Impact investing emerged in 2007 out of global discussions on how to mobilise more capital to tackle societal problems. Credit: shutterstock Governments, communities and industries are grappling with issues such as climate change, inequality and social justice – and how to mobilise more funding to tackle these issues. One possible solution is impact investing. Impact...Read More

A powerhouse coalition of impact investors hopes to build out the field through a donor collaborative launched last week with an initial $12.5 million in commitments. The mission of the new Tipping Point Fund (TPF) is creating and scaling a high-functioning market that operates with integrity. The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance will manage the work. Fran Seegull, its...Read More

  Tesla Model S lithium-ion battery pack in rolling chassis Although electric cars haven’t quite taken off in the 2010s the way some had anticipated, sheer economics are pointing to the 2020s as the time when EVs will find that market fever pitch. From 2010 to 2019, lithium-ion battery prices (when looking at the battery...Read More

Combating Global Climate Change at the Regional Scale Panelists from left to right: Alex Halliday, Ruth deFries, Joshua Fisher, Lisa Sachs, Jason Bordoff, V. Faye McNeill. Photo: Eileen M. Barroso/Office of Communications and Public Affairs With climate change affecting different parts of the world in different ways, a group of Columbia University faculty members gathered...Read More

  The VMD tiny home is an eco-conscious dwelling that is built using shipping-containers Mexican architectural studios Studioroca and Taller Escape have recently joined forces to create a prefabricated housing model that is move-in ready in just 99 days from ordering. Dubbed VMD, the 30-sq-m (323-sq-ft) tiny home is an eco-conscious dwelling that is built...Read More

“The next 10 years could be the best 10 years we’ve ever seen or the worst decade, and that depends less on the technology and more on the choices we make.” That observation, from Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, feels particularly prescient as we take stock of the 2010s...Read More

Abhijit remembers walking into a meeting at the EU headquarters and immediately noticing that this was very different from the ones he was used to. No suits, no ties, no high heels; lined faces, scruffy winter jackets, and also an eagerness he associated with college freshmen in their first week. These were people, he was...Read More

The idea of applying ESG criteria to the investment process is increasingly gaining momentum among HNW investors, according to Cerulli Associates. In its latest report, the Boston-based research firm reveals that the demand for investments that consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria is gaining traction with HNW investors. Related articles In particular, it reports...Read More

Downloadable Resources Open interactive popup Article (PDF-2MB) Hydrocarbons have powered economic growth for 150 years, but their emissions are destabilizing the earth’s climate. Now that the atmospheric impact of fossil fuels is widely recognized, the sector is under increasing pressure. Policy makers, investors, and society are pressing for change, threatening operators’ license to operate. Operators...Read More

Humanitarian plan aims to assist 109 million vulnerable people in 2020 A record 168 million people worldwide will need help and protection in 2020, or roughly 1 in every 45 people on the planet, the UN’s top humanitarian official said on Wednesday. Mark Lowcock was speaking in Geneva, where the UN and its humanitarian partners...Read More