Library | Sustainable Finance Practices
Active ownership
Active ownership is a component of effective stewardship. Guidance on how investors can influence investee, borrower or policyholder behaviour through active ownership, including proxy voting and engagement on ESG issues, fostering long-term value creation.
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RIAA Policy Platform 2025: Harnessing sustainable finance for a thriving Australia
The RIAA Policy Platform 2025 outlines nine policy priorities and two principles to align Australia’s finance system with sustainability goals. It recommends regulatory reforms, improved data, Indigenous inclusion, and stronger accountability to mobilise capital for a net zero, nature-positive economy that supports long-term economic resilience and societal wellbeing.
Find it, fix it, prevent it: Modern slavery report 2024
CCLA’s 2024 report outlines investor-led efforts to address modern slavery through corporate engagement, policy advocacy, and improved data. Key sectors include construction and agriculture. Progress was made via benchmarking and collaborative initiatives, though disclosure and remedy remain limited. EU legislation and stakeholder coordination are driving further momentum.
PRI's resolution database
The PRI Resolution Database provides information on shareholder resolutions, management proposals, and votes, aiming to enhance transparency in shareholder advocacy and proxy voting. It includes details on ESG themes, proposal statuses, and allows PRI signatories to pre-declare voting intentions.
CIM's impact report 2024
CIM’s FY2024 Impact Report details investments in social and affordable housing, disability accommodation, and carbon farming. The portfolio supported 260 homes, 114 SDA dwellings, and biodiversity-focused climate projects, while applying rigorous impact measurement. The report reflects lessons from emerging sectors and First Nations partnerships.
Conscious Investment Management
Conscious Investment Management is an Australian impact investment firm focused on generating measurable social and environmental outcomes. Its portfolio includes social and affordable housing, Specialist Disability Accommodation, renewable energy, carbon farming, and social impact bonds. CIM collaborates with not-for-profits and community housing providers, aligning investments with UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Navigating portfolio exposure to conflict-affected and high-risk areas: Practical guidance for investor engagement with companies
This report offers practical guidance for investors engaging companies on managing conflict-affected and high-risk area (CAHRA) exposure. It highlights legal obligations, best practices in heightened human rights due diligence, and governance strategies, drawn from pilot dialogues with tech and renewable energy firms. Recommendations target risk mitigation aligned with global standards.
Heartland Initiative
Heartland Initiative is a nonprofit investor advisory organisation dedicated to advancing human rights in investment. It collaborates with institutional investors, civil society, and policymakers to address systemic risks and promote responsible investment practices. Heartland offers tailored learning services and fosters environments that integrate human rights considerations into business strategies.
UNEP FI's human rights screening and risk assessment: investment and lending operations
The UNEP FI Human Rights Screening and Risk Assessment tool provides financial institutions with a structured framework to identify and evaluate human rights risks at both portfolio and transaction levels. It aligns with the UN Guiding Principles and OECD guidance, promoting integration of human rights considerations into investment and lending operations.
Climate risk and adaptation in global food
The report outlines rising climate risks to global food supply chains, projecting up to $38 trillion in damages by 2050. It explores mitigation and adaptation strategies across crops, livestock, and fisheries, and highlights investor actions to build resilience, support sustainable practices, and adapt to shifting market, environmental, and regulatory conditions.
Addressing biodiversity risk and opportunity at PensionDanmark
PensionDanmark developed a biodiversity strategy targeting its real estate and infrastructure assets to mitigate nature loss. It employs data-led initiatives, stakeholder engagement, and nature-based solutions to protect and restore biodiversity, aligning with EU taxonomy and Science Based Targets for Nature. Implementation includes construction screening, sustainable sourcing, and performance monitoring.
A practitioner's perspective - from obstacles to outcomes: Enhancing effectiveness in stewardship and engagement
This report identifies barriers to effective investor stewardship and engagement, highlighting challenges such as unclear definitions, resource constraints, and ineffective reporting. It outlines practical solutions from WHEB, recommending clearer alignment of engagement objectives with client mandates and prioritising measurable outcomes over activity metrics to deliver long-term client value.
The purpose of investor stewardship
This paper critically examines investor stewardship, shifting from traditional shareholder-focused governance towards "enlightened stewardship." It advocates balancing fiduciary duties with broader societal and environmental considerations. Analysing the evolution of the UK Stewardship Code, it highlights a systemic shift to integrate sustainability and stakeholder concerns alongside financial returns for long-term value creation.
First Nations Cultural Heritage Alliance
First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance (FNHPA) is a national coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations dedicated to strengthening laws, policies, and procedures for recognising, respecting, protecting, and celebrating First Nations cultural heritage in Australia. FNHPA collaborates with government and industry to modernise protections and promote best practices in cultural heritage management.
Accountability Framework
The Accountability Framework guides financial institutions on how to establish policies for responsible lending and investment in the food, agribusiness, and forestry sectors. It also helps financial institutions to screen and engage their clients and portfolios to fulfil these policies. It also assists with assessing environmental and social risk and performance in investment portfolios, and supports company engagement.
Introducing a standardised framework for escalating engagement with companies
ShareAction’s report introduces a standardised escalation framework for investors to engage with companies on environmental and social issues. It outlines an escalation toolkit and pathway to ensure structured, transparent, and time-bound engagement. The framework aims to enhance investor accountability, drive systemic change, and improve corporate sustainability practices through clear expectations, reporting, and enforcement mechanisms.
UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance: Policy engagement guidelines
This guideline released in 2023 outline principles for asset owners to integrate net-zero commitments into public policy engagement. The framework emphasises accountability, active participation, consistency, and transparency in climate advocacy. Asset owners are urged to engage policymakers to support the transition to a low-carbon economy and ensure alignment with fiduciary duties.