Library | Sustainable Finance Practices
Fixing financial and economic systems
Resources aimed at transforming financial and economic systems to prioritise human well-being, equity, and environmental sustainability. These resources include tools, networks, and guidance on systemic changes such as systems thinking, degrowth, green growth, doughnut economics, decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation, and adhering to limits to growth.
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Targeting net zero: The need to redesign bank decarbonization targets
This report examines the limitations of current bank decarbonisation targets and proposes design reforms to align with net zero. It analyses scope coverage, target types, and sector alignment, offering practical recommendations for enhancing climate credibility and effectiveness in financial institutions’ transition planning.
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide, established in 1874, is Australia's third-oldest university and a member of the prestigious Group of Eight. Ranked among the top 100 globally, it offers a diverse range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Located in Adelaide, South Australia, the university is renowned for its research excellence and vibrant campus life.
The triple gap in finance for agrifood systems
This report identifies significant planning, finance, and data gaps in climate investment needed to transition global agrifood systems. Annual climate finance must increase by at least 40 times to USD 1.1 trillion by 2030. Current national commitments underestimate actual requirements, highlighting the need for clearer targets and improved data collection.
Rewiring finance – a new approach to financing a sustainable economy
This report outlines three systemic shifts needed to align finance with sustainability: policy reform to drive market incentives, mindset changes to embrace long-term value, and structural financial changes to embed environmental and social risks. It highlights barriers and proposes actions to support an inclusive, sustainable economic transition.
Circle Economy's circularity gap report series
The Circularity Gap Report series, launched annually since 2018 by Circle Economy, offers key insights into the global circular economy. Each report focuses on vital topics driving action, from the first global metric in 2018 to industry and country perspectives in subsequent years.
Impact economies tractions and trends: Insights from 34 GSG National Partners
This report presents insights from 34 national ecosystems advancing impact investing. It highlights trends in policy, capital mobilisation, and transparency, showing governments and institutions integrating social and environmental outcomes into investment strategies. It tracks growth in green finance, outcome-based funding, and investment readiness across emerging and developed economies.
Carbon accounting FAQs - August 2023
This FAQ guide by CA ANZ outlines key carbon accounting concepts, including emissions measurement, net zero versus carbon neutral, carbon markets, and related financial and ethical considerations. It supports finance professionals with evolving standards, regulatory requirements, and practical guidance for managing climate-related data and assurance services using science-based methodologies.
The root cause of nature loss: Forests, why they matter, and how to assess deforestation risk in investment portfolios through nature-related data
This report outlines how deforestation, particularly in tropical forests, is a key driver of biodiversity loss and climate change. It presents the risks to institutional investors—physical, transition, and systemic—and offers a framework to assess deforestation exposure in portfolios using nature-related data and metrics across sectors and geographies..
How just transition can help deliver the Paris Agreement
This report outlines how embedding just transition principles in climate strategies supports equitable decarbonisation. It presents trends, case studies, and a UNDP framework guiding countries to integrate socio-economic considerations into their Nationally Determined Contributions and Long-Term Strategies, promoting inclusive, sustainable development in line with the Paris Agreement.
The imperative for impact management: Clarifying the relationship between impacts, system-wide risk and materiality
The report argues that managing environmental and social impacts is essential for sustainable financial performance. It connects impacts to both entity-specific and system-wide risks, urging enterprises, investors, and policymakers to adopt a unified, evidence-based impact management approach aligned with global sustainability goals and evolving disclosure standards.
Financing Africa's low carbon green economy transition: Africa's climate finance needs
This report outlines how African states must spend at least US$2.5tn by 2030 to meet climate commitments. It shows that emission reduction makes up close to 80% of spending, with plans for adaptation to climate change costed at US$418 billion.
Reconsidering the macroeconomic damage of severe warming
This study finds that accounting for global weather conditions significantly increases projected macroeconomic damage from climate change. Global GDP losses by 2100 may rise from ~11% to ~40% under high emissions. Incorporating global effects also reduces the optimal warming threshold from 2.7°C to 1.7°C, aligning with Paris Agreement targets.
Landing the economic case for climate action with decision makers
The report outlines strategies to better communicate the economic rationale for climate action to decision makers. It examines barriers, including limited capacity and political constraints, and recommends clearer economic framing, stronger narratives, and alignment with national development goals to drive engagement and support for climate policies.
Closing the gap: Investing in natural capital to meet the SDGs
The report analyses the investment required to address the natural capital gap for achieving Sustainable Development Goals in 40 countries, finding that investing US$7.4 trillion could generate returns exceeding US$152 trillion, greatly benefiting air quality, human health, ecosystems, and reducing premature deaths and resource depletion globally.
Conservation investment blueprint: Environmental impact bond for green infrastructure
This blueprint details the application of Environmental Impact Bonds (EIBs) to finance green infrastructure projects. It illustrates how EIBs can be used to attract private investment to public infrastructure projects that offer significant environmental benefits, such as enhanced stormwater management and increased urban resilience. The document provides a framework for structuring these bonds to ensure both financial returns and positive environmental outcomes.
GSG Impact
GSG Impact is an organisation dedicated to integrating impact considerations into all investment, business, and government spending decisions. Operating in over 50 countries, it collaborates with leaders, investors, governments, regulators, and social innovators to enhance societal and environmental outcomes. Key focus areas include mobilising private capital for public good, ensuring impact transparency and integrity, and building impact economies globally.