SFG - Sustainable Finance Geneva

🎙️ EU Sustainable Finance: anticipating a new Commission's approach 📣 This week’s podcast from the Global Counsel explores how the EU’s new Commission can shape the future of sustainable finance and address challenges in driving capital towards more sustainable investments. 🔍 In this episode, host Harrison Coldray is joined by ESG expert Heike Schmitz to discuss the EU’s evolving regulatory framework, focusing on how the new Commission’s approach could influence key areas like transition finance, regulatory updates, and global competitiveness. They highlight the EU's efforts to balance sustainability with economic growth, especially through the lens of transition finance, which supports companies on their journey to reduce carbon emissions. 💬 The discussion also touches upon the importance of stakeholder engagement, the need for consumer education around ESG principles, and the challenges of making the EU sustainable finance framework both practical and attractive for global investors. As they look ahead, Coldray and Schmitz suggest that the new Commission’s priorities should include supporting renewable energy, promoting transparency, and incentivizing carbon reduction - creating a roadmap for a resilient and sustainable economy. 🔗 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gSWs5MKN

📚 Report of the Week: A Stocktake of Swiss Impact Investing 💡 Authored by the Swiss Sustainable Finance and Tameo, the study offers a comprehensive take on Switzerland’s impact investment market in 2024. 🌱 Switzerland channels significant capital— USD 11.2 billion in assets under management—into sectors like microfinance, food and agriculture, and climate and energy. The report also finds that Swiss impact funds also maintain a lower risk profile compared to global averages. However, key challenges remain, including better alignment with asset owners, improved education on impact metrics, product standardization, and stronger collaboration across sectors. 🌍 These steps are essential to unlocking additional capital from institutions and drive sustainable finance forward. As Switzerland establishes its national platform for impact investing through GSG Impact, the study highlights its potential to connect private and public sectors to scale sustainable finance and drive positive change. 🔗 Read here: https://lnkd.in/ezvQgfgH

🎙 Podcast of the Week: Profitable Impact as a New Mainstream Asset Class 📈 This week’s podcast, hosted by Jane Goodland from LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) featuring Sophie Flak, Executive Board Member at Eurazeo, discuss how science-based methods can transform impact investing into a highly profitable strategy. 🌱 In this episode, Sophie Flak shares Eurazeo’s journey to position impact as the next wave of private equity growth. She describes how their approach goes beyond traditional ESG by integrating scientific frameworks to invest in businesses addressing key environmental challenges. She also explains how Eurazeo leverages regulatory landscapes as a strategic advantage, driving long-term value across Europe. 💡 The discussion outlines why “profitable impact” is no longer niche but a massive market of $350 billion, as impact investments now aim for measurable, scientific outcomes alongside strong financial returns. From pioneering water solutions in aging infrastructure to supporting the circular economy, she illustrates how Eurazeo is building Europe’s future leaders in impact. 🔗 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eEZbMBRU

We are looking forward to taking part in this event by Forum per la Finanza Sostenibile (ItaSIF) with our UNDP Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S) colleagues. The webinar is open to the public - Register now!

📚 Report of the Week: Guide for Adaptation and Resilience Finance 💡 The recent findings from the COP28 Global Stocktake emphasize the urgent need for increased financial investment in climate adaptation and resilience measures. Key stakeholders, including Standard Chartered, KPMG, and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), highlight the importance of these investments for vulnerable communities in emerging markets and least developed countries. 🌱 To address this need, the Guide for Adaptation and Resilience Finance outlines what constitutes adaptation and resilience finance. It includes a practical roadmap for financing and identifies over 100 investable activities, such as climate-resilient crops, natural flood protection, public hospital infrastructure investment, and mangrove conservation and replanting. The Guide aims to mobilize capital for crucial adaptation projects by instilling confidence in investors and assisting financial institutions in integrating these themes into their decision-making processes. 🌍 To effectively implement this framework, borrowers and issuers of adaptation financial products, such as bonds and loans, must clearly detail the use of proceeds for eligible activities, ensure transparent management of those proceeds, and establish robust methods for measuring and reporting outcomes. Adopting independent review and verification processes will enhance credibility and accountability, ultimately driving greater confidence and investment in adaptation efforts. 🔗 Read more here:https://lnkd.in/ekR69aEs

🎙 Podcast of the Week: Transition Finance and the Role of Capex 💬 In this week’s episode of The Responsible Investor Podcast, we explore how capital expenditure (capex) serves as a crucial metric for evaluating a company’s commitment to decarbonisation and its long-term sustainability goals. 📊 Capex is a strong indicator of where companies are investing for the future, with Folksam's Chief Economist Marcus Svedberg noting the importance of being "overwhelmed" by investments in new technologies. While 2024 has seen promising numbers—€250 billion of taxonomy-aligned capex reported so far—only 1% of high-emitting companies have set goals to align capex with decarbonisation, according to the latest Transition Pathway Initiative report. 🔍 Join RI deputy editor Elza Holmstedt Pell and feature writer Paul Verney as they discuss the challenges and opportunities in transition finance. Plus, get the latest updates from the PRI in Person conference in Toronto from Elza and RI reporter Fiona McNally. 🔗 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/edgRszTb

🌱 COP16 Colombia kicks off today in Cali, Colombia! 🇨🇴 Finance can play a key role in protecting and regenerating nature, and this report card on the financial system's response since the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is a great place to start in understanding what the finance industry has done so far and what is left to do.

🚨 Event Recap: Peace Finance – Understanding and Managing Conflict-Risk with the Private Sector Today at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, we gathered for a thought-provoking panel discussion on the crucial intersection of finance and peacebuilding for Geneva Peace Week, co-hosted by SFG - Sustainable Finance Geneva, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, Interpeace, and PeaceNexus Foundation. The event, moderated by Kali Taylor, Managing Director at SFG, explored how financial institutions can better understand and manage conflict-related risks in fragile and high-risk settings. In 2022, the global economic cost of violence and conflict reached a staggering $17.5 trillion, equivalent to 2/3 of the United States’ GDP. The numbers made it clear: this is an issue that cannot wait. Speakers like Bettina Boekle, PhD (Finance for Peace), Dr Elizabeth Armstrong (Ithaca Impact), Eva Meyer (MSCI Inc.), Jean-Philippe de Schrevel (Oxygen Holding SA), and Kristen Petillon (PeaceNexus Foundation) shared valuable insights on: - Data-driven methodologies for quantifying conflict risk  - Strategies for private sector engagement to mitigate and manage risks - How investors are impacted by conflict risks as much as they impact conflict areas The panel stressed that neutrality does not exist in investing - You are either contributing to conflict or to peace. #PeaceFinance #SustainableFinance #ConflictRisk #PrivateSector #FinanceForPeace #GenevaPeaceWeek

📣 This week’s podcast from MSCI Inc. that explores whether investors should prioritize managing climate-change risks or pursuing green opportunities in their investment strategies. 🔍 In this final installment of a three-part series on ESG, host Michael Disabato is joined by Xinxin (Grace) Wang, CFA, FRM and Elchin Mammadov from MSCI Research. They discuss the environmental pillar of the MSCI ESG Ratings model, which includes key themes like climate change, natural capital, and pollution and waste. They find that companies with high scores in climate-change themes have outperformed their lower-scoring peers over the past 11 years, although this trend has seen a reversal since 2021. 💬 The conversation also covers the challenges facing environmental-opportunity leaders, including higher interest rates and inflation, while also looking at promising signs for future profitability from 2024 to 2027. With the increasing availability of carbon emissions data, investors are better positioned to align their portfolios with climate goals. 🔗 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/e2vA9ezG

🌍 Exciting results from the Sustainable Finance Hack 2024! 🌍 We are thrilled to announce the outcome of our challenge, co-hosted by SFG - Sustainable Finance Geneva and Finance for Peace. The goal? To develop a solution that helps investors measure, understand, and manage conflict risks in fragile and conflict-affected settings, while maximizing their positive impact on peace. Our team developed a conceptual User Guide for Conflict Risk in Investment Decisions, a practical tool designed to incorporate conflict risk into investment frameworks. This solution would allow investors to not only reduce risks but also become a force for peace, contributing to stability and development in fragile regions. 🔗 Learn more about the solution designed by our students here: https://lnkd.in/e73HifCk Thank you to our amazing team of students, Open Geneva and Geneva Responsible Entrepreneurship Center for making this challenge a success!