Part 2: Beyond business-as-usual - Sustainable Investment game changers

(Climate Action, 8 Mar 2019) Business-as-usual is not an option, so Climate Action asked a range of sustainable finance experts: What game changing ideas can take sustainable investing to the next level?

Sustainable investing is on the rise globally, but it's clear that investment levels are nowhere near where they need to be for global climate and sustainability goals to be met.

Business-as-usual is not an option, so Climate Action asked a range of sustainable finance experts: What game changing ideas can take sustainable investing to the next level?

Wim Van Hyfte, PhD Global Head of Responsible Investments and Research, Candriam:

We urgently need a common language to speak about ESG. The European taxonomy, with all its likely flaws and the criticisms it will no doubt generate, could mark the beginning of a response.

Once the investment community will have a common understanding of what constitutes sustainable activity, we can start building products, standards and labels around this definition. I have the conviction that in Europe there is a vast pool of investor assets eager to support the environmental transition, in a way that is economically sensible, but remains held back by a lack of mutually accepted standard.

The headline growth in assets managed sustainably that we have witnessed over the last 10 years in Europe covers a wide array of approaches to sustainability. This is in part a good thing: diversity breeds innovation. The downside is that many investors, institutional and retail alike, feel a bit lost. A defined set of European standards could provide clarity to investors.

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Climate Action, 8 Mar 2019: Part 2: Beyond business-as-usual - Sustainable Investment game changers