Sustainable Finance Market Intelligence

Sustainable Finance is a broad market that covers all the players and structures of our financial system and links them up with a broad range of sustainability considerations. Within this section we have highlighted some relevant 3rd party reports that introduce a range of topics where high quality data is extremely important and where there are various opportunities for satellite data to add value.

Sustainable Finance Ecosystem

Demystifying Green Finance: This report by the Valuing Nature Programme is a first port of call for finance related terms, key players and links to further reading and initiatives.
Creating Impact: The Promise of Impact Investing: International Finance Corporation’s assessment of the potential global market for impact investing.
ESG Ecosystem Map: This tool by the World Economic Forum provides an overview of some of the key stakeholders across the ESG ecosystem.
Guide to ESG data providers: This index by Environmental Finance details more than 100 products from the main ESG data providers across the world.

Frameworks and Policies

Task Force on Climate Related Disclosures Recommendations: This widely supported market-driven initiative was set up to develop a set of recommendations for voluntary and consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures.
Climate Disclosure Standards Board: This consortium of business and environmental NGO’s offers companies a framework for reporting environmental information with the same rigour as financial information.
European Commission’s work on sustainable finance: The EU is examining how to integrate sustainability considerations into its financial policy framework in order to mobilise finance for sustainable growth. This includes the development of an action plan and common taxonomy.
Green Finance Strategy – Transforming Finance for a Greener Future: The UK Government’s strategy to align private sector financial flows with clean, environmentally sustainable and resilient growth and to strengthening the competitiveness of the UK financial services sector.

Climate Change Related Risks and Opportunities

Navigating a new climate: assessing credit risk and opportunity in a changing climate: Report by Acclimatise and UNEP FI summarising the outputs of 16 banks piloting the TCFD recommendations with a focus on the physical-related risks and opportunities.
Getting started on Physical climate risk analysis in finance – Available approaches and the way forward: Overview by the Institute for Climate Economics on existing approaches by eight service providers on understanding physical climate risk in finance.
A call for action: Climate change as a source of financial risk: Overview by the NGFS on the materiality of climate change as a source of financial risks and recommendations for central banks, supervisors, policymakers and financial institutions to enhance their role in the greening of the financial system and the managing of environment and climate-related risks.
Climate risk analysis from space: remote sensing, machine learning, and the future of measuring climate-related risk: Overview by Oxford Sustainable Finance programme led consortium on how remote sensing and other technologies can help secure better asset-level data to support climate risk assessments.
Understanding Climate Risk at the Asset Level: The Interplay of Transition and Physical Risks: Report by S&P Global and DWS on the how the interplay between regulatory transitional risks and physical risks impact the performance of companies across sectors and geographies.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Related Risks and Impacts

Sustainable Finance Starts with Data: World Economic Forum article introducing the need for and importance of ESG data.
What a Difference an ESG Ratings Provider Makes!: Article by Research Associates summarising the landscape of ESG data and rating providers.
Sustainability and satellites: new frontiers in sovereign debt investing: Report by asset manager Investec and WWF about the role geospatial data could play in assessing and managing environmental risks for sovereign debt investors.
Space, The Next Frontier: Spatial Finance And Environmental Sustainability: Report by S&P Global on how advancements in technology and data science are helping integrate satellite and other new forms of geospatial data and analysis into the finance sector.
Nature is too big to fail – Biodiversity: the next frontier in financial risk management: Report by PWC and WWF about the importance of nature for our economy and the financial risks associated with biodiversity loss.
Natural capital credit risk assessment in agricultural lending: Report by the Natural Capital Finance Alliance, highlighting how the Natural Capital Protocol could be applied for agricultural lending, highlighting relevant risk factors and potential data sources.

Monitoring and Reporting for Sustainable Financial Products

Explaining Green Bonds: Introduction by Climate Bonds Initiative of the green bond market
Sustainable Finance: The Rise and Rise of Sustainability-Linked Loans: Introduction by BNP Paribas into the sustainability-linked loans market
Insurance for Climate Adaptation: Opportunities and Limitations: Report commissioned by the Global Commission on Adaptation highlighting insurance based solutions to drive climate adaptation.
Post-issuance reporting in the green bond market: Climate Bonds Initiative research on green bond reporting practices, including information on reporting service providers, taxonomy and impact metrics

Relevant News Channels and Events

Satellite Applications Catapult and WholeShip Announce Strategic Collaboration