Impact Investing Network
Kia ora <<First Name>>,
Welcome to the October edition of impact investing news in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally.
This edition covers the Global Impact Summit, housing affordability, impact measurement, funds, accelerators and investments.
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NAB in the community
Highlights of the activities our National Advisory Board (NAB) and Impact Investing Network (IIN) team have been involved in recently.
Louise's departing thoughts
Haere rā Louise Aitken from the NAB. Louise was here right from the start, making the pivotal contributions to get us here today. Moving impact investing in Aotearoa NZ from pioneering concept to the mainstream.
Departing thoughts from Louise, "We must all strive for best practice measurement of impact, creating capability, consistency and transparency in the positive outcomes that are achieved for people and the planet". Read more.
GSG Global Impact Summit - largest NZ attendance
On 6-8 October the GSG Global Impact Summit was held online. It was one of the largest global gatherings of the impact investing community with over 1,200 representatives from government, business, asset owners and managers, entrepreneurs, academics and market builders. The overwhelming theme was impact investing has moved into the mainstream globally.
David Woods (NAB) and Fonteyn Moses-Te Kani (Toitū Tahua: Centre for Sustainable Finance, Westpac) made important contributions as speakers to represent Aotearoa New Zealand on the global stage.
Aotearoa New Zealand had its largest attendance at the Summit, from members of the impact investing and sustainable finance sectors. We asked attendees for their takeaways, which is included with a summary of Fonteyn and David's sessions, and visualisations from each day. Read more.
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Events and Programmes
Discover the latest trends and connect with the impact investing community at these events and programmes.
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Toi Foundation - The Investing for Impact Fund
Toi Foundation have launched The Investing for Impact Fund, allocating around $1m annually to impact-focused projects and organisations. If you're leading an organisation with an environmental and/or social impact that can benefit the Taranaki region in Toi Foundation's key areas (Housing, Education, Employment, Environment), then read the funding criteria and contact Toi Foundation.
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Deloitte - The Impact Accelerator
Deloitte is taking applications for The Impact Accelerator. The programme offers pro-bono support (financial and business advisory) to impact-led organisations with established revenue streams. Limited numbers per intake annually, more on application criteria and process.
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NZ Super Fund $2oom investment into sustainable energy
Major impact investment from the NZ Super Fund committing up to $208m into the Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners' Energy Transition Fund, focused on industrial-scale sustainable energy infrastructure. Read more.
CertusBio raises $4.6m led by Pacific Channel
CertusBio has raised $4.6m, led by Pacific Channel and joined by Lincoln Agritech, Impact Enterprise Fund, and NZ Growth Capital Partners. CertusBio's technology, founded by Lincoln Agritech, aims to contribute to positive environmental impact by optimising dairy production whilst reducing the costs of treating wastewater. Read more.
Government drops ball on impact investment - opinion piece
The New Zealand government can do better to support impact investment, thinks Jackson Rowland (Ākina). And we only need to look across at our friends across the Tasman for a solution. The Australian government has committed $8m to improve access to capability for impact-led enterprises to get investment ready. Herein lies the opportunity for the New Zealand government to pick up the ball. To provide more capability funding and prepare more impact-led enterprises to match the increasing availability of investments. Read more.
Housing crisis - The Great Divide
In this article North & South explores the irrefutable and seemingly inexorable property problem New Zealand faces. By 2040, it's forecasted that less than 50% of retirees will be homeowners, compared with close to 90% retiring as homeowners in the early 90s. Impact investments facilitated by organisations such as Community Finance are contributing affordable housing solutions and delivering positive social impact to lessen 'The Great Divide'. Read more.
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GSG Global Impact Summit
If you didn't attend the GSG Global Impact Summit you can view the highlights with visualisations and watch a small selection of sessions. We've also summarised takeaways from New Zealand representatives. Read more.
Measurement of social impact
There is an increasing focus on measuring social impact. The Centre for Social Impact in Australia has published guides that provides accessible and practical resources to organisations measuring their social impact. Read more.
Also, Huber Social is set to release a draft guide to help organisations from all sectors to measure social impact in a standard way. It's the first time in Australia an impact measurement tool is being applied to a broad range of sectors. The UK is the only country to publish a guide of this kind. Sweden will follow with a national social impact measurement standard later this year. Trust Waikato is part of the committee working with Huber Social to develop the guide. Read more.
Duke University offers impact measurement course - for free
Duke University has opened registrations for its highly anticipated course on impact measurement and management for the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and delivered by CASE (The Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship) team at Duke University - The Fuqua School of Business. The course is free, delivered online through Coursera and takes approximately 9 hours to complete. Read more.
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Education
A selection of educational research and content on impact investing.
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Accounting For Sustainability (A4S): Increasingly pension funds recognise it’s in their interest to address climate change because climate risk is investment risk. Net Zero Top Tips for Pension Scheme Trustees. A4S produces resources for pension scheme chairs and trustees to navigate the plethora of frameworks to align their schemes to a net zero pathway. Read more.
Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN): Institutional investors are increasingly interested in incorporating social and environmental factors into their investments strategies. GIIN's report, Institutional Asset Owners: Approaches to setting social and environmental goals, assesses investors' approaches and challenges to setting impact priorities and targets. Read more.
Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA): The annual Responsible Investment Benchmark Report measures the size and growth of the New Zealand responsible and impact investment market over 12 months to 31 December 2020. In 2020, the NZ impact investing market was worth $3.3b, growing more than 9 times from $358m in 2018. Read more.
Rod Oram: check your Kiwisaver and other investments are following responsible practices, urges Rod Oram, in this analysis of the importance and pitfalls of ESG investing. Read more.
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: Impact Investing Handbook: An Implementation Guide for Practitioners. Two years in the making, this practical publication features case studies and detailed guidance for individuals, families, foundations, and businesses. Read more.
The Shareholder Commons: A Legal Framework for Impact, shows why investment professionals around the world are legally compelled to prioritise systemic issues such as climate change, inequality, and biodiversity loss over the financial performance of individual companies. Read more.
Tideline: what differentiates impact investing? Truth in Impact: A Tideline Guide to Using the Impact Investment Label, compares and contrasts different approaches to sustainable investing. Read more.
thinkstep-anz: free online workshop to guide organisations on incorporating the SDGs into their strategy held on Tuesday 26 October 2021, 13:00 - 14:30. Enrol.
When the Facts Change podcast (Bernard Hickey): A weekly podcast that has explored topics related to impact investing including: solving the housing crisis (Community Finance), becoming a B Corp (Kiwibank), sustainable supply chain (Little Yellow Bird), ESG and impact investing (Mindful Money, NZ Super Fund). Listen to podcast.
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Join our LinkedIn group
There's plenty happening with impact investing. To keep up to date, in between our monthly newsletters, join the Impact Investing Network's LinkedIn group. We post regularly with impact investing news, events and education resources.
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