Library | Sustainable Finance Practices

Active ownership

Active ownership is a component of effective stewardship. It refers to how investors influence the behaviour and practices of investee companies (and, where relevant, borrowers or policyholders) through engagement, proxy voting, and, where necessary, escalation. The aim is to improve ESG performance, foster long-term value creation, and ensure responsible business conduct at the company level.

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Red lines in the Abyss: Growing financier concern over deep-sea mining

Seas At Risk
This report maps 82 financial institutions — representing approximately EUR 24 trillion in combined assets — that have excluded or expressed concern over deep-sea mining. Published by Seas At Risk and the Deep Sea Mining Campaign, it charts growing financier momentum against deep-sea mining and calls for explicit exclusion policies from both financial institutions and governments.
Research
7 May 2026

Excessive executive compensation: Investor guidance

Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)
Published by ICCR in April 2026, this report provides investor guidance on addressing excessive executive compensation. It outlines proxy voting guidelines, pay thresholds, and stewardship frameworks to help investors challenge the growing gap between CEO and worker pay, and promote greater accountability and long-term value creation.
Research
28 April 2026

The benefits of access: Evidence from private meetings with portfolio firms

This paper analyses over 4,700 private meetings between a large active asset manager and portfolio firms using proprietary data from Standard Life Investments (2007–2015). Meetings transmit soft information that influences analyst recommendations and fund manager trading, generating statistically significant abnormal returns and profitable trading decisions.
Research
30 March 2023

Voice without influence? Global investor voting rationale disclosures in Korea

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
This study examines whether global institutional investors’ voting rationale disclosures influence Korean firms’ gender diversity and climate-related policies. It finds stronger investor focus on board gender diversity than climate risk, limited influence on large firms, greater impact on smaller firms’ emissions reductions, and evidence that voting rationales affect the credibility of sustainability reporting.
Research
17 May 2026

Beyond net zero: The rise of transition plans and what they tell investors

Sustainable Fitch
This Sustainable Fitch report examines the rise of corporate transition plans, driven by regulatory requirements and investor demand. It reviews six mainstream transition planning frameworks, finding alignment on core principles but variation in detail, and analyses around 40 entities, revealing strong Scope 1 and 2 targets but patchy Scope 3 commitments and limited transition revenue.
Research
13 April 2026

Investing in the arms race: The companies building nuclear weapons and their financiers

Impax Asset Management
This report analyses 25 companies producing nuclear weapons and their financial backers. Highlighting over $1 trillion in total investments and financing from 301 institutions, it urges the financial sector to use its leverage to reject nuclear armament and make choices that benefit global security and humanity.
Research
20 April 2026

Socially-minded investors and corporate behavior

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
This report examines whether socially-minded investors influence corporate behaviour through voting, managerial incentives, or identity investing. It concludes that existing channels offer limited impact and evaluates potential legal reforms, such as binding shareholder votes and mandatory disclosures, to better align corporate actions with these investors' preferences.
Research
30 April 2026

2025 Water sector engagement report

Royal London Asset Management
Royal London Asset Management's 2025 report presents findings from a two-year engagement programme with 11 UK water utility companies across four pillars: climate change adaptation, biodiversity, affordability, and antimicrobial resistance. Nearly all companies showed improvement from baseline scores, with biodiversity recording the most notable progress.
Research
23 October 2025

Optional shareholder voting

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
This paper examines optional shareholder voting by institutional managers (IMs) using newly available SEC data on say-on-pay votes. Only 44% of IMs vote, yet their aggregate voting footprint is twice that of mutual funds. IMs use voting as a monitoring tool, with larger positions associated with greater opposition to management.
Research
27 April 2026

Cracking the code: Using nature data to understand the impact of the ASX200

Biodiversity Council
This report analyses the nature-related impacts of Australia's ASX200 companies. It finds that utilities, energy, and materials sectors exert the highest direct environmental pressures, whereas financials and retail sectors possess significant supply chain impacts. The report advocates for TNFD-aligned disclosures and proactive investor stewardship to mitigate systemic risks.
Research
27 May 2026

Corporate engagement guide: Addressing deforestation in Australia

Australian Conservation Foundation
This corporate engagement guide provides institutional investors with a step-by-step pathway to address deforestation within Australia's largest listed supermarkets and banks. It evaluates the current progress of major companies and offers actionable guidance to implement robust deforestation-free commitments, safeguard financial stability, and mitigate systemic economic risks.
Research
19 May 2026

What can investors do about climate change?

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
This report explores the evolving role of investors in addressing climate change. Drawing on insights from major asset managers, it advocates shifting from market-led targets to a policy-led approach. Investors are advised to focus on realistic stewardship, pragmatic objective-setting, and policy advocacy to effectively manage climate-related financial risks.
Research
12 May 2026

Systematic stewardship on the waterbed

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
Tröger argues corporate governance tools, including stewardship, say-on-climate votes and ESG-linked pay, cannot replace broad climate regulation. Firm-level interventions may trigger “waterbed effects”, shifting emissions rather than reducing them. Carbon pricing or comprehensive emissions caps are presented as more effective.
Research
30 March 2026

Stakeholder Engagement Guide (beta)

Rights CoLab
The Stakeholder Engagement Guide is an investor-focused tool for assessing how portfolio companies engage with affected stakeholders within human rights and environmental due diligence. It outlines four stages and seven effectiveness criteria, providing questions, indicators and examples to evaluate engagement quality and identify risks and improvements.
Research
11 June 2025

Shareholder proposals: An essential investor right

US Sustainable Investment Forum (US SIF)
The report argues shareholder proposals are a key investor right, enabling engagement on governance and ESG risks, improving corporate accountability and long-term value. It highlights regulatory frameworks, practical impacts across sectors, and emerging threats to this mechanism within US capital markets.
Research
12 March 2025

US SIF Proxy Proposal Archive

US Sustainable Investment Forum (US SIF)
The US SIF Proxy Proposal Archive is a public database providing access to over 7,000 shareholder proposals filed at US companies, alongside detailed research reports and annual briefings. It enables analysis of environmental, social and governance (ESG) trends, supporting investors in evaluating proxy voting issues and corporate engagement.
Online tool/database
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