ARTICLE 6 Sustainable Investing at Scale

ARTICLE 6

Sustainable Investing at Scale

In Article 6 – Sustainable Investing at Scale, the private sector is called upon to provide better access to capital to enable a green transition, through significant investment in sustainable projects.

The future doesn’t necessarily need to look like the past. You have a new type of actor in the market: institutional investors who are looking at investment opportunities in emerging markets through a climate finance lens who want to ensure that their capital provides for a constructive path forward.

Marc-Andreì Blanchard, Executive Vice-President, Head of CDPQ Global and Global Head of Sustainability, CDPQ

Global Picture

22% of investors surveyed as part of The ESG Global Survey 2021 state that “all or most of their portfolio incorporates ESG.”

When previously surveyed in 2019, not a single respondent said their business incorporated ESG into all their investments, demonstrating how sustainability and ESG issues have been increasingly brought into focus over the past few years.

Projects

SMI companies are committing to drive global demand for low-carbon hydrogen

In 2022, SMI companies with a combined revenue of more than $600 billion have signed up to the H2Zero Pledge, pledging to consume, supply and/or support low- or zero-carbon hydrogen with the lowest possible carbon intensity for all functions of their business’ needs by 2030, helping to support the scaling of this technology.

The SMI Asset Manager and Asset Owner Task Force released a report on accelerating transition structures

Convened under the SMIs Asset Manager and Asset Owner Task Force, the Transition Finance Working Group has codified a set of findings and recommendations to accelerate the flow of capital, at scale, towards viable transition finance structures.

To read the full report of recommendations, click here.

The Natural Capital Investment Alliance continued work towards its commitment of mobilising $10 billion of capital towards Natural Capital assets.

In September 2022, the NCIA held its inaugural annual Investment Summit. This event convened over 70 professionals working in the investment and Natural Capital sectors, including representatives from United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) and the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), to discuss solutions for scaling investment in Natural Capital.

NCIA’s Nature Investment Summit

NCIA’s Nature Investment Summit

The intersection of Nature and investment is never more critical than today and with that there are opportunities to further increase the scale of Natural Capital investment and the positive outcomes that will translate for future generations.

Tony O’Sullivan, Chair, Natural Capital Investment Alliance (NCIA) and Founder and Chair, Pollination, speaking at COP15

The SMI Hydrogen Task Force is supporting growth in the demand for, and supply of, hydrogen

The SMI collaborated with The World Business Council for Sustainable Development to drive growth in the demand for, and supply of, hydrogen.

To find out more about H2Zero hydrogen pledges, click here.

The uncertainty over supply and the lack of commitment for demand are two challenges associated with the development of hydrogen as part of the global energy system. We brought companies together to tackle this status quo and send a strong signal to markets and governments for hydrogen to reach its full potential.

Ben van Beurden, Shell and 2022 Chair, SMI Hydrogen Task Force

The SMI Asset Managers and Asset Owners Task Force launched a framework for defining transition categories for investors

The SMI Asset Managers and Asset Owners Task Force has produced a framework for transition categorisation to enable the continuing investment into sectors and regions that are critical to the net-zero transition.

Spotlight on: Linde plc

The business is planning to invest more than one billion US dollars in decarbonisation initiatives and triple the amount of clean hydrogen the business produces by 2028, pursuing low-carbon sources of hydrogen, such as from energy efficient steam methane reformers with carbon capture, electrolysis with renewable power, and pilots of new low-carbon technologies.