Impact-driven Nuns and Tech Millionaires — Accelerating Impact Across Sectors
New research, new trainings, new sustainability experts.
Sustainability is here to stay.
Connecting the dots. This is what transforming research to practice is about. And this is the key message of this newsletter and our work. Below are highlights from the past months ranging from recent reports on what we can learn from the originals of sustainable investing all the way to how to accelerate the impact journeys of self-made tech wealth owners. Even if tech investors and catholic nuns seem to be worlds apart, our work shows that as long you are impact-driven, we are in this together.
Sincerely,
Managing Director and Initiator
Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth
University of Zurich
Research Highlights
Faith-based investors have played a central role in establishing the sustainable and responsible investment movement. In the latest CSP report, Unleashing the Potential of Faith-Based Investors for Positive Impact and Sustainable Development, co-authors Taeun Kwon and Viktoria Samberger look at where these trailblazers stand today.
Findings and recommendations include:
- Secular investors have a lot to learn from the structures faith-based investors have put in place to align values with investments. These structures include ethics committees and regular reflective discussions.
- Secular and faith-based investors both struggle with the lack of knowledge, leadership support, and a dependency on external non-impact specialized staff when implementing impact-driven investment strategies.
- Negative screening is increasingly supported by engagement activities leading to more tangible and systematic impact. Still, more knowledge on how to bridge aspirations with actions is needed to unleash the full potential of the approach.
Read the key findings of the research project in this summary article and download the full report here.
What Gets Measured Gets Managed, Or Does It?
Does sustainability reporting lead to progress? In this Harvard Business Review article, Kenneth Pucker considers the current state of sustainability reporting and its effects on sustainable finance efforts. Citing CSP research, the article provides an overview of why reporting is not a synonym for integrated sustainability and what could drive a meaningful transformation toward real-world change.
In a fresh CSP academic working paper, Let’s Get Physical: Comparing Metrics of Physical Climate Risk, Linda Hain, Julian Kölbel, and Markus Leippold compare existing methods for quantifying companies’ exposure to physical climate risks and find them to vary widely. This results in inconsistency in rankings across sectors and negatively affects the ability to account for climate risks.
The researchers identify key sources of uncertainty and offer suggestions on how to bridge the gaps. Read the paper for the full set of findings.
Training Updates
2021 Sustainable Investing Training for Wealth Managers Done!
Last month, 17 wealth management professionals graduated from CSP’s Sustainable Investing in Wealth Management training. The training equipped participants with research-based knowledge and hands-on experience on how to build sustainable portfolios and meet their clients’ sustainability needs.
In addition, participants learned about the impact journeys of HNWIs first-hand and made connections with peers from private banks and family offices.
Interested in growing your team’s sustainable finance expertise?
Find all the details and register for next year’s training here.
First Module of Our Program for Tech Founders Completed
Tech founders driven to respond to global challenges face a unique opportunity when transitioning from founders to investors: the opportunity to have a significant impact with their capital and expertise. In order to leverage this potential, together with Katapult Foundation, we set up a training designed for tech founders specifically. The training provides tech founders access to curated resources, specialized mentors, and peer communities in order to help them steer assets to impact big time.
Learn more about the Impact Accelerator for Tech Founders program here.
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