This report looks at investor behaviour, and contends that investors no longer behave in the “rational” fashion that traditional finance theory assumes. Studying the desire to invest ethically challenges the relevance of traditional finance theory, and helps improve our understanding of ethical investor behaviour.

This paper provides an overview of human rights due diligence (HRDD) in relation to private equity (PE) investors. Topics covered include the responsibility of PE, the value of HRDD for PE, the characteristics of PE, integration of HRDD into PE processes and implementation challenges.

This report aims to guide reporting entities and investors on the requirements of the Australian Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018. It informs and provides suggestions to companies and investors on how to identify, manage and reduce the risks and impacts of modern slavery.

The report examines significant human rights issues in the extractives sector value chain, and summarises the key outcomes and insights of a PRI-coordinated (Principles for Responsible Investment) engagement with companies. Importantly, the report highlights the key elements that investors should consider when engaging with mining, oil and gas companies.

Companies and institutional investors can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through their business activities and investment decisions. This guide lists the many actions that these financial industry participants can take to achieve these goals across sectors including education, clean energy, agriculture, and health.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has highlighted the financial risks of climate change facing financial services organisations, saying that they are material, foreseeable and actionable now. APRA’s survey of 38 entities summarises the activities that those entities are adopting to mitigate financial risks. This information paper provides APRA's insights into responses to their survey.

The Matrix provides industry specific ideas for action and industry specific practical examples for each relevant SDG. It profiles opportunities which companies expect to create value for shareholders as well as for society.

This paper is a practical guide on how to build and analyse a portfolio of impact, which is based on a graphical assessment of impact investments along the dimensions of impact, risk and return. The framework offers insight into the construction of a target profile, mapping individual investments and aggregate portfolios, as well as risk management.

The research explores the moral, financial and economic justification for responsible investment, and the academic evidence underpinning future action. It concentrates on how ESG factors materially impact investment risk and returns, clarifying the agency of investors over non-financial value creation.

Companies and institutional investors are being asked to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through their business activities, asset allocation and investment decisions. The SDG investment case tries to answer the question: Why are the SDGs relevant to institutional investors?

Understanding how investors are applying the growing supply of corporate ESG information into their investment decision-making is increasingly important. This report aims to help investors navigate the rapidly changing responsible investing landscape by developing a typology that classifies approaches to environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration.

This research identifies the potential for increased green bond issuance to support the green investment needs of large global publicly traded companies across all sectors. Comparing companies’ business as usual (BAU) to pathways aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), case studies illustrate how green bonds can support transitions to low-carbon business models.

A 2018 report on worldwide investments in harmful cluster munitions. Two arms manufacturers recently ended production of cluster munitions, and more financial institutions and states are acting to end money going to producers. Despite declining investment from financial institutions, there are seven companies in the report still manufacturing.

This paper informs asset owners about the current state of sustainable investing for US institutional investors. Drawing on the experiences of over 100 asset owners and investment professional as well as evidence from WRI’s own endowment the paper constructs a detailed outline of sustainable investing. It highlights the underlying motives and drivers, governance structures, relevant data and standards, investment vehicles, and key barriers that shape opportunities for implementation.

This report is intended to help investors understand how climate change can influence their investment performance in both the short and long term. The research uses scenarios from the Cambridge Econometrics transition-risk climate model, to consider three scenarios; 2⁰C, 3⁰C and 4⁰C temperature increases, with evolved pathways and magnitude.

This white paper highlights whether integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into the investment process has had a positive effect on corporate financial performance (CFP), whether the effect was stable over time, how a link between ESG and CFP differs across regions and asset classes and whether any specific subcategory of E, S or G had a dominant influence on CFP.