IMPACT Awards 2020

Australian not-for-profit Accounting for Nature has an ambitious vision for natural capital accounting standards - for every nation to be able to measure, verify and certify changes in the condition of their environmental assets.

Mirova Natural Capital confirmed the first close of the Althelia Biodiversity Fund Brazil just months after Norway followed Germany in suspending donations to the Amazon Fund.

After achieving its final close at $132 million in early 2020, the managers of the Althelia Sustainable Ocean Fund (ASOF) rapidly moved towards securing its initial investments. Scooping the award for Oceans and coastal zones impact investment of the year was one of these: SafetyNet Technologies.

Barclays picked up the awards for impact investment of the year for both health and energy through the UK-listed bank's involvement in an innovative bond deal with healthcare charity HealthRight 360 and an equity investment in sustainability platform SaveMoneyCutCarbon (SMCC).

The Asia-Pacific region is responsible for almost half of global carbon dioxide emissions and is highly exposed to climate risks. Drastic action and innovative approaches to impact investment are crucial.

The not-for-profit analysis and advisory Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) had a memorable 2019, as the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance that it leads celebrated mobilising more than $2 billion in climate finance since 2014.

A behind-the-scenes influence on BlackRock's research output pits Emily Weng, 25, ahead of the competition in the rising star category.

A strong 2019 for the sustainability focused investment trust Impax Environmental Markets (IEM), saw its market capitalisation grow 49% to £680 million ($888.6 million), which resulted in it earning its first FTSE 250 listing in March this year.

Brussels-based Inventures Investment Partners is a relatively small firm with big ambitions. It manages two venture capital funds: The €15 million ($18 million) Inventures I, which is closed for new investments and Inventures II, which currently manages €35 million and is aiming for €50 million.

Impact data will "replace" ESG data by the middle of the decade, believes John Streur who has been President and CEO of Washington, DC-based Calvert Research and Management, for nearly six years.

MinterEllison says it works to support, promote and mainstream impact investing wherever intentionality to create positive impact is at the core of a project, initiative or investment.

Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to sustainability investing, has been awarded Investment team of the year, as its ambition has translated into a comprehensive product range within the natural capital investing space.

"Lack of transparency is a major problem with leading ESG rating providers," was one of the Impact Awards judges' comments that led to the Net Environmental Contribution initiative (NECi) winning the title of impact initiative of the year, global.

Canadian fintech firm Oxia Initiative designs tools and methodologies that allow the transparent measurement of environmental impacts.

US-based Praxis Mutual Funds' approach to achieving positive societal impact places a heavy emphasis on making its voice heard as a shareholder.

Schroders' SustainEx tool aims to calculate the financial impact on companies of their social credit or debit for the costs and benefits their actions are incurring but not yet paying for and which are not captured by conventional measures of investment performance. The tool aligns social and environmental impact with investment risk to give a net dollar cost or benefit which is comparable across companies, funds and indices.

SITAWI'S Empréstimo Coletivo (collective loan) is a crowd-lending platform that aims to stimulate private capital investments in organisations aligned to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

For over 25-years, US-based private equity firm TPG says it has been investing in disruptive companies that seek to transform the global economy. With The Rise Fund, it turned its gaze to impact.

The significance of UBS as a major impact investor and a thought leader in the area was clearly signalled last year when it was elected by its peers to the advisory board of the IFC-led Operating Principles for Impact Management.

Wellington Management launched its first global, multi-sector fixed income impact fund in May 2019.

The financing of companies involved in the production and trade of some commodities can expose investors and lenders to deforestation risks.

Toniic Tracer aims to enable investors to divert more capital to create positive impact by providing a common structure for reporting investor impact outcomes and intentions.

Dutch asset managers APG and PGGM formally launched the Sustainable Development Investments Asset Owner Platform (SDI AOP) earlier this year, in what has been hailed as a revolutionary step towards the harmonisation of data in the impact investing world.

Soy and cattle farming are perhaps not immediately called to mind when investors consider where to invest for positive environmental and social impact. However, SAIL Ventures saw an opportunity to incorporate sustainability targets into its lending to such companies in order to prove that financing sustainable and deforestation-free commodities is commercially viable and replicable.

Australian insurer QBE claims its Premiums4Good programme is a 'game-changing' impact initiative that could be replicated by other financial service organisations and asset owners globally.

Netherlands-based PFZW has been awarded pension fund of the year, in recognition of asset manager PGGM consistently placing impact at the forefront of operations.

Northern Venture Capital Trust (NVCT)'s £3 million investment in sustainable fruit and vegetable box delivery firm Oddbox scooped the investment of the year award for both agriculture & sustainable land use and pollution & waste management.

The Nordic Investment Bank's (NIB) loan for the collection, purification and distribution of water to treatment plant Hias IKS has scooped this year's Impact Project Investment of the Year - Water for both its urgency and its innovation.

South Africa-headquartered Nedbank's Renewable Energy Bonds boasted an emissions-avoided impact indicator and links with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Komaza is a sustainable forestry business that provides an innovative and scalable alternative to traditional forestry models in Africa.

In early 2020, the eco.business Fund expanded into sub-Saharan Africa, with the launch of a new sub-fund that seeks to transpose the blended finance vehicle's best work in Latin America and the Caribbean to a new region.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Unión de Créditos Inmobiliarios (UCI) have launched a joint initiative to finance the construction of "nearly zero energy" multi-apartment buildings and the refurbishment of existing residential properties in Iberia.

Unsurprisingly the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in many institutional investors deferring on making new investments. ClearlySo though has been able to assist three fast-growing organisations that deliver clear positive social or environmental impact successfully complete Series A transactions with impact organisations across different markets after the UK lockdown had taken affect.

This year Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) secured a three-year AUD400 million ($290 million) bilateral sustainability-linked debt investment with Wesfamers, an Australian conglomerate spanning retail, chemicals and more.

The Social Impact Bond (SIB) issued by the local government of Buenos Aires in 2019 was developed to fund a pilot project to help 1,000 vulnerable young adults aged between 17 and 24 in their search for employment.

Inaugurated earlier this year the Parc Eolien Taiba N'Diaye (PETN) is a 158.7MW wind power project in Senegal that will offset approximately 6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over its lifespan as well as increase the country's electricity output by 15%.

Mina, Nuevo León, northeastern Mexico. Here a wind farm stretches out across 6,000 hectares of open grassland, surrounded by the mountains of the Sierra Madre.

Despite the challenging investment environment of 2020, SAIL Ventures aims to have invested up to $100 million, through its &Green Fund, into up to five portfolio companies by the end of the year.

German family office and investment advisory firm Wermuth Asset Management had a landmark year, which saw it launch a climate endowment designed to drive a "green revolution".

Finance in Motion combines a blended finance approach and a diversified investor base with a long-term approach as it invests in emerging markets.

Harvard Business School (HBS) has been recognised for expanding upon a history of research and engagement with the fields of impact investing and social enterprise with two initiatives.

US-based non-profit investment firm Calvert Impact Capital (CIC) has experienced 12 months of rapid growth, epitomised by the $500 million of its Community Investment Notes sold through brokerage firms to retail investors.