Sean Gilbert

This paper explores how institutional asset owners - pensions, insurance companies, and endowments - can integrate pursuit of intentional, positive environmental and social outcomes into their overall portfolio management. It is inspired by work that I led over two years with a group of global institutional asset owner and builds further on the existing related literature and research. It offers a blueprint for a new way of thinking about impact for institutional asset owners.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is investing in projects developing infrastructure worth $6 trillion across many of the world’s fastest-growing economies. The Chinese government has taken initial steps to incorporate environmentally sustainable, or green, strategies and objectives into the BRI. However, our review finds that most bank loans and cross-border investments in energy and transportation over 2014-2017 were tied to fossil fuel projects.

Aligning these investments with… Show more

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is investing in projects developing infrastructure worth $6 trillion across many of the world’s fastest-growing economies. The Chinese government has taken initial steps to incorporate environmentally sustainable, or green, strategies and objectives into the BRI. However, our review finds that most bank loans and cross-border investments in energy and transportation over 2014-2017 were tied to fossil fuel projects.

Aligning these investments with Nationally Determined Contribution plans expressed by BRI countries provides a massive opportunity for financing low-carbon development. We provide guidance on how this might be done, as well as suggestions for countries that could make it easier to facilitate low-carbon investments in their economies. Show less

Coauthored with Ma Jun (People’s Bank of China and China Green Finance Committee),
Iain Henderson (UN Environment), and Cheng Lin ( China Green Finance Committee) in support of G20 Green Finance Study Committee. The paper highlights some of ways in which environmental data is relevant financial analysis and underutilized as well as suggestions for the Study Group to consider on making data more accessible.

The paper offers a brief review of the green financial reforms that are likely to be most relevant to supporting infrastructure investing and a first snapshot of China's progress in mobilizing green finance for this purpose.

Organisations are now able to look at ecosystems as service providers, and monitor the impacts and dependencies they have on those ecosystem services.

In cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and consultancy CREM, GRI proposes a new approach for developing sustainability reporting indicators to help companies report their impacts and reliance on ecosystem services.

The publication looks at emerging thinking… Show more

Organisations are now able to look at ecosystems as service providers, and monitor the impacts and dependencies they have on those ecosystem services.

In cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and consultancy CREM, GRI proposes a new approach for developing sustainability reporting indicators to help companies report their impacts and reliance on ecosystem services.

The publication looks at emerging thinking around ecosystem services and gives organizations options for reporting. It outlines the ways that companies can monitor and report their relationship with ecosystem services. Show less

Brazil, China, and India are largely unsolved but critical puzzles in transforming global commodity chains towards more sustainable practices. In the past, these countries have primarily played roles as producers, but they also have a critical role to play as consumers. This report looks at opportunities and limitations for brands, retailers, and other stakeholders to work together to catalyze increased demand for the use of sustainability standards in commodity production.