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Research
We summarise credible research and reports on sustainable finance and ESG issues. Our summaries, along with our AI ChatBot saves members time reading large reports, to focus on knowledge building and action.
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Legal opinion on enabling impact investing
This legal opinion examines how the Trusts Act 2019 enables New Zealand trustees to engage in impact investing. It reframes fiduciary duties, addresses perceived barriers like SIPO wording, and provides practical realities for organisations seeking to align capital investments with charitable purposes while generating financial returns.
Urban planning for the circular economy: A spatial turn in theory and practice
This report examines how urban planning can operationalise the circular economy by addressing spatial dimensions. Drawing on European city experiences, it explores circular developments, infrastructure, land management and multi-level governance. It provides strategic directions for integrating circularity into core planning instruments to support systemic, territorially grounded transitions.
Optimal flood insurance in a second-best world: Fiscal spillovers, reclassification risk and moral hazard
This report evaluates the U.S. National Flood Insurance Program's transition to risk-based pricing. It finds that unintended consequences, such as increased ex post disaster spending and household exposure to climate uncertainty, outweigh moral hazard costs. The authors conclude that an optimal premium subsidy of 52% is required.
Systems stewardship: Managing interconnected climate risks for lasting value
This report examines how Australian investors apply systems stewardship to manage interconnected climate risks. It identifies key practices, such as collaborative engagement and policy advocacy, while highlighting barriers like resource constraints. Six recommendations are provided to help investors safeguard long-term returns and support a net-zero transition.
Why resilience starts with understanding extremes
Climate resilience requires understanding high-impact, low-probability tail risks. Rising temperatures are transforming extreme events into common occurrences. Using examples like the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, this report advocates for assessing high-end warming scenarios and tipping points to evaluate the robustness of portfolios and assets against cascading physical risks.
Climate-related transition planning: Voluntary guidance
This voluntary guidance from the Australian Treasury helps organisations develop climate-related transition plans. It details a four-stage process—assessing position, setting ambitions, planning actions, and implementation—to manage risks and align with Australia’s net zero targets, building on international standards and domestic policy to enhance business resilience.
Empowering consumers as partners in sustainability: Case studies on financial regulation and implementation
This report by Fair Finance Asia examines financial regulation through case studies in Thailand, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Cambodia. It highlights systemic gaps in consumer protection, cybersecurity, gender-responsive inclusion, and ESG accountability. Recommendations are provided for regulators and banks to strengthen consumer engagement and promote sustainable finance practices across Asia.
Smarter, leaner, cleaner: Direct reduced iron and the future of American steel
Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) is the most cost-effective new-build investment for the American steel sector. This analysis confirms that natural-gas-based DRI meets investment hurdles across all regions, offering a 15% real return and significant emissions reductions while providing flexibility for future hydrogen integration.
Off the books: Practical guidance for business
This report provides practical guidance for Australian businesses to identify and address migrant worker exploitation. Based on a survey of 9,963 temporary visa holders, it highlights risks like ABN misclassification, casual employment, night shifts, and misleading payslips. It offers due diligence tips and remediation steps to ensure compliance.
Community energy: Hope and headwinds
This report examines the Australian community energy sector, highlighting growth to over 126 projects by 2023. It explores the tension between strong community motivations and significant economic headwinds, such as scale diseconomies and market volatility. Key findings emphasise technical expertise and de-risking strategies as essential for success.
What do sustainability disclosures disclose?
This research analyses over 15,000 sustainability disclosures from Russell 3000 firms. It finds that while reporting has surged since 2015, informative quality has declined. Adoption of voluntary standards yields mixed results, correlating with reduced 'fluff' but lower narrative specificity. Improvements primarily reflect selection effects rather than organisational learning.
Global Methane Tracker 2026
The International Energy Agency report analyses global energy-related methane emissions, highlighting 124 million tonnes emitted in 2025. It examines abatement strategies, satellite data advancements and policy trends. The research underscores that 30% of emissions could be reduced at no net cost, advocating for robust international standards and increased transparency.
Handbook: Harmonised framework for impact reporting for social bonds
This handbook provides a harmonised framework for impact reporting on social bonds. It outlines core principles, recommendations, and sector-specific metrics for categories including affordable housing, essential services, and basic infrastructure. The document aims to enhance transparency and integrity in the social bond market through standardised reporting practices.
Guarantees: From misdiagnosis to strategic deployment: Evidence from expert practitioner interviews
This research examines why climate-aligned guarantees often fail to mobilise private capital effectively. It identifies structural misalignments within multilateral development banks and suggests that strategic deployment requires a move towards portfolio-based approaches, local-currency financing, and better risk layering to address specific investment constraints in emerging markets.
Closing the gender health gap: The investment case and capturing Australia's window of opportunity
This report identifies the gender health gap as a systemic market failure and significant investment opportunity. Closing this gap could boost the global economy by US$1 trillion annually by 2040. In Australia, the opportunity is valued at US$24.8 billion per year, offering a time-limited ten-year window for investors.
The Paris Agreement ten years later: Navigating climate uncertainty and tipping points
This research evaluates the Paris Agreement ten years on, highlighting critical implementation and ambition gaps. It identifies a triple-track crisis involving geophysical inertia, cognitive barriers, and policy lags. The report proposes a precautionary paradigm using technological and financial levers to navigate climate uncertainty and prevent irreversible tipping points.