Green
Visualizing the Global Rise of Sustainable Investing
No matter where you look, climate change is at the centre of every conversation.
With a wide range of global sustainability challenges and complex risks on the rise, investors are starting to re-evaluate traditional portfolio approaches.
The ESG Boom
Today, many investors want their money to align with a higher purpose beyond profit. This infographic from iShares unpacks the prolific rise of sustainable investing, and how its trillion-dollar potential is sweeping across the world.
What is Sustainable Investing?
Sustainable investing considers environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors that create a lasting, positive impact on the world. As the term ‘ESG’ suggests, its scope goes well beyond environmental concerns alone. Examples include:
- Environmental: Climate risks, resource scarcity, and clean energy
- Social: Diversity, human rights, and cybersecurity
- Governance: Business ethics, transparency, and anti-corruption
Simply put, it’s a force for good.
Although sustainable investing emerged in the 1970s, the movement has gained impressive traction in the last few years.
How Global Assets are Growing
Since 2012, total assets in sustainable investing have more than doubled:
Region | 2012 Assets | 2018 Assets |
---|---|---|
Europe | $8.8 trillion | $14.1 trillion |
U.S. | $3.7 trillion | $12.0 trillion |
Japan | $0.01 trillion | $2.2 trillion |
Canada | $0.59 trillion | $1.7 trillion |
Australia and New Zealand | $0.18 trillion | $0.7 trillion |
Total | $13.3 trillion | $30.7 trillion |
The U.S. and Europe are major players in this shift. In particular, specific legislation across European countries will continue driving ESG investment for years to come.
The European ESG Landscape
Across major economies in Europe, cultural shifts and new regulations are shaping the landscape of sustainable investing.
- The UK has an ambitious net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050.
Result: Most sectors will significantly ramp up their decarbonisation efforts to meet this goal. - As per France’s Article 173 (Energy Transition Law), investors must explain how they incorporate ESG factors into their investment strategies.
Result: A majority of French institutional investors now manage their assets with ESG criteria in mind. - Nordic countries consider sustainability and social responsibility a cornerstone of their cultural mindset.
Result: Nordic investors are increasingly integrating all three ESG aspects into their investments.
If Europe’s trajectory is any indication, sustainable investing will soon become second nature in other parts of the world too.
No Industry is Untouched
The rise of sustainable investing is a global phenomenon, and reaches a myriad of industries.
Here is a summary of just a few ESG efforts of some of the world’s most sustainable corporations:
Company | Industry | Country | ESG Efforts |
---|---|---|---|
Chr. Hansen A/S | Bioscience | 🇩🇰 Denmark | • 100% green operations commitment by Apr 2020 • 82% of revenue directly supports UN Global Goals |
Autodesk | Software | 🇺🇸 U.S. | • 100% renewable energy-run cloud services and offices • 44% women on the Board |
Banco do Brazil | Finance | 🇧🇷 Brazil | • $51 billion earmarked for green economy spending • 99% adherence to Code of Ethics and Conduct Standards |
City Developments Ltd | Real Estate | 🇸🇬 Singapore | • S$100 million fully-allocated Green Bond • 59% carbon emissions reduction target by 2030 |
The business world agrees: sustainable investing is smart investing.
How Can Investors Think Sustainably?
Many investment products allow investors to easily access sustainable investing, such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index funds. These provide complete transparency—allowing investors to align their approach with the objectives that matter most to them.
Investors are able to:
- Screen out companies involved in controversial businesses
- Invest in companies with high ESG standards
- Advocate for specific issues like climate change
Not only this, but sustainable investing also has the potential to improve portfolio returns. In a 2015 paper covering ESG investing since the 1970s, 90% of ESG investing matched or overperformed traditional approaches.
The Bottom Line
Investors see a triple bottom line from sustainable investing: strong financial returns, and a lasting impact on both people and the planet.
As sustainable investing goes mainstream, it won’t simply act as a niche in a broader strategy—instead, it’ll be naturally integrated throughout a portfolio.
“With the impact of sustainability on investment returns increasing, we believe that sustainable investing is the strongest foundation for client portfolios going forward.
—Larry Fink, BlackRock Chairman and CEO
Sustainability is a global force that will continue to factor into everyday decisions.
Soon, sustainable investing will simply be considered “investing”.
Environment
How Carbon Dioxide Removal is Critical to a Net-Zero Future
Here’s how carbon dioxide removal methods could help us meet net-zero targets and and stabilize the climate.
How Carbon Dioxide Removal is Critical to a Net-Zero Future
Meeting the Paris Agreement temperature goals and avoiding the worst consequences of a warming world requires first and foremost emission reductions, but also the ongoing direct removal of CO2 from the atmosphere.
We’ve partnered with Carbon Streaming to take a deep look at carbon dioxide removal methods, and the role that they could play in a net-zero future.
What is Carbon Dioxide Removal?
Carbon Dioxide Removal, or CDR, is the direct removal of CO2 from the atmosphere and its durable storage in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products.
And according to the UN Environment Programme, all least-cost pathways to net zero that are consistent with the Paris Agreement have some role for CDR. In a 1.5°C scenario, in addition to emissions reductions, CDR will need to pull an estimated 3.8 GtCO2e p.a. out of the atmosphere by 2035 and 9.2 GtCO2e p.a. by 2050.
The ‘net’ in net zero is an important quantifier here, because there will be some sectors that can’t decarbonize, especially in the near term. This includes things like shipping and concrete production, where there are limited commercially viable alternatives to fossil fuels.
Not All CDR is Created Equal
There are a whole host of proposed ways for removing CO2 from the atmosphere at scale, which can be divided into land-based and novel methods, and each with their own pros and cons.
Land-based methods, like afforestation and reforestation and soil carbon sequestration, tend to be the cheapest options, but don’t tend to store the carbon for very long—just decades to centuries.
In fact, afforestation and reforestation—basically planting lots of trees—is already being done around the world and in 2020, was responsible for removing around 2 GtCO2e. And while it is tempting to think that we can plant our way out of climate change, think that the U.S. would need to plant a forest the size of New Mexico every year to cancel out their emissions.
On the other hand, novel methods like enhanced weathering and direct air carbon capture and storage, because they store carbon in minerals and geological reservoirs, can keep carbon sequestered for tens of thousand years or longer. The trade off is that these methods can be very expensive—between $100-500 and north of $800 per metric ton.
CDR Has a Critical Role to Play
In the end, there is no silver bullet, and given that 2023 was the hottest year on record—1.45°C above pre-industrial levels—it’s likely that many different CDR methods will end up playing a part, depending on local circumstances.
And not just in the drive to net zero, but also in the years after 2050, as we begin to stabilize global average temperatures and gradually return them to pre-industrial norms.
Carbon Streaming uses carbon credit streams to finance CDR projects, such as reforestation and biochar, to accelerate a net-zero future.
Learn more about Carbon Streaming’s CDR projects.
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