Wednesday, March 10, 2021
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Economic Impact

News and insights about trade, investment, employment, governance, and more, for investors who want a more just and sustainable global economy.

Amit Bouri, the CEO of the Global Impact Investing Network, is racing to support efforts by impact investors to raise capital to combat COVID-19 and create a more sustainable future.The virus outbreak has killed over 900,000 people...
U.S. Department of Labor proposes rule changes that could make impact investing more difficult, by limiting funds’ ability to take ESG issues into account for investments and limiting shareholders’ ability to use proxy votes to influence companies. 
To prevent a financial collapse, companies need to consider all its stakeholders, not just shareholders, Sen. Sherrod Brown said in a webinar. The Ohio Democrat plans to push for legislation protecting workers’ rights and requiring companies to share...
After six months of living with COVID-19, the world is getting a better sense of what is possible and what isn’t. And we’re learning that “The Great Reset” should be possible if governments and impact investors want...
Day 2 of the GSG Global Impact Summit speakers ran the gamut from actress/social entrepreneur Jessica Alba to former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron. But the message of how to #BuildBackBetter ran through the panels. 
Advocates say the U.S. government’s first approval for the design of a new type of small nuclear reactor is good for the industry and may help tackle global warming. Nuclear power advocates have long touted it as a...
Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) Summit speakers connect recovery from the pandemic to improving the lives of everyone, not just the well-off, comparing a lack of investment in some neighborhoods to “food deserts.” 
ESG regulations are shifting, but can governments and asset managers keep up? Millennials and Generation Z are only going to quicken the pace of change.  This article is part of the daily Karma newsletter....
While investors worried about ESG risks for companies with small market capitalizations are finding a dearth of information, a Bank of America Global Research report may provide stakeholders with alternative data sources.Small-cap firms are not publishing sustainability...
Israel, a low-power distance culture, has a high concentration of startups. The country’s $1 billion impact investing market is still low on female founders. As resilience becomes a key factor in which startups survive COVID, investing in women will...
The Dow Jones Industrial Average’s replacement of Exxon with “stakeholder capitalism” champion Salesforce.com is more than symbolic. It signals the start of a new era of the Dow, where technology’s power is growing as fossil fuels’ strength...
N’Gunu Tiny, an impact financier, views the truth as a good investment, especially during the pandemic. Emerald Group, a boutique investment firm, was an early stage investor in the fact- checking company Poligrafo, which has become part of...
Amid all the hoopla about the coming tech IPO blitz, project management tech company Asana plans a direct listing IPO and its co-founders pledge to donate all the proceeds to ‘philanthropic purposes.’  This article...
One growing investment field is emerging market private equity and debt funds in African and Latin American renewable energy sources. Many investors hold on to oil and gas stocks simply to collect dividends, which causes the companies to...
One part of America is enjoying the soaring stock market and booming home sales. Another part is worrying about getting evicted and finding work. Welcome to the K-shaped recovery. This article is part of...
Details about this week’s Republican National Convention are remarkably scarce. The party didn’t even issue a new platform, opting to reuse the 2016 platform instead. One certainty: President Trump will be part of each night. 
Corporations’ and PE firms’ coronavirus response — whether or not they abided by social pacts —  will be remembered long after the pandemic fades, Shami Nissan says.  Actis says its partnerships with local firms in emerging markets show...
Viking Cold Solutions technology lets cold-storage facilities reduce their energy demand and cut expenditures. When paired with solar panels, the technology cuts the need for power from the grid by 95%. Energy storage systems will have to be adopted...
Want to change a company’s behavior? Prepare to spend as much as a year getting your proposal in order.More shareholders are filing proposals, apparently undeterred by the task’s complexity.U.S. and EU systems vary, with experts seeing complexity...
U.S. investors have turned up the heat on companies with a record number of ESG shareholder resolutions this year and the COVID-19 pandemic may spur even more proposals next year.Sixteen investor petitions concerning ESG matters have gotten...
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and an economic downturn, investments into environmental, social, and governance assets surged by 72% this year, says Morningstar.Investors showed increased interest in ESG-related products before the outbreak and the trend continues.Assets under management...
Big 2Q pushes ESG assets under management over $1 trillion for the first time, but studies show some companies with strong ESG scores did not fare any better in the pandemic than others.  This...
Luxury fashion brands are upcycling and embracing resale to reduce the industry’s massive pollution problem This article is part of the daily Karma newsletter. To get the whole newsletter delivered to your email free...
Luxury fashion brands say they are fighting waste through partnerships with online consignors and starting in-house resale shopsBy adopting the circular economy model, fashion can cut its massive carbon footprint and create loyal customersThe pandemic has led to a huge spike...
TRIG’s portfolio of renewable energy assets has allowed it to pull through the first-half of 2020 with minimal pain when the value of conventional energy plunged.The company owns wind, solar, and battery storage sites in the U.K.,...
This week’s high-level U.S.-China trade talks, ready to gauge progress of the $200 billion trade deal, come during a period of increasing tension between the economic superpowers and threats of bans against TikTok and WeChat. 
Some asset managers like Vanguard say an SEC guidance regarding proxy advisor firms won't affect their business. SEC guidance asks asset managers to disclose to investor clients how they consider views from proxy advisor firms. SEC has said it...
SolarX, a West African renewable energy equipment provider, raised its first round of capital this year. About 57% of the continent’s population does not have access to reliable electricity, which creates obstacles for everyday life and commercial business activities. The...
Now that ESG investments are outperforming traditional ones, it would seem hard to argue that ESG investing would go against fiduciary duty. Alas, it’s 2020. The Department of Labor proposes limiting ESG investing in pension funds.
In his new book, “Impact,” Sir Ronald Cohen writes about how to bring stakeholder capitalism into the mainstream.  This article is part of the daily Karma newsletter. To get the whole newsletter delivered to...