This is what climate action looks like

As we learn to live with COVID-19, focus is returning to delivering a just transition. This is important to secure long-term investment outcomes, but also presents direct opportunities.

Growing awareness that natural systems are stressed or even close to breakdown is prompting asset managers to look closely at nature-based risks and investee companies to understand their environmental impacts and dependencies.

The concepts of biodiversity and ‘natural capital’ have been largely ignored by business and finance until recently. Investors are now starting to take the issue seriously and build it into their thinking.

Middle managers need to up their diversity, equity and inclusion game. They must think harder about roles models, succession planning, psychological safety and team dynamics to harness untapped human potential, explains Apiramy Jeyarajah.

Financial services businesses have begun the complex businesses of working out how to deliver on their net-zero ambitions and play their part in tackling climate change.

Asset managers must better explain how ESG can improve investment returns and make the world a better place. Clear guidance to help investors choose between funds is also required.

In an age of mass extinctions, policymakers, businesses and financial institutions are beginning to acknowledge the risks associated with biodiversity loss, along with the opportunities that arise from nature-positive solutions.

Healthy and happy employees, consumers, and communities are all critical ingredients in a company’s long-term success. Investors have a key responsibility in ensuring the rights of these groups are respected.

More than one fifth of the world’s largest listed companies have committed to net-zero targets, but few have detailed roadmaps to get there. Mirza Baig considers the challenges for investors managing transition pathways.

We explore how shifting diets can help create a more sustainable world.

Companies operating in the gig economy have been subject to industrial action and legal challenges. Workers say they are being denied basic rights; platforms reply this is the price of flexibility. But there is a viable middle-ground which can be beneficial for all, including investors.

How will the surge in the prices of oil, gas and coal impact the transition to low or zero carbon sources of fuel? In the second part of our Q&A on the energy sector, experts from our credit, equities and ESG teams contemplate the challenges and opportunities in the pivot to green.

Mark Versey goes on the offensive to dispel recent criticisms against ESG investing.

The fallout from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has highlighted the fragility of energy markets, with significant implications for the global economy.

There is a strong case for finance and other elite professions to become more socially diverse and tap into a much larger pool of potential talent.

Despite concern over the substance behind many national and corporate net-zero commitments, could the pace of change surprise on the upside? Tom Tayler assesses the state of play.