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Inside Impact Investing
Reset the economy Part II: William Burckart - The changed investment environment
Season 1, Ep. 2
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COVID-19 and the subsequent social and economic crises have underlined once more that we must urgently address the severe shortcomings in our present-day economies and societies. We must intensify our efforts to combat climate change, loss of biodiversity, and rising inequality, and build an economy that is fit for the future: one that is more resilient, more sustainable, and more inclusive.
Investors play a crucial role in the transition to this new economy, providing the capital needed to realise real and profound change. The investment choices they make can have a positive impact on our planet and on society, and at the same time safeguard their chances of solid long-term investment returns.
In a series of articles and podcasts Hans Stegeman, Chief Investment Strategist at Triodos Investment Management, explores the contours of a future-proof economy, and the ways to get there.
In this second episode, Hans Stegeman and William Burckart, President and COO of The Investment Integration Project and co-author of the book 21st Century Investing, discuss a new approach to investing to drive systemic change:
- Choosing the right transitions; a forward-looking approach in making investment decisions
- Impact first; contributing to positive change and thus mitigating risks, instead of the other way around
- The best asset classes to make impact.
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7. Ronald Huisman and Kay van der Kooi - Is the energy transition becoming a victim of its own success?
26:47||Season 4, Ep. 7In this episode, Karel Nierop discusses the challenges and opportunities of an energy system under construction with Ronald Huisman, Professor for Sustainable Energy Finance at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam (amongst others), and Kay van der Kooi, Senior Investment Manager at Triodos Investment Management.The energy transition in Europe is in full swing. A main component is the electrification of many processes: from transport and heating to highly energy-intensive industrial processes. This means a large buildout of both generation and consumption of electricity. While the process of electrification is taking up speed, the energy system, which was designed with fossil fuels in mind, is squeaking and creaking. Examples include waiting lines for electricity connection in construction projects and negative energy prices during peak electricity production. Will the initial success now threaten to undermine the energy transition?Interested in learning more about this topic? Read Kay van der Kooi's blog on net congestion here: What’s the hold-up? On the Ins and Outs of Grid Congestion6. Dirk Schoenmaker and William de Vries - Impact investing on public markets
32:17||Season 4, Ep. 6In this episode, Rosl Veltmeijer discusses how to achieve meaningful impact by investing in stock listed companies with Dirk Schoenmaker, Professor of Banking and Finance at Rotterdam School of Management (Erasmus University) and William de Vries, Director Impact Equities and Bonds at Triodos Investment Management.Impact investing is often associated with direct or private investing but is it also possible to invest with impact in public markets (stock listed investments)? And if so, how can this be realised? Dirk Schoenmaker explains that while financing the changemakers is important, it is essential to also finance established companies that are willing to transition in order to shift the system. William de Vries elaborates on the importance of engagement in achieving impact with listed companies. He also emphasises the added value of collaboration with like minded investors. Important takeaway of the discussion: not all impact can be quantified and attributed but the most important thing is that change actually happens.Interested to learn more about generating impact by investing is listed equities? Read this article5. Esther Griffioen and Jie Chen - Purpose and practice of the EU Taxonomy and the EU Green Bond Standard
22:34||Season 4, Ep. 5This podcast episode focuses on two pieces of European legislation aimed at supporting the low-carbon transition: the EU Taxonomy and the EU Green Bond Standard. Green bonds play an important role in financing the assets needed for the green transition. With the European Green Bond Standard, the EU wants to set a clear standard for green bonds, based on the detailed criteria of the EU taxonomy to define green economic activities. Portfolio Manager Rosl Veltmeijer discusses the ins and outs of both policies and how they work in practice with Esther Griffioen, Deputy head of Policy and Risk Management at the Dutch State Treasury Agency and Jie Chen, Investment Analyst at Triodos Investment Management - covering both the issuers’ and the investors’ side of green bonds.More information about the EU Taxonomy for sustainable activities can be found hereMore information about the EU Green Bond Standard can be found here4. Quinten Aubineau and Sven Renon - What's behind banks' net zero commitments?
27:34||Season 4, Ep. 4In this podcast episode, Karel Nierop discusses what's behind the net zero commitments of the financial sector with Quinten Aubineau, Policy Analyst at bank Track, and Sven Renon, Impact Manager at Triodos Bank.Since the Paris climate agreement, most banks and asset managers have committed themselves to a net zero strategy to be in line with a 1,5-degree global warming scenario. But what does net zero exactly mean? And why is it important for financial institutions to have a net zero strategy in place? Quinten Aubineau explains that having a net zero goal is nice but having a concrete action plan in place to get there is even more important. Sven Renon elaborates on the challenges Triodos Bank is facing on the road to net zero.More information about Triodos Bank's net zero strategy can be found hereMore information about Bank Track can be found here3. Mike McCreless and Rebecca Spohrer - The challenges of Impact Performance Reporting
26:35||Season 4, Ep. 3In this podcast episode, Rosl Veltmeijer discusses the challenges of impact performance reporting with Mike McCreless, Executive Director at Impact Frontiers, and Rebecca Spohrer, Impact Manager at Triodos Investment Management. How to report on impact is a much-debated topic within the impact investing industry. To create a common ground for impact reporting, Mike McCreless's Impact Frontiers have created a set of impact reporting norms, based on a public consultation. Together with Triodos Impact Manager Rebecca Spohrer, Rosl Veltmeijer discusses these norms and how they were developed as well as the general challenges and pitfalls of Impact Reporting.Impact Frontiers' impact reporting norms can be found hereTriodos IMs 2023 impact reports can be found here
2. Nancy Bocken - Investing in the circular economy
26:18||Season 4, Ep. 2Our current linear, growth-based economy uses vast quantities of resources to make things which we consume and then throw away. This system depletes finite raw materials and produces vast quantities of waste. In this episode of Inside Impact Investing, fund manager Rosl Veltmeijer discusses how we can turn our linear economy into a circular one with Professor in Sustainable Business Nancy Bocken (Maastricht University) and Chief Economist Hans Stegeman (Triodos Bank). Together, they analyse the role of the financial sector in enabling this transition which goes against the logic of our current market economy and forces us to fundamentally rethink the logic of markets, including the role of investors therein.Paper: Pursuing profitability in slow fashionFast fashion is a prime example of our current linear economy with a business model relying on consumers endlessly buying more clothes. Its circular opposite is slow fashion, which embodies products that are made to last, and can be serviced to extend the lifespan. But can slow fashion also be profitable? Read the paper by Nancy Bocken and Sasha Sarokin.1. Zoë du Chattel and Hadewych Kuiper - What's next for the SFDR?
29:18||Season 4, Ep. 1The EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), which has taken effect in March 2021, was one of the first regulatory initiatives stemming from the 2018 EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan. It is a sustainability-related disclosure framework for financial market participants and financial advisers focusing on the integration of sustainability risk and the consideration of adverse sustainability impact in the investment process. Since the implementation there has been criticism on its effect. In 2023, the European Commission therefor initiated a consultation on the SFDR. Both the Dutch financial market authority AFM and Triodos IM published a position paper on how to improve the SFDR. In this podcast episode, Portfolio Manager Rosl Veltmeijer discusses the overlap and the differences between the two positions with Zoë du Chattel, Senior Supervision Officer at AFM and Hadewych Kuiper, Managing Director at Triodos Investment Management.One of the conclusions is that both the AFM and Triodos IM are in favor of a minimum level of disclosure for all funds to create a level-playing field and that both would like to convert the current transparency regime into a labelling regime so retail investors can easily see which product is more or less sustainable.7. Ingrid Robeyns - The case for limitarianism
29:17||Season 3, Ep. 7Ingrid Robeyns holds the Chair in ‘Ethics of Institutions’ at the Ethics Institute of Utrecht University. She is specialised in applied and "non-ideal" ethics and political philosophy and works on the development of normative frameworks, theories, and methods. In this podcast episode, she discusses her new book “Limitarianism. The Case Against Extreme Wealth” with Chief Economist Hans Stegeman. Together they explore why extreme wealth is problematic and why it is so difficult to address limits. They also look at possible solutions, especially from within the financial sector.6. Jennifer Hinton - Post-growth economics
29:00||Season 3, Ep. 6Jennifer Hinton is a systems researcher and ecological economist. She is also a co-director of the Post Growth Institute, a global network of researchers and activists seeking pathways beyond the growth-based economic system. Her work focuses on how societies relate to profit and how this relationship affects global sustainability challenges. In conversation with Hans Stegeman, Jennifer elaborates on the key insights of her research into post-growth economics. Together, they explore the role of finance in the current unsustainable economy and which role it should play in the transition to a post-growth economy.