a multi-billion dollar annual financing gap and outlines how resilience expertise enhances investment performance. A framework of recommendations is provided to help investors navigate asset, network, and economy-level resilience within the Australian context.
Just adaptation: An introduction for institutional investors
This report introduces institutional investors to 'just adaptation', highlighting the financial materiality of fair and equitable climate resilience. It outlines how incorporating social equity into adaptation strategies protects long-term returns, maintains social licence, and identifies priority actions for investors to support vulnerable communities while managing systemic climate risks.
Science Based Targets Network Target Tracker
The SBTN Target Tracker is a public database that monitors companies setting science-based targets for nature. It provides finance professionals with verified data to assess corporate progress on land, water, and biodiversity goals.