Topic Archives: Funding/Financing

October 1, 2019 – Funding/Financing, Measuring, Reporting

Impact Links: Climate Week 2019 Announcements; UN Global Compact and Accenture Releases CEO Study on Sustainability; Caltech $750 Million Donation to Environmental Research; Invesco Study on Socially Responsible Investing; LeapFrog Reveals Independent Audit Results; Alternative Proteins Seek to Disrupt Seafood Industry; AI and Weather Data Are Helping Brands Battle Food Waste; The Future of Sustainable Fashion

Significant commitments, partnerships, and new research projects worth trillions were announced during Climate Week 2019. The United Nations Global Compact and Accenture released findings from their CEO study on sustainability, which draws on insights from more than 1,000 CEOs. Caltech announced a $750 million donation aimed at scaling research on environmental sustainability and climate research. ...›

September 19, 2019 – Corporate Form, Deal Structures, Funding/Financing, Resources

MoFo Impact Publishes Guides on Social Enterprise Corporate Form

The MoFo Impact team recently published two articles in the Daily Journal on legal forms for social enterprises. The first article, “Leveraging Corporate Structure for Impact,” summarizes the different forms that entrepreneurs and investors alike should consider to help save our planet and improve the lives of the people on it. In “10 Considerations for ...›

September 16, 2019 – Funding/Financing, Measuring, Reporting

Impact Links: Grocery Store “Happy Hours”; IKEA’s Progress in Becoming a Circular Business; The World Bank on AI in Education; The Tipping Point of Clean Energy; San Francisco’s Waste Problem Turned into Climate Solution; Shell’s Investment in Natural Ecosystem Projects; Investor Group Campaign for the Amazon; Sustainable Wine in Sonoma County

As food waste becomes a major global problem, grocery stores now offer “happy hours” as a solution. IKEA’s sustainability chief describes the company’s progress in becoming a circular business by 2030. The World Bank explains how data and artificial intelligence will change the education landscape. Clean energy has reached a tipping point: it’s cheaper to ...›

September 6, 2019 – Funding/Financing, Measuring, Reporting

Impact Links: Homeowners Insurance Affected by Wildfire Risk; KKR Global Impact Fund New Investment; World Resources Institute Agenda to Solve Food Loss; Amazon Fires Speeding Up Climate Change; 3M’s Increasing Commitment to Recycling; Bill Gates on Why He is Backing Manufacturing Companies; Nonprofit Conservation International Launches $200M Investment Fund; Accion Venture Lab Raising for Inclusive Fintech Startup Fund; Antoni Ballabriga Explains the Need for Sustainable Finance

Insurance companies in California are choosing not to renew homeowners’ policies because of wildfire risk. The KKR Global Impact Fund received a $225 million investment from UBS. A new report by the World Resources Institute lays out a global action agenda to solve the world’s food loss and waste problem. A Harvard professor explains how ...›

August 26, 2019 – Funding/Financing, Measuring, Reporting

Impact Links: Fortune 2019 Change the World List; Apollo Global Management Debut Social Impact Fund; The Transportation Sector in Sustainable Development Goals; AI in Sustainable Investment; Japan’s Pledge to UNSDG; Portugal’s Sustainable Wine Industry; World’s Largest All-Electric Ferry Completed Maiden Voyage

Fortune released its 2019 Change the World list of 52 companies using their business to help the planet. Apollo Global Management jumps into impact investing with a $1 billion debut social impact fund. In his latest Forbes piece, Bob Eccles discusses the importance of the transportation sector to the sustainable development goals. Artificial intelligence technology ...›

August 19, 2019 – Funding/Financing, Measuring, Reporting

Impact Links: ESG Ratings; P&G Interviews; Stanford Study Shows Racial Bias in VC; Helsinki Sustainability App; World’s Most Sustainable Industrial Building; IPCC Climate Change Report; Climate Change and the Corporate World

How can you tell if your investment is really responsible? The Washington Post provides an overview of ESG ratings. Procter & Gamble’s chief sustainability officer explains how she is making sustainability “irresistible” in a new piece in Forbes. A new study led by a Stanford psychologist and Illumen Capital found that venture capital funds led ...›

August 2, 2019 – Funding/Financing, Measuring, Reporting

Impact Links: Morgan Stanley Impact Quotient; Shroders acquires BlueOrchard; Morning Star sustainable fund data; Africa lags in SDGs progress; Forest Sector Roadmap; Climate change and the global economy; Sea rise threatens 800,000 U.S. homes.

Morgan Stanley announced a new tool to help financial advisors and their clients’ measure sustainable investment performance, allowing the prioritization of selected environmental, social and governance interests and alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Schroders expanded its impact investing strategy through its acquisition of a majority stake in Swiss impact investor BlueOrchard. New ...›

July 29, 2019 – Funding/Financing, Measuring, Reporting

Impact Links: EY Proxy Season Review Report; Rhino Impact Bonds; UN SDGs; Climate Emergency Fund; Moody’s Buys Climate Data Firm

The EY Center for Board Matters’ 2019 Proxy Season Review report revealed gender diversity and sustainability were among the main governance concerns. The $50 million Rhino Impact Bonds (RIB), the first financial instrument working toward the conservation of a species at risk of extinction, will launch in 2020. Unless progress is accelerated, Asia and the ...›

July 18, 2019 – Funding/Financing, Measuring, Reporting

Impact Links: Congress Rejects ESG Reporting Proposal; R-factor as an ESG Reporting Solution; NFL Player’s $200m Opportunity Zone Fund; KLM’s and Zara’s Sustainability Plans; Seafood Farm Sustainability; Impact Investment Through Biomimicry

U.S. Congress rejected a proposal to align ESG reporting requirements with the more rigorous standards applied in Europe. Bob Eccles discusses the “R-Factor” as a possible market-based solution for ESG reporting standards. An NFL player retired at age 30 and launched a $200 million Opportunity Zone fund. A seafood company in Vietnam hopes to scale ...›

June 12, 2019 – Foreign Investments, Funding/Financing, Resources

Impact Links: Canada Bans Single-Use Plastic; Britain Launches Impact Investing Institute; Omidyar’s Education Investments; Temasek’s New Impact Fund

What do boards need to know about sustainability ratings? Silda Wall Spitzer and John Mandyck discuss in the Harvard Business Review. Growing its education investments, Omidyar Network expanded its educational agenda to include investments in both early childhood and adult education programs. Canada announced a plan to ban single-use plastics by 2021 and introduce standards ...›