When thinking about ways to help the planet and its people, investments in fixed income rarely come to mind – but they should. No longer are bonds just the sleepy, safe, under-attended corner of one’s portfolio. Today impact-targeted fixed income or “impact bonds” offer a rapidly expanding opportunity to directly support the type of change you are seeking in the world.
“Investors have a powerful opportunity to help close the wealth gaps in the US and create a more equitable economy and society by investing in all communities. Wealth management firms can use DEIB factors in selecting asset-manager partner firms – thereby aligning their clients’ values with investments and with the management firms themselves,” said Veris CEO, Stephanie Cohn Rupp.
Community Capital Management, a leading impact and ESG investing manager, recently released a report, Community Foundations and Place-Based Impact Investing, which takes a look at how place-based impact investments can be a great way to leverage the endowments of community foundations and donor-advised fund portfolios to align with their missions.
From inventing healable composites to reduce waste, to supporting agricultural yields from the soil to the pollinators, to the creation of sustainable and safe pigments that color our world, the 2023 Ray of Hope Prize® finalists offer inspiring solutions through their use of biomimicry (also referred to as nature-inspired or bioinspired design).
A group of former Google, SolarCity and Tesla executives in April snagged $20 million in what is being called the largest ocean-based carbon removal investment to date. Ebb Carbon’s technology works by speeding up the natural process of ocean alkalinization. It captures water at existing facilities and uses electrochemistry to turn them into saltwater solutions.
Ocean Exchange accelerates innovation for the blue economy as it continuously supports startups that have direct interests and impacts on our ocean’s ecosystem. OE provides support by re-distributing corporate and family philanthropy to vetted startups via a competitive process. Additionally, providing help with network introductions to partners and investors who can help advance the adoption of innovative ocean/climate solutions.
Maine, with nearly 3,400 miles of coastline and over 2,000 coastal islands, is inextricably tied to the sea. The Gulf of Maine has long supplied Mainers with both livelihoods and food but is one of the fastest warming bodies of water on the globe, with the average temperature rising by four degrees Fahrenheit over last four decades. The changes are extreme enough to materially affect people’s dinner plates and their jobs.
“For generations, our family has pioneered the protection and restoration of our ocean by working in education, producing documentaries and writing books. But more recently, we realize that unless society builds financial systems that incentivize positive social and environmental outcomes and the corresponding economic opportunities for people, we will never solve the mounting environmental crisis facing our planet.”
Blue economy funds have experienced dramatic growth in the past half decade, with nearly thirty new entrants – ten or so of them in 2022 alone. This is good news, as it signals both growing investor interest in the sector and an increasing pipeline of investable opportunities. As this ocean investment ecosystem evolves, the question of how to measure impact in investments has become a frequent topic of discussion.
We’re using a record amount of electricity here on Earth but while emissions are up, the energy mix is changing significantly. Indeed, wind and solar were up 19% year-on-year from 2021, whereas coal was up just 1.1% and natural gas use actually plateaued. As a result, the energy we use now has the lowest carbon emissions ever.
