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The Impact Transition

The Green Transition as Roadmap,

inspiring social entrepreneurs at #IFE18

& Impact Tech for Basic Needs.

Investments in the Green Transition

Climate and Green Investing are growing to achieve the Paris Climate Accords and Dutch financials, worldchampion in impact investing, make use of their decades of experience with institutional responsible / sustainable investing. #Amsterdam placed 2nd for #quality & 4th in #penetration in the #GlobalGreenFinanceIndex of #FinanceWatch, non profit #MAVA 'pour la Nature' & #Z/Yen Risk Reward managers. #GGFI #Forbes March18 http://goo.gl/U6DPS7

The new index was compiled with 1,790 ratings from 337 respondents.

47 international financial centers, out of 108, got at least 10 assessments from the banking sector, green finance professionals & NGOs.

(56 pag., pdf)

Dutch #ABNAMRO bank was named Green Bonds Lead Manager, an 'oeuvre' award given by Environment Finance platform. ABNAMRO focuses on property, has integrated the sustainable property management index GRESB and has issued three labeled (verified & reported) green property bonds. Twice 500 Mio Euro for green property (focus on energy efficiency, BREAM & LEED) in 2015 & 2016 & 750 Mio Euro last april also for wind energy parks at sea. ABNAMRO Green Bond Framework (April 2018) Link: https://www.abnamro.com/en/images/Documents/050_Investor_Relations/Debt_Investors/Unsecured_funding/Euro_Medium_Term_Notes/Green_Bonds/Green_Bond_Framework_4_April_2018.pdf

The best data source for Climate or Green Bond emissions, marketresearch & trend analyses is ClimateBonds.net 'an international, investor-focused not-for-profit. We're the only organisation working solely on mobilising the $100 trillion bond market for climate change solutions. The Climate Bonds Initiative develops criteria, standards, certifies raters, organizes knowledge exchange & lobbies at national, EU, continental & global level.

Investing in the Impact Transition

(But) Impact Investing also intends to improve People's lives directly & be #Inclusive: supply available & affordable Basic Needs. For which we will need Impact Tech to eradicate poverty & hunger through (decent) work & access to financial services and available & affordable health care, education, safe housing, clean water, clean energy, equality, sustainable cities & communities, sustainable production & consumption, peace, justice & strong institutions etc.

Sometimes Green domination in Impact Investing annoys me, although of course Green or Planet Impact also benefits people by lowering CO² emissions & air pollution, slowing down Climate Transition & freak weather events, protecting Life on Land an in the Sea (Biodiversity) accelerating resource efficiency etc.

In finance I see examples of People Impact champions copying Green Impact initiatives like the Green Bond Principles. A collaboration of private banks such as the Dutch cooperative Rabobank, the worlds biggest food bank, set a standard for the financial prospectus part of Green Bonds.

In 2017 #ICMA the International Capital Market Association launched #Social Bonds Principles & #Sustainability Bond Guidelines. The Social Bonds Principles ''replace the Guidance for Issuers of Social Bonds issued by the Green Bond Principles (GBP) from June 2016'.

The ICMA 'Social Project categories''

include, but are not limited to, providing and/or promoting:

• Affordable basic infrastructure (e.g. clean drinking water, sewers, sanitation, transport)

• Access to essential services (e.g. health, education & vocational training, healthcare, financing & financial services)

• Affordable housing

• Employment generation including through the potential effect of SME financing & micro finance

• Food security

• Socioeconomic advancement and empowerment.

Examples of target populations include, but are not limited to, those that are:

1. Living below the poverty line

2. Excluded and/or marginalized populations and /or communities

3. Vulnerable groups, including as a result of natural disasters

4. People with disabilities

5. Migrants and /or displaced persons

6. Under educated

7. Under served

8. Unemployed

There are several categories and sets of criteria defining Social Projects already in existence in the market that can be used as complementary guidance. Issuers and other stakeholders can refer to examples through links listed on the ICMA webpages at www.icmagroup.org/gssbresourcecentre

ICMA Sustainability Bond Definition

Sustainability Bonds are bonds where the proceeds will be exclusively applied to finance or re-finance a combination of both Green and Social Projects. Sustainability Bonds are aligned with the four core components of both the GBP and the SBP with the former being especially relevant to underlying Green Projects and the latter to underlying Social Projects.... More in: https://www.icmagroup.org/green-social-and-sustainability-bonds/

CASE avant la lettre example presented by the Blogger

In 2014 Unilever issued a 4 year 250 MiO UK£ Green Sustainability Bond. ''Unilever has worked with DNV GL, an independent leading environmental consultancy, to develop a Green Sustainability Bond framework, based on the Green Bond Principles. This framework, which is based on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, provides clarity and transparency around the use of proceeds. It includes a set of clearly defined criteria on GHG emissions, water use and waste disposal for the projects selected; and outlines a yearly reporting structure to provide full traceability of the funds.

The current pipeline of projects in which the proceeds of the bond will be invested includes: a laundry liquid detergent factory in Johannesburg, South Africa; a laundry powder facility in Sichuan, China; a Home and Personal Care factory in Selcuklu-Konya, Turkey; an ice cream factory in Johannesburg, South Africa; the expansion of a spreads factory in Kansas, US; and the ‘Lean & Green Freezer’ cabinets project in Turkey, Russia and the US''.

Impact reports: https://www.unilever.com/Images/dnv-gl-independent-limited-assurance-statement---unilever-green-bond-2018_tcm244-520356_1_en.pdf 6 pag. Note that impact is mainly environmental as the factories (work) are still being built.

Next step

The ultimate challenge is to translate People Impact themes in investible economic activities & inclusive impact investment products. To add #inclusiveness I am also looking for retail public equity opportunities: bonds, etfs, funds & stock of social sustainable companies. In the Netherlands we are lucky to have regulated crowdfunding for impact platforms with interesting impact propositions such as mesofinance for developing countries entrepreneurs & off grid renewable energy financing through @LendahandEU, renewable energy @Greencrowd & duurzaaminvesteren.nl and sustainable companies through Oneplenetcrowd etc. The Global Impact Investing Network has mentioned (Dutch) retail & crowdfunidng opportunities in its Roadmap report page 21 paragraph 4.1

Product developers try, but often new funds look remarkably like pimped sustainable investment products and tend to ignore core activities of companies. E.g. MCSI & VigeoEIRIS developed SDG indices mainly presenting the same sustainable darlings known from sustainability indices. Clearly the size 100 and 50 limited the scope, MSCI actively searched for mid cap companies for the SDGs environmental goals. Important is the use of revenue criteria where companies are actually active and generate income from relevant fields, not expressed ambitions & policies.

The million dollar question is will largecaps be able to create exponential impact? As leading companies they often dominate sectoral & issue collaboratives working on lowering negative impact of eg plastic, shifting to renewable energy, promoting diversity & equality etc. So most impact sector or theme ETFs give you diversified & cheap access to invest.

Largecaps can afford to fund internally or externally truly disruptive innovators aiming for exponential growth or ''world domination'', less used jargon in impact investing but meaning the same. Robert Eccles & George Serafeim researched the capital position of the worlds 1,000 largest corporations for Bloomberg & concluded they own practically half the world market cap.''By 2010 the world’s largest 1,000 companies made US$32 trillion in revenue. They employed 67 million people directly, and had a total market cap of US$28 trillion. That’s equal to 49 percent of total world market cap''. ... These companies ''are now able to change the world at a scale historically reserved for nations. Just 1,000 businesses are responsible for half of the total market value of the world’s more than 60,000 publicly traded companies. They virtually control the global economy. […]''

Ideas from Europe #IFE18

I was very much inspired by the finalists of Ideas from Europe #IFE18, social entrepreneurs from European countries presenting & pitching for impact investors, government officials & accelerators in the KnightsHall in Hague, The Netherlands April 24th (my birthday and what a wonderful gift it was:)

With the Dutch Ministry for Economic Affairs as lead sponsor the theme; #e-health & #healthtech was prominent.

Like in the adorable #QT 'cuty' robot by #LuxAI to activate children with autism in support of parents & professionals; #Bloomlife, quality health care during pregnancy and childbirth; #ToGoodtoGo, prevent food & beer waste app; #Icho for Alzheimer patients; #Apisprotect protecting bees and thus biodiversity, #Seedia lowering CO² emissions and creating healthier cities; #Pavnext decreases vehicles speed using kinetic energy near pedestrians crossings; #Mightyfier & #Speak Up help children that are bullied; #Refugees{code} vocational training tfor refugees to get eligible for employment and integrate in society; #Rythm is a sleepimprover; & from The Netherlands #Micreos preventing antibiotic resistance by developing targeted antibacterial products.

Livestream 4 hours with pitchers & policy makers Eva Biekowska, European Commissioner; Mona Keizer Dutch Ministry for Economic Affairs & Erik Gerritsen Secretary-General of the Dutch Ministry for Health https://youtu.be/ppTDs9wQL7c

Picking winners

Looking at #IFE's amazing social entrepreurs and their inventions I developed a T -T- T- T. framework. Based on Transparency of total impact: positive impact minus negative impact; Themes & Trends, both megatrends and technological innovations resulting in opportunities: Topics.

TRANSPARENCY

Insight in the total impact & return of investments is essential. Not just profit for investors, shareholders & the supply chain, also all expenses for all stakeholders. Costs that Old Capitalism outsources to society, the environment and the future are an integral part of risk management.....

THEMES

Impact investing focuses on Basic Needs: Work & Income & access to affordable Nutritous Food, clean Water, Housing, Care, Education, (micro) inclusive finance & the UN Global Sustainable Development Goals.

TRENDS

Megatrends push demand, suplly comes from Technological innovation trends. Megatrends: Population Growth, Ageing in Developed Markets en Rising Youth in Emerging Markets, Decoupling growth from resources depletion & dependency, waste & emission, also from the labor footprint in the Circulair Economy with both Products & Services, DIScontent & Angst. Technology: Robotics, Automation, Internet of Things, Cyber Security, AI, Blockchain, in finance Roboadvisors... for impact.

Thema's & Trends meet or merge in Impact Tech creating the infrastructure to realize and accelerate access: availability & affordability.

TOPICS, exponential impact & return opportunities are found in #Agritech, #Biotech, #BIGDATA analysise, #Cleantech, #Crowdfunding & Sourcing, #Edutech, #e-Education, #e-Gaming, #e-Health, #Fintech, #Greentech, #Healthtech, #Infotainment, #SaaS, #Webmining …

Contact: impactinvestmentnews @ yahoo.com

Please follow me on Twitter @Alcanne

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PUBLIC SPEAKING & PANELS

Marga van Miltenburg @ ZIJSPREEKT

Fotografie: Astrid Bron, Bussum

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