Library | Sustainable Finance Practices

Governance and directors’ duties

Resources addressing the specific responsibilities of boards and directors in integrating sustainability into decision-making, ensuring accountability, and promoting long-term value creation.

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Screening for responsible investment in agriculture and food systems: Guidance and tools for government officials

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
This report provides guidance for government officials on screening investments in agriculture and food systems to ensure responsible practices. It outlines due diligence processes to assess investors, potential risks, and benefits while promoting sustainable development. The toolkit includes adaptable screening tools to identify responsible projects and enhance transparency in investment decisions.
Research
15 October 2024

Improving governance on nature-related risks and opportunities

Climate Governance Initiative
This brief highlights how biodiversity loss poses risks to businesses and urges company directors to integrate nature considerations into strategic planning. It assesses companies' practices using the World Benchmarking Alliance's Nature Benchmark and provides key insights for directors to manage nature-related risks and opportunities, enhancing corporate resilience in a nature-positive transition.
Research
5 March 2024

Green investing and political behavior

This study examines whether green investing reduces political support for climate regulation. Using a pre-registered experiment involving a real referendum in Switzerland, the findings suggest that climate-conscious investments do not erode support for climate policies. The study provides evidence that sustainable investing and political engagement are complementary, not substitutes.
Research
22 June 2023

Aligning financial flows with the Global Diversity Framework: Translating ambition into implementation

Finance for Biodiversity Foundation
The report advocates for governments to ensure financial flows align with biodiversity goals. It highlights the need for mandatory disclosures on nature-related risks, nature transition plans, and economic incentives to mobilise private finance for biodiversity conservation, emphasising a "whole-of-government" approach to implementation.
Research
23 April 2024

A director’s guide to mandatory climate reporting

MinterEllison
This guide covers Australia’s mandatory climate reporting, requiring large entities to disclose climate risks and opportunities from January 2025. It provides directors with practical steps for compliance, focusing on governance, strategy, and risk management, and encourages proactive engagement to build long-term organisational resilience.
Research
26 September 2024

Turning strategy into reality: ESG implementation challenges in Australia’s finance sector

Action Exchange
The report highlights the challenges financial institutions face in embedding Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies. It covers topics such as governance, skills gaps, data issues, and the critical role of the front office in driving sustainability goals, offering practical steps for overcoming these hurdles.
Research
20 October 2023

An introduction to responsible investment: Human rights for asset owners

Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)
This guide by PRI summarises human rights relevance for asset owners, offering strategies for policy, governance, stewardship, and disclosure. It includes case studies, international standards, and practical resources to promote human rights in the financial system.
Research
8 January 2024

An introduction to responsible investment: Biodiversity for asset owners

Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)
This introductory guide for asset owners explores the financial risks and opportunities associated with biodiversity loss. It explains the relevance of biodiversity to investment processes and outlines how asset owners can incorporate biodiversity considerations into their responsible investment policies, stewardship practices, and disclosures.
Research
9 April 2024

Biodiversity risk: Legal implications for companies and their directors

Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative
The report analyses the legal obligations of company directors with regards to biodiversity risk. The report examines emerging disclosure standards, provides a jurisdictional spotlight, and includes case studies to illustrate the corporate interface with biodiversity.
Research
13 December 2022

The changing climate policy landscape: Considerations for policymakers and the needs of investors

Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC)
This report outlines eight key features of effective global climate policies. It analyses how different approaches to policy design shape capital markets' responses. The report also calls on governments to create policies with clear short, medium, and long-term targets that provide the right incentives and ensure a just transition.
Research
6 September 2023

Collaborative investor engagement with policymakers: Changing the rules of the game?

This report explores why and how institutional investors engage with governments and the challenges they face in the process. The authors analyse 11 case studies and identify drivers such as managing investment risks and fulfilling fiduciary duties, as well as challenges like limited influence on governments. The findings contribute to the sustainable finance and public policy literature.
Research
25 June 2023

Directors' liability and climate risk: White paper on India

Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative
This paper explores the legal obligations of directors in addressing climate risk and mitigating their environmental impact. This report studies the duties of directors in relation to trust and loyalty, competence, disclosure, and their application in the context of climate risk, according to existing company and securities laws in India.
Research
3 October 2021

Who owns a company?

This speech examines the evolution of corporate governance, focusing on the shift towards shareholder primacy. It discusses the incentive problems this model creates, such as short-termism and excessive risk-taking, and their economic consequences. The speech concludes by exploring potential policy responses to mitigate these issues.
Research
29 July 2015

Primer on climate change: Directors’ duties and disclosure obligations

Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative
This report provides an overview of contemporary evidence that climate change presents foreseeable, and in many cases material, financial and systemic risks that affect corporations and their investors. It discusses general climate obligations, directors' duties, disclosure obligations, and advice to directors, emphasising the importance of embedding climate change in financial risk management, disclosure, and supervisory practices.
Research
24 June 2021

Women in business leadership boost ESG performance: Existing body of evidence makes compelling case

International Finance Corporation
Increase in women's representation in business leadership positions intensifies environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. 70 peer-reviewed papers published from 2008 to 2017 proportionally associate higher diversity with better firm performance. The compendium of available material evolves into a pressing case for more women in boards and other leadership roles.
Research
26 February 2020

Climate risk governance guide: An introductory resource for directors on climate risk governance

MinterEllison
The guide provides an introductory resource for directors on climate risk. It considers fundamental concepts, distinguishes key industries impacted by climate change, and outlines duties and expectations of directors. Governance and reporting frameworks are discussed, with due care and diligence emphasized for adequate disclosure.
Research
1 September 2021
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