Library | Sustainable Finance Practices

Governance and directors’ duties

Resources on the responsibilities of boards and directors in overseeing sustainability, ensuring accountability, fulfilling fiduciary duties, and promoting long-term value creation.

Refine
Resource type
Sustainable Finance Practices
ESG issues
SDGs
SASB Sustainability Sector
Finance relevance
Asset Class
Location
TAG
149 results
REFINE
SHOW: 16

Legal opinion on enabling impact investing

Parry Field Lawyers
This legal opinion examines how the Trusts Act 2019 enables New Zealand trustees to engage in impact investing. It reframes fiduciary duties, addresses perceived barriers like SIPO wording, and provides practical realities for organisations seeking to align capital investments with charitable purposes while generating financial returns.
Research
18 March 2024

The Barbara and Morris Pearl 527 Interactive Database

Center for Political Accountability
The Barbara and Morris Pearl 527 Interactive Database tracks political donations from publicly traded US companies to 527 committees. Developed by the Center for Political Accountability, it helps finance professionals assess corporate governance and reputational risks related to political spending.
Online tool/database
19 November 2024

CPA-Zicklin Index of Corporate Political Disclosure and Accountability

Center for Political Accountability
This benchmark series evaluates corporate political disclosure and accountability practices among major US companies. It provides a structured analysis of transparency, board oversight, and spending policies for the S&P 500 and Russell 1000, enabling stakeholders to assess political risk and governance standards across different industries.
Benchmark/series
6 November 2025

Templates in the EU Inc. regulation proposal

Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE
This research evaluates the European Commission’s Proposal for an optional 28th corporate law regime. It argues that proposed model articles of association fail to support venture capital-backed firms. The authors identify four shortcomings regarding scope, process, logic, and safe-harbour effects, suggesting a dedicated drafting track and broader coverage.
Research
18 May 2026

Stakeholder governance and corporate purpose in certified B Corps: Minimizing conflict and fostering collaboration

This research examines how Australian and New Zealand B Corporations implement stakeholder governance through corporate purpose. Based on 20 interviews, it identifies six roles for purpose in decision-making and signalling. The findings suggest that purpose-led models help attract supportive stakeholders and foster collaboration beyond mere conflict resolution.
Research
29 April 2025

ShareAction policy paper: Defending and strengthening the AGM as a forum for corporate accountability

ShareAction
This ShareAction report advocates for mandatory hybrid AGMs to ensure corporate accountability. It argues that online-only formats diminish shareholder scrutiny and enable management to stage-manage proceedings. The document recommends amending the 2006 Companies Act and provides case studies of poor virtual AGM practices across several major companies.
Research
15 June 2026

Fragmentation of shareholder power

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
This research examines how fund proliferation and stewardship decentralisation affect corporate governance. It finds that supply-driven growth weakens oversight, while demand-driven expansion by incumbents can strengthen it. Competitive adoption of pass-through voting improves investor preference alignment but often reduces monitoring incentives and firm value.
Research
20 June 2026

Using scenario analysis for future resilience: Top tips for pension fund chairs and trustees

Accounting for Sustainability (A4S)
This guide from Accounting for Sustainability supports pension fund chairs and trustees to move beyond simplified climate scenario analysis. It outlines the limitations of current models, provides practical examples from USS, NBIM and APG, and offers six actionable tips to embed scenario insights into strategic decision making.
Research
1 June 2026

Shareholder proposals and corporate governance in a season of regulatory uncertainty

This report analyses the 2025–2026 proxy season following the SEC's suspension of its no-action review process. Shareholders filed approximately 20% fewer proposals; companies filed over 100 fewer exclusion notices. Exclusions disproportionately affected novel and revised proposals, with proponents increasingly turning to litigation and alternative strategies to preserve shareholder rights.
Research
27 April 2026

Ethical & impactful usage of AI

This report by Do Harvey outlines an ethical framework for AI usage, highlighting environmental impacts, security risks, and bias concerns. It advocates for transparent, client-opt-in adoption underpinned by human oversight, and summarises five modes of AI use to guide teams in making values-aligned, informed decisions.
Research
12 August 2025

Responsible AI in practice: 2025 global insights from the AI Company Data initiative

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
This report analyses publicly disclosed data from 2,972 companies across 11 sectors, revealing a significant gap between AI adoption and governance maturity. Only 13 per cent align their strategy with a formal framework, and few demonstrate adequate worker protections, ethical impact assessments, or training data oversight.
Research
31 March 2026

Weapons, dual use tech and financial institutions

Power Shift Africa
This Shift briefing examines how financial institutions should approach human rights due diligence in relation to weapons and dual-use technologies. It identifies four key challenges, six anchors grounded in international humanitarian law, and six practical approaches to support responsible defence-related lending and investment decisions.
Research
14 April 2026

Time to get real: Current and future best practice for investor engagement on climate policy

Volans
This report examines how institutional investors engage on climate policy and sets out guidance for best practice. Drawing on interviews with 70+ individuals and a survey of investors representing approximately USD 33 trillion in AUM, it calls for a shift from disclosure-focused engagement towards real economy policies, and identifies three field-building priorities.
Research
15 June 2026

An expanding mandate: A systems-level framework for asset management

Thinking Ahead Institute
This report from the Thinking Ahead Institute and CAIA Association argues for expanding the investment mandate to incorporate systems-level thinking. Drawing on a survey of 176 asset managers and roundtables with 120 senior executives, it presents an inside-out, outside-in framework for navigating polycrisis and long-term systemic risks.
Research
8 June 2026

Ranking digital rights: The 2025 big tech edition

Ranking Digital Rights
The 2025 RDR Index Big Tech Edition ranks 14 major technology companies on governance, freedom of expression, and privacy. Microsoft leads overall with 50%, followed by Alphabet at 49% and Meta at 47%. Scores are also assessed across eight thematic lenses, including algorithmic transparency, security, and targeted advertising.
Research
29 June 2026

Anti-harassment policy and the startup labor market

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
This paper studies the effects of state-level NDA-weakening laws on hiring in over 50,000 U.S. VC-backed startups from 2014–2022. Anti-harassment reforms reduce female hiring by approximately 8%, concentrated among junior women and small startups, while also triggering internal restructuring including more female promotions and male manager departures.
Research
4 May 2026
PREV
1 of 10
NEXT
Join or sign in to use Alma, Altiorem’s AI Agent. While the Altiorem library is free, Alma is exclusive to paying subscribers.