profile

The Business of Sustainability

By John Treadgold

Stopping climate change is the biggest investment opportunity of our lifetime, and its already driving radical change in how financial markets operate. Sign-up for the latest insights into sustainability, ESG and impact investing, and all the episodes of the Good Future podcast as they're released.

Featured Post

The Huge Opportunity of Climate-Impact Investing

All over the world governments are rolling-out new climate-risk reporting rules, and that means all investors are now sustainable investors. This represents huge progress in the way capital markets view environmental risks, and while we still have a long way to go in decarbonising our economy… we’ve reached a critical mass of positive change. At this juncture, a set of exciting opportunities have emerged for investors to fund and support the new breed of climate-focussed companies. A new...

15 days ago • 2 min read

It’s been a hot summer, and as we watch global weather conditions become increasingly volatile, it can be hard to stay optimistic about the work we’re doing. It can feel like a seesaw. It's a feeling that sways between optimism about all the progress we’re making in decarbonisation and climate impact investing, and then pivoting back to pessimism, as another glacier sinks into the sea, and another dozen species are lost to rising temperatures and pulped rainforests. It’s a malaise that many...

about 2 months ago • 4 min read

In just the last month of 2023 we've seen COP28 has kick-off in Dubai, the Australian government will underwrite large-scale renewable energy projects, and, climate-tech startups continue to raise big funding rounds in spite of a global downturn. It’s been a huge year, and in my final note for 2023 I’m looking at the highlights that have pushed climate-impact investing forward! Nature Took Centre Stage - Finally The past decade has seen a huge focus on reducing carbon emissions, but it was...

4 months ago • 4 min read

Australia is very good at clearing land, but that’s bad news for biodiversity, and it’s making climate change worse. To go deeper in our exploration of Investing in Natural-Capital we’re shining the spotlight on deforestation, to help investors understand the risks and opportunities, but also, to highlight the work WWF Australia is doing to save Koala habitats by shifting incentives away from land-clearing. Australia Leads the Way on Deforestation, And That’s a Big Risk for Investors...

5 months ago • 1 min read

Innovation in conservation is big business, we’re in the midst of a revolution in how companies and investors manage their impacts on nature. This comes in response to growing impacts from the twin risks of climate change and biodiversity loss, two existential threats that exacerbate the worse elements of each other, but in the same way, improvements in one will support the other. Businesses of all types face both risks and potential opportunities relating to nature. Each company has unique...

6 months ago • 2 min read

"We can't keep treating nature as an endless provider of free resources, which is what we've been doing for hundreds of years... We have to get to a better relationship with nature, in a way that maintains its ability to support our prosperity, because we are 100% dependent on nature." Tony Goldner is Executive Director of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). He's led the organisation since it was founded two years ago, and this week has been a big one for him. And...

6 months ago • 2 min read

It’s been a long time coming, but businesses and investors are finally starting to recognise the value of nature. Measuring biodiversity and ‘natural capital’ is the next frontier for impact investors, and I’m launching a podcast series that explores everything you need to know. It’s a reaction to biodiversity loss reaching crisis levels; there are estimates that more than a million species are at risk of extinction, and it’s becoming clear that our economic model of extraction is not...

7 months ago • 2 min read

If you missed the previous newsletter, you can read it here I’ve received lots of great feedback on The Impact Stack report, and when Sasha Dichter sent me his comments on the state of IMM, I knew it was worth sharing. Sasha is CEO and Founder of 60 Decibels, an impact measurement firm that has pioneered a powerful method of ‘deep listening’ to help impact investors make more informed decisions. I sent him some follow-up questions, and he responded with some spicy feedback, enjoy: 1. First...

8 months ago • 4 min read

If you missed the previous newsletter, you can read it here I hosted a panel at the RIAA conference not long ago, and after watching the video of the session, I thought it was worth sharing some of the 🔑 insights. I was joined on stage by a global mix of impact legends: Sean Gilbert (GIIN), Chris Chen (American Century Investments) and Rosemary Addis (Mondiale Impact). We were there to talk about impact investing, and more specifically ‘Lifting the bar on impact reporting in an era of...

9 months ago • 4 min read

It was my first business trip since my son was born. I had to dust off my luggage and my suit jacket, but the early flight was a breeze, I’m now accustomed to being up at 5am. I was heading to Melbourne for the RIAA Conference, I’d been invited to host a panel on impact investing (I’ll write about that next week), but I was able to catch some other sessions. After two days, I was left with two key takeaways: Every investment manager and super fund is hurriedly reviewing their external...

10 months ago • 3 min read
Share this page