Tag: Impact Investing

CapShift surpasses $1 billion through its platform, strengthening institutional investing impact

CapShift surpasses $1 billion through its platform, strengthening institutional impact investing

> Back To August 2025 Issue

Firm doubles capital mobilized by clients through its platform in just over a year, accelerating private & philanthropic assets toward scalable impact solutions

CapShift, the backbone of impact investing solutions across many of the world’s largest financial, charitable, and corporate institutions, recently announced it has mobilized $1 billion to date into impact investments through its platform — doubling its cumulative total in just over a year. This milestone underscores both CapShift’s expanding role in scaling impact investing, as well as the growing demand from wealth and philanthropic institutions to leverage capital as a tool for social and environmental progress.

Since its launch in 2018, CapShift has built the infrastructure to help financial advisors, donor-advised fund (DAF) providers, foundations, and family offices deploy private market impact investments at scale. The firm now supports impact investing programs across more than 45 private wealth and charitable institutions, including ten of the top 15 DAF providers. Its clients include 1% for the Planet, Abacus Wealth Partners, The Chicago Community Trust, Cisco Foundation, Corient, Fidelity Charitable, Glenmede, Google, Heron Foundation, MS GIFT, Ren and Renaissance Charitable Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Vanguard Charitable, and more.

“We started CapShift because we saw firsthand that there were hundreds of billions of dollars in pent up demand for impact investing — but not the necessary infrastructure to unlock it,” said Adam Rein, co-founder and CEO of CapShift. “From day one, our early partners like Fidelity Charitable helped us shape a solution that now makes it easy to access over 1,400 impact opportunities and build portfolios tailored to individual clients’ goals. Today’s milestone underlines that this demand is only growing — clients aren’t just asking for impact, they expect it, and they’re acting on it.”

Founded by MissionPoint Partners, Jacques Perold (former President of Fidelity Research & Management), and the Heron Foundation, CapShift launched with a clear vision: unlock private capital for impact at scale by offering streamlined access to impact investments. The firm began by serving the U.S. charitable sector — a market now projected to manage more than $2 trillion in DAF and foundation assets alone. Recognizing the same unmet need across the private wealth landscape, CapShift established CapShift Advisors LLC in 2021, an SEC-registered investment advisor providing advisory services to leading financial institutions.

“CapShift has been a critical partner in delivering a scalable, mission-aligned investment experience to our donors,” said Melanie Schnoll Begun, Head of Philanthropy Management and the Family Office Resources Field Engagement team at Morgan Stanley. “It’s platform and expertise make it significantly easier to offer authentic impact opportunities without compromising on rigor or operational efficiency.”

Reaching this milestone of $1 billion moved into impact funds and enterprises through CapShift’s platform was fueled in part by rapid growth of the firm’s Research Engine. The proprietary database, a cornerstone of CapShift’s impact investing platform, now features more than 1,400 impact opportunities. The offerings represent more than $200 billion in curated funds and enterprises, spanning all major private asset classes including private equity, venture capital, private credit, real assets, and recoverable grants.*** The breadth of the Research Engine’s opportunities offers advisors and institutions a uniquely powerful tool to build customized portfolios with confidence and efficiency.

CapShift’s growth also points to a broader shift in investor expectations: clients increasingly want their portfolios to reflect their values, and institutions that can meet that demand are gaining a competitive edge. The global impact investing market has more than doubled in the past three years, exceeding $1.5 trillion in 2024. And client interest continues to deepen: 45% of high-net-worth investors say they own or are interested in making impact investments. With trillions in wealth set to transfer to next-generation investors in the coming decades, CapShift’s platform is helping leading institutions turn demand into action — and impact into measurable outcomes.

“CapShift plays an essential role for us as we increasingly seek like-minded partners for co-investment in solutions to the climate and toxicity crises,” said Ramsay Ravenel, Chief Investment Officer of the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, an early CapShift investor.

“With our investment in CapShift, we hope to strengthen the entire mission-driven investing ecosystem by making it easier for transformational ideas to find the capital needed to demonstrate their value and scale.”

CapShift is now investing in its next phase of growth, by expanding its team and enhancing its technology and tools. The firm recently introduced its first AI tool to clients earlier this year and continues to expand the depth and breadth of its Research Engine. As advisory firms, DAF providers, and other financial institutions look to make impact investing a standard offering, CapShift stands ready to support them — and power the future of finance.

 

About CapShift:
Designed to scale, CapShift is the backbone of impact investing solutions across many of the world’s largest financial, charitable, and corporate institutions. Our comprehensive platform supports our partners at every step — from client interest to allocation. Rely on our expertise and technology to find opportunities, engage clients, and invest easily.

Advisory services provided by CapShift Advisors, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Investments in securities are not FDIC insured, not bank guaranteed, and may lose value. Investing in securities involves risks, and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities. Before investing, consider your investment objectives and CapShift Advisors’ charges and expenses. CapShift Advisors’ advisory services are designed to assist clients in achieving discrete financial goals.

 They are not intended to provide financial planning with respect to every aspect of a client’s financial situation, they do not incorporate investments that clients hold elsewhere, and they do not provide tax advice. For more details, see our Form ADV. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and the likelihood of investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature. Nothing in this email constitutes an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities in jurisdictions where CapShift Advisors is not registered.

Additional Articles, Impact Investing, Sustainable Business

London Climate Action Week 2025 - Karen Ellis, chief economist at WWF-UK

London Climate Action Week 2025: takeaways for investors

By Linda-Eling Lee, MSCI

> Back To August 2025 Issue
Pictured above: Karen Ellis, chief economist at WWF-UK, discusses the focus on nature at London Climate Action Week, at a reception hosted by MSCI.

Linda-Eling Lee, MSCIKey Findings

  • Discussions stressed the need for risk-adjusted returns while financing decarbonization. Investors diverged on the impact of U.S. policy shifts but agreed that falling clean-technology costs are creating opportunities globally.
  • Investors and insurers are prioritizing asset-level risk assessment and resilience strategies amid growing demand for products and solutions to help society withstand climate-driven warming as physical risks intensify.
  • Carbon markets and blended finance are critical for private-sector investment in resilience and the global energy transition and are likely to feature high on the agenda at the COP30 climate summit later this year.

A finance-led transition to net-zero by 2050 may be out of reach, but innovations in measurement increasingly enable investors to deploy capital that protects against the effects of a warming world while advancing a cleaner, more resilient global economy. Those were some themes from London Climate Action Week held in late June 2025.

My colleagues and I took part in a series of conversations covering everything from climate resilience and capital flows to carbon markets, and helped mark the launch of MSCI’s Energy Transition Framework, which is designed to help investors assess transition risk and opportunity company by company and location by location. Here are some of the takeaways from the week that stood out for us.

The Rising Cost of Physical Risk

Discussions throughout the week focused on the physical risk of climate change and its impact on investments. Investors emphasized the rising importance of climate resilience and asset-level intelligence.

  • Resilience investments will increasingly matter in the U.S., policy shifts notwithstanding, predicted one asset manager at a roundtable on climate finance hosted by the MSCI Sustainability Institute under Chatham House rule. “The power lines cannot catch fire, and hence these investments will ultimately incorporate adaptation and resilience,” he said.
MSCI hosted roundtable on climate capital in an age of fragmentation
Leaders from finance and policy discuss climate capital in an age of fragmentation at a roundtable hosted by the MSCI Sustainability Institute.
  • “It’s not lost on us that when we’re investing in wind and solar we need to take into account the impact of climate change on those energy infrastructure projects,” commented Tom Woolerton, senior investment manager at Octopus Energy Generation, at a de-risking summit hosted by the insurance broker Howden, where participants stressed a need for quantifying climate-related physical risk in insurance appraisals.
  • “We believe that geospatial asset intelligence is the next risk frontier,” my colleague Richard Mattison, MSCI’s head of sustainability and climate, said at a reception hosted by our firm. Investment institutions “examine risk in a systematic way but that doesn’t capture location-, jurisdiction- and postal-code-specific risks,” he observed, adding that risks from physical climate impacts, trade and tariffs, “all compound at the local level.”

Transition Finance in a Fragmented World

Owners and managers of assets diverge in their views of the longer-term significance of U.S. policy shifts but broadly agreed on the need for risk-adjusted returns even while financing decarbonization.

  • “The narrative is shifting from what investors don’t own to what investors do own,” noted Amy O’Brien, global head of responsible investing at Nuveen, at the Climate Innovation Forum. “The focus needs to be on risk-adjusted returns, something we as investors have to put front and center.”
  • “Many investors are running scenarios that assume a more multipolar world,” MSCI’s Mattison commented at the same forum. “Combined with trends toward onshoring and massive electrification, that means investment analysis needs to be both jurisdiction-specific and whole-economy.”
Climate Innovation Forum, London Climate Action Week 2025 - MSCI
Left to right, Mark Barton, chair, Climate Innovation Forum; Amy O’Brien, global head, responsible investing, Nuveen; Stehpanie Pfiefer, CEO, IIGCC; Linda Freiner, chief sustainability officer, Zurich Insurance Group; and Richard Mattison, head of sustainability and climate, MSCI, at the Climate Innovation Forum
  • “Currently about 40% of our portfolio” is invested in the U.S. said another asset owner. “Barring a change that affects the trade relationship, we see a similar ratio even as we increase our investments in decarbonization.”
  • A rapid rise in the amount of capital allocated to clean technologies in Asia reflects “a recognition that such investments are no longer seen as climate projects but just good returns,” commented one consultant. Fragmentation and political headwinds were key topics in a panel moderated by Peter Tufano, Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School, during a UN Goals House event hosted by the Harvard Salata Institute. Panelists Nili Gilbert, vice-chair of Carbon Direct; former U.K. energy minister Chris Skidmore; and David Blood of Generation Investment Management broadly agreed that, beyond the headlines, climate action continues on the ground but is not well communicated. The economic case for decarbonization needs better storytelling and fewer frameworks and acronyms, they suggested.

A Focus on Adaptation and Resilience

Conversations centered on opportunities for investment created by the need for adaptation and resilience to climate change, as well as the critical role of insurance in incentivizing such investments.

  • “You have more certainty and conviction about the direction and risk of the impact of climate change over the next 15 years than you do the direction or range of interest rates, inflation, tariffs or geopolitics,” noted Jay Koh, co-founder and managing director of The Lightsmith Group and co-founder of the Global Adaptation and Resilience Investor (GARI) working group, at a roundtable on de-risking investment in climate adaptation and resilience hosted by GARI, Zurich Insurance and the advisory firm Pollination.
  • “A majority of pension funds are at the beginning of the journey when it comes to adaptation and resilience,” reported Valentina Ramirez, head of climate strategy for the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), noting that IIGCC just launched a climate-resilience investment framework and a consultation on its physical climate risk appraisal methodology.
  • Anjali Viswamohanan, director of policy for the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC), cited Asia’s vulnerability to heat stress and AIGCC’s work with the MSCI Sustainability Institute to identify companies domiciled in the region whose products or solutions may help society prevent or withstand the impacts of extreme heat. “If you invest in resilience, it actually creates resilience,” she stressed.
  • “The reality is that it’s quite difficult to see immediate impact from resilience measures, so we’re trying to think in terms of timing,” noted Penny Seach, chief underwriting officer at Zurich Insurance Group. “Insurers think in 12-month chunks, whereas investors think in terms of the life of an investment,” she added. “We need to change the mindset from repair and replace, which is easy for the insurance industry, to a model of predict and protect.”

The Importance of Market Mechanisms

Both carbon trading and blended finance (combining government or philanthropic capital with private capital in one financing structure) as a means to attract private sector investment in the energy transition in emerging markets featured prominently in London.

The governments of Kenya, Singapore and the U.K. announced the formation of The Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets, which aims to strengthen the integrity of credits and promote their use by companies in meeting emissions targets to increase the flow of private-sector finance for climate, nature and a just transition.

  • Ravi Menon,?co-chair of the new coalition, Singapore’s ambassador for climate action and former director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, stressed the value of carbon trading in climate finance in his opening remarks on the record at our Institute roundtable, calling it “key for decarbonization in the Global South.”
  • “Carbon removals are generating interest from buyers,” commented a participant at our Institute’s roundtable, citing continuing purchases of removals by U.S. tech giants and the trend by governments to link voluntary and compliance markets by permitting,?as Singapore does, the use of high-quality carbon credits to offset a portion of their taxable emissions.
  • Blended finance plays a role in financing adaptation and resilience, emphasized Andrew Lucas, head of energy, climate and environment at the U.K. government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office at the GARI roundtable. Developing local financial centers can help to attract private-sector investment for adaptation and resilience in emerging markets by reassuring investors. “Local capital is stickier and leads to international funding,” he said.
  • Outcomes of the COP30 climate summit should include an adaptation roadmap that makes private-sector investors “feel safer, whether via a high-quality carbon offset, or helping the private sector invest more in emerging markets because they can actually quantify the real risk,” suggested Rachel Kyte, the U.K. government’s special representative for climate.

Looking Ahead

Many of the issues discussed in London, including private-sector investment in the energy transition and the role of carbon trading in spurring private-sector climate finance, as well as the importance of nature-related risks are likely to be high on the agenda at the U.N. COP30 climate summit later this year.

“Mainstreaming climate in investments and insurance,” “harmonization of carbon markets and carbon accounting standards” and protecting nature with “solutions for climate, biodiversity and desertification” are among 30 objectives for the summit published by the COP30 presidency on the eve of London Climate Action Week (“Fourth Letter from the Presidency,” COP30 Brazil Amazonia, June 20, 2025.)

 

Article by Linda-Eling Lee, Founding Director and Head of the MSCI Sustainability Institute.

Article Source: MSCI, which states the content of this page is for informational purposes only and is intended for institutional professionals with the analytical resources and tools necessary to interpret any performance information. Nothing herein is intended to recommend any product, tool or service. For all references to laws, rules or regulations, please note that the information is provided “as is” and does not constitute legal advice or any binding interpretation. Any approach to comply with regulatory or policy initiatives should be discussed with your own legal counsel and/or the relevant competent authority, as needed.

Additional Articles, Energy & Climate, Impact Investing

Protecting your home and financial assets in the age of climate change by Brittany Damico, Natural Investments

Protecting Your Home & Financial Assets in the Age of Climate Change

By Brittany Damico, Natural Investments

> Back To August 2025 Issue

Brittany Damico Natural InvestmentsThe changing climate is inextricably linked with our capital markets. In the face of this rapidly changing reality, economists are scrambling to price its impacts into financial models. It’s increasingly clear that many of the constants we once relied on — energy, water, homes, insurance, and public safety — are now unpredictable variables with climate-related disasters destabilizing our daily lives, geopolitics, the global economy, the cost of living, and our investments.

This uncertainty has prompted many to reassess their approach to financial planning, asset protection and values-based investing. By analyzing these dynamics and proactively preparing, you can strengthen your financial resilience and establish a more secure foundation for the future.

Climate Change and the Rising Costs of Real Estate Ownership

For most Americans, a primary residence remains their most significant asset. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, home equity accounts for 66 percent of the average American’s net worth. Unfortunately, real estate is highly vulnerable to climate change. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, there were only three to six climate disasters per year, but in the past five years, we’ve experienced 23 per year with a staggering damage price tag of $150 billion annually, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The economic losses from the recent Los Angeles wildfires alone exceeded $250 billion, based on an estimate from AccuWeather.

Most homeowners are vulnerable to the economic impacts of climate change. A February 2025 study by First Street, a climate-risk research firm, estimates that climate change will result in a collective $1.47 trillion loss in residential real estate values over the next 30 years, particularly in more vulnerable places. A 2024 study from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Financial Research found that “properties located in counties that are poorer, less educated, older, more rural, and that have less belief in climate change tend to have more real estate climate risk.”

This growing financial burden is becoming harder for families to manage, with the average cost of emergency home repairs surging more than 400 percent in the past three years, according to Bankrate. While some damages may be covered by insurance, many homeowners find themselves responsible for significant out-of-pocket expenses. The average annual cost of owning and maintaining a typical single-family home in the U.S. has risen to $18,000 — a 26 percent increase since 2020 — even before factoring in emergencies, Bankrate reports.

Those expecting to inherit wealth in the form of real estate may be surprised to see family estates worth far less than anticipated. Given the prominence of real estate within an average family’s balance sheet, the growing volatility in insurance markets and property valuations is creating broader economic ripple effects — influencing affordability, lending practices, and overall market stability.

The Rising Cost of Insurance Coverage

The rising cost of insurance, which is largely attributed to extreme weather events, is becoming an increasing financial strain on households. Premiums increased 8.7 percent faster than the rate of inflation from 2018 to 2022, according to Treasury Department data, and it’s only getting worse. The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University reported premiums rose 20 percent between 2020 and 2023, and a Matic article found that recent record-breaking premium increases affected both new policies and renewals. In 2024, homeowners saw premiums surge 17.4 percent for new policies, meaning the average homeowner who bought their policy in 2021 was paying nearly 69 percent more three years later. Traditional insurance models are ill-suited to adapt to a changing climate, as carriers can only offer policies when they can reliably predict losses, claims, and financial liability.

Adapting to a New Reality

However, as climate change fuels more volatile weather patterns, claims become increasingly unpredictable, putting the entire system under pressure.

In some cases, insurance companies are leaving at-risk communities altogether. For example, the Los Angeles Times reported that State Farm didn’t renew approximately 72,000 California policies last year, while Allstate, Farmers Insurance, USAA, Travelers, Nationwide, and Chubb have also limited new homeowner policies in the state, forcing the government’s California FAIR Plan to provide coverage for homeowners who would otherwise struggle to secure a policy. While the importance of government programs shouldn’t be understated, they are a band-aid, not a solution.

Natural Investments has long provided opportunities for investors to broadly invest in the green economy as well as in specific sectors like renewable energy, green real estate, organic and regenerative agriculture, sustainable forestry, water conservation and access, and alternatives to animal proteins. Funds such as US Vegan Climate ETF (VEGN), AXS Green Alpha ETF (NXTE), and Adasina Social Justice All Cap Global ETF (JSTC) all center their investment theses around the green economy, as well as racial, gender, economic, and climate justice; anti-animal cruelty; ameliorating environmental damage; and protecting human rights.

Sector funds supporting specific green strategies that are needed to mitigate climate risk — including Vert Sustainable Global Real Estate ETF, Tortoise Global Water ESG Fund, and GlobalX Renewable Energy Producers ETF — all support green infrastructure, water access and conservation, and renewable energy production.

Calvert Impact Capital offers a Cut Carbon Note that finances sustainability upgrades for commercial buildings with the objective of reducing carbon emissions. This is their second note series, as their first one, Community Investment Notes, turned 30 this year and focuses on low-income home ownership and entrepreneurship worldwide, among other things. Accredited investors can also own private investments in realms such as regenerative agriculture and forestry, affordable green and cooperative housing, and solar power for diverse low-income communities.

Climate change presents profound and expansive challenges, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to abandon hope or our existing system. Rather, now is the time to educate yourself, ask for guidance, and begin integrating these considerations into your financial plan:

Ask your financial advisor about the growing dislocation in insurance markets. Inquire about regional risk and how to avoid or prepare for higher premiums.

  • Investigate exposure to climate risk before buying or selling real estate and consider the potential impact of insurance availability on property values.
  • Consider building or growing an emergency fund to cover uninsured property damage.
  • Ask your financial advisor about your retirement income needs and if they should be increased to cope with a higher-than-anticipated cost of living.
  • Continue to monitor how climate is impacting housing and the economy, as well as ways to build resilience into your local community and financial future — including your investments.

Moving Forward with Resilience

Climate change is undeniably reshaping our world — including the way we plan for the future. It’s a challenge that demands both awareness and proactive solutions. While the risks are significant, the choices we make today — as individuals, families, and communities — can help mitigate these impacts. By integrating climate-conscious practices into our daily lives, supporting sustainable businesses, and making strategic financial decisions and investments, we can build a future that not only endures, but thrives.

What Can We Do?

How can we take initiative and plan effectively in response to these variables? We can begin by taking meaningful action through our daily choices, purchases, and investments to help mitigate the effects of climate change. We encourage you to explore the personal and local resilience strategies featured in our book, The Resilient Investor. These include approaches that enhance personal and community self-sufficiency — such as community-supported agriculture, green cohousing, locally-owned energy sources, and rainwater harvesting — all of which strengthen social connections and help meet our survival needs. Empowerment comes from reducing reliance on corporate imports and focusing more on “the collaborative commons,” where we depend on each other and create regenerative homes and neighborhoods that fulfill many of our needs. This requires a mindset shift, but it seems necessary to thrive in these turbulent times.

Shopping and banking are both opportunities to align your values with your money. Consider purchasing second-hand goods rather than ones made from new raw materials and repairing items when possible. Look for Climate Neutral Certified or ClimeCo Certified brands, which address deforestation, labor conditions, packaging, water, and renewable energy used in production.

Supporting a local credit union helps to ensure that your money is recirculated among its members rather than supporting potentially objectionable projects and industries. Climate First Bank is also the first sustainability-focused bank in the nation.

Investing. Is there such a thing as a climate-resilient investment portfolio? While there’s no magic wand to instantly solve humanity’s challenges, Natural Investments employs several responsible investment strategies to drive the changes we seek:

  1. Engaging companies so they may acknowledge climate change risk and adapt accordingly.
  2. Investing in the green economy and low-income housing, businesses, and communities that create regional resilience through appropriate, just, and sustainable development.
  3. Advocating for public policies that support the transition away from carbon fuel and towards regenerative food, energy, and building systems.

 

Article by Brittany Damico is a financial advisor with Natural Investments, PBLLC, where she helps individuals and families align their portfolios with their values through sustainable, responsible, and impact investing. She holds the Chartered SRI Counselor™ (CSRIC®) designation and with nearly two decades of experience in the financial services industry — including leadership roles at Change Finance, Ethos ESG, and O-Six Impact Partners. Brittany brings deep expertise in socially responsible investing, personal finance, and behavioral economics.

Brittany’s commitment to conscious capitalism is grounded in both her academic background and global perspective. A lifelong learner, she spent several years living abroad to expand her worldview, ultimately earning a graduate degree in Ecological Economics from the University of Edinburgh to deepen her understanding of how sustainability can drive a more resilient and equitable economy. She draws from these diverse lived experiences to approach wealth stewardship with empathy and ecological insight. Outside of her advisory work, Brittany serves as a board member for Auricle Productions, a nonprofit focused on environmental journalism, and is also a certified yoga instructor.

Additional Articles, Energy & Climate, Impact Investing

The Sustainable Indigenous Finance Initiative by Rebecca Adamson

The Sustainable Indigenous Finance Initiative

By Rebecca Adamson, First Peoples Worldwide

> Back To August 2025 Issue
Rebecca Adamson and Fawn Sharp at US SIF Forum 2025
Rebecca Adamson of First Peoples Worldwide (right) with Fawn Sharp, the 23rd President at National Congress of American Indians in Washington, DC at speaking at the US SIF Forum 25 conference

A collaboration between First Peoples Worldwide and US SIF launched the Sustainable Indigenous Finance Initiative (SIFI) at the SIF FORUM 2025 held in June in Washington, DC to standing room only crowds for both Indigenous Peoples sessions. The SIFI inaugural panel was opened by former Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland followed with a powerful plenary moderated by Mark Trahant Founding Editor ICT, Wharton Professor Witold Henisz, First Nations Major Projects CEO Mark Podlasly, and Kyle Whyte Director of the Tishman Environmental Science Center.

The Breakfast Roundtable provided an advanced preview of the Sustainable Indigenous Finance: Investors Guidebook, Navigating the Energy Transition where it was proclaimed a “tour de force” for investors. Designed to be a working resource for investors The Guidebook includes tools, case studies and checklists to help investors accurately identify, assess and mitigate the risks related to Indigenous concerns particularly in the context of energy transition and land-based sectors.

The earliest collaboration between First Peoples Worldwide (FPW) and US SIF was in 1994 at a time when Indigenous Peoples were seen as part of the environment not as sovereign, culturally distinct, landowners and rights holders. FPW founder and Calvert Social Investment Funds Trustee Rebecca Adamson created the earliest standalone Indigenous Peoples Investment Screen. Collaborating with US SIF members, Indigenous Peoples Rights became one of the top 3 shareholder concerns for the next two decades. In 2004, the Onieda Nation, through the leadership of Susan White, collaborated with US SIF and incubated the Investors and Indigenous Peoples Working Group IIPWG. In 2017, FPW was Advisor to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on their DAPL investor engagement efforts joining again with US SIF in a worldwide campaign to reroute the Dakota Access Pipeline DAPL.

Today the SIFI collaboration combines the financial acumen, academic rigor and Indigenous thought leadership to flip the script on business models that presume you can do it faster and cheaper without sociopolitical-community risk mitigation. As the world transitions to a low-carbon economy, the material relevance of Indigenous voices has never been clearer. From mineral extraction to renewable infrastructure development, many projects intersect directly with Indigenous lands and communities. Indigenous inclusion is no longer a matter of ethics or compliance – it is fundamental for managing financial risks and opportunities.

5,097 mining projects geographic distribution for energy transition - overlap with Indigenous lands

Geographic distribution of 5,097 mining projects for energy transition minerals and metals, highlighting overlap with Indigenous Peoples’ land and other land-connected peoples.²

Globally, 72% of investors believe that energy transition investments are accelerating, despite geopolitical uncertainty and fluctuating interest rates. Yet companies often overlook or disregard the impact of their actions on Indigenous Peoples, leading to conflict and violence that, in turn, creates significant business risks – including supply chain disruptions and legal disputes – that can diminish future growth and undermine long term portfolio performance. Indigenous Peoples’ lands hold over half of the deposits for thirty of the essential minerals and metals that are necessary to the energy transition, including 85% of the lithium and 75% of the manganese. Fifty-four percent of the 5,097 global transition mineral and mining projects are located on Indigenous territories.

SIFI comes at a time when the global economy is undergoing a rapid and urgent transition to low carbon technologies and sustainable practices. This shift is driving a surge in capital flows to finance the investments required for this transformation. In 2024, annual investment in the energy transition passed $2 trillion.¹ However this transition is unfolding on complex terrain. Until recently investors lacked access to the data and tools that tied a company’s capacity to manage risk with its performance costs and revenue shortfalls.

Distribution reserves of 17 key minerals and metals account for highest number of extractive projects--First Peoples

Distribution of reserves and resources for 17 key minerals and metals, which account for the highest number of extractive projects globally. Percentages at the top of the graph reflect the combined total for Indigenous and peasant land overlap.²

A groundbreaking study by the Wharton School introduced the first quantitative processing approach to determine how foreign direct investments impacts Indigenous Peoples. Using artificial intelligence to track over 2,300 business and conflict themes the study found that projects located within 31 miles of Indigenous territories experience on average 10 more conflict events per year than otherwise similar projects. For projects within 10 km (6.2 miles) of an Indigenous land claim, the annual incidence of material events, such as costly disruptions, increases by as much as 500%.

According to the International Energy Agency, achieving net-zero globally by 2050 will require six times more mineral inputs in 2040 than we use today. The confluence of the new energy transition and the growing demand for natural resources is placing acute pressure on Indigenous Peoples. The purpose of SIFI is to elevate Indigenous decision-making and to offer meaningful engagement with Indigenous thought leadership, cutting-edge tools and datasets, practical resources and a dynamic SIFI Resource Hub. The SIFI Resource Hub when fully launched will provide a platform to share best practice, offer analytical tools and access to the latest evidence-based research that links a company’s negative impact on Indigenous Peoples to its financial performance. The Hub is an interactive collaborative platform for investors, academics, NGOs and Indigenous members to elevate indigenous innovation, host webinars, curated campaign dialogues, panels, conflict mapping, and latest research topics.

The Sustainable Indigenous Finance: Investor Guide, Navigating the Energy Transition will be released this Fall. The coauthors, First Peoples Worldwide and ImpactARC, an independent women-owned sustainable advisory firm, conducted over 25 interviews across the investment landscape with sustainable investment professionals, institutional asset managers, Indigenous leaders, rating agencies, academics, NGOs, data providers, and legal experts who all expressed the lack of a business case. They needed tools to translate Indigenous priorities and concerns into the investment language with an emphasis on risk management, financial materiality and long-term investment performance.

This new Investor Guide is designed primarily for investors, investment advisors and investment managers who make investment decisions for their clients including trustees who may oversee the management of assets. To inform this guide, we conducted extensive research – drawing on academic reports, case studies, existing frameworks and tools, legal cases, and corporate findings. The Guide outlines why and how investors should consider Indigenous Peoples in their investment decision-making including 18 case studies of what worked and what didn’t. It offers a three-tier de-risking framework. The institutional level and the importance of good policies, oversight and institutional capacity. The portfolio level where initial screening can identify companies in high-risk geographies or high-risk sectors that may require additional due diligence. And the project level where the system wide capacity of a company to manage risk undergoes due diligence to assess whether the company has the competence and managerial capacity to address its operational risks, legal risks, reputational risks, and or even broader systemic instability related to negatively impacting Indigenous Peoples.

Regardless of rapid permitting and deregulating efforts, the more effort a company puts upfront to get it right the more money the company is going to save in the long run. SIFI aims to turn risk into opportunity. Given Indigenous Peoples steward 50% of the world’s land, 54% of the remaining intact forests, and encompasses 40% of key biodiversity areas essential to the survival of unique species, critical water sheds and vast mineral reserves.

In closing, let me quote, Fawn Sharp, the 23rd President of the National Congress of American Indians, who spoke at the Breakfast roundtable on the SIFI and stated, “integrating indigenous knowledge and stewardship into your investments not only aligns with responsible investment standards but also unlocks long-term value creation.”

First Peoples Worldwide - Indigenous Innovations, Investments and Impact for Long Term Value since 2004

 

 

Article by Rebecca L. Adamson, President and Founder of First Peoples Worldwide. Rebecca is an internationally recognized Cherokee Economist, who started with the Coalition of Indian Controlled Schools (1972) which led to the 1975 Act for Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance and today is eponymous Wharton School Rebecca Adamson Indigenous Peoples Risk Index. In 1980 Adamson established the First Nations Development Institute, created the first microloan fund, the Lakota Fund, on Pine Ridge Reservation SD 1984, created the First Nations’ Oweesta Fund a CDFI intermediary and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Act of 1994.

In 1989 Adamson joined the Calvert Social Investment Funds Board, led the creation of High Social Impact Investing HSII 1991 and established a public private partnership with Calvert Foundation that became Community Notes (1996). She created the first Indigenous Peoples Investment Screen 1993, led numerous Indigenous shareholder campaigns, and helped establish the Investors and Indigenous Peoples Working Group (IIPWG).

In 2004, Adamson founded First Peoples Worldwide, created the FPW Shareholder Advocacy Leadership Training (SALT) 2012, and first effort to quantify investment risk, The FPW Indigenous Peoples Rights Risk Report (IPR3) 2014. She was advisor to the Standing Rock Sioux Nation Council on the Energy Transfer Dakota Access Pipeline DAPL shareholder advocacy campaign 2017-2018. Adamson launched the 30X30 international Indigenous Peoples’ campaign 2019 that established general fiduciary and financial accountability standards “Core Human rights Principles for Private Conservation Organizations and Funders” 2025. She is Advisor to Calvert Impact Capital, Climate United Advisor, and Wharton  2022-2025 on cultural metrics and Wharton ESG WEIP Team teacher: WEIP Study: Long Term Thinking and Indigenous Peoples Financialization of Nature. May 2025.

Footnotes:

[1] https://about.bnef.com/insights/finance/global-investment-in-the-energy-transition-exceeded-2-trillion-for-the-first-time-in-2024-according-to-bloombergnef-report/

[2] https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmgsites/xx/pdf/2024/10/energy-transition-investment-outlook-2025-and-beyond.pdf.coredownload.inline.pdf

Additional Articles, Impact Investing, Sustainable Business

Rewriting the Narrative of Climate Change by Will Wiseman, Climatize

Rewriting the narrative of Climate Change: from sacrifice to opportunity

By Will Wiseman, Climatize

> Back To August 2025 Issue
Aerial Photography of the 2019 Global Climate strike in Barcelona, Spain

Will Wiseman, cofounder ClimatizeWhen Alba Forns (Co-Founder and COO) and I, Will Wiseman (Co-Founder and CEO), started Climatize, we didn’t want to build another investing platform. After joining 100,000 people at the 2019 Global Climate strikes, we felt the power of being part of a movement. But in that moment, we realized we’d all go home, and the next day, nothing would change. If cardboard signs were our strongest tool, it showed just how much was missing.

How could we rethink our collective power and direct it toward the causes we care about? We envisioned an investment platform where each person in that movement could put their money to work building what we wanted: more renewable energy and fewer emissions. However, most options were narrow and lacked true transparency. Was it too much to ask to see exactly where my money was going?

As renewable energy engineers, Alba and I saw a gap in the U.S. renewables funding ecosystem that needed solving, as the IEA reflected on its 2023 report: “Small-scale renewable energy projects often face significant financing barriers, as traditional investors and banks prefer larger utility-scale projects that offer lower transaction costs per MW and higher returns¹.” Meanwhile, smaller, community-focused projects (the ones with local impact) kept getting left behind. Might we solve both problems in one move?

In just over two years, that vision has become real: more than $9 million has been invested via Climatize, helping fund 19 solar, battery storage, energy efficiency and EV charging projects across the U.S. This was all possible thanks to a small but rapidly growing community of over 2,300 investors (+202% YoY) who decided to Climatize their portfolio.

Powering Up Climate Action Through Renewable Energy Investing

Climatize has hosted a range of investment offerings, with many more on the way. Each project is vetted by our team, who bring deep experience in renewable energy engineering, finance, and law to evaluate the project’s potential to deliver returns and emissions impact. To date, all projects have been repaid in full and on time; however, past performance does not guarantee future results. This intersectional mission is why we are here: to make impact investing easy and trustworthy for everyone.

These projects are as real as it gets – from solar installations on farms in Tennessee to micro-grids in Georgia, from energy efficiency upgrades at low-income homes in New England to EV chargers at California community markets, just to name a few. And the list keeps growing.

These offerings aren’t just numbers on a progress bar. They’re projects that cut energy bills for families and businesses, provide backup power during outages for communities, and help remote and rural areas become more resilient to extreme weather and rising energy costs. The true value materializes after the funding goals are met and installations are complete – when you see your money in action, generating a positive impact on people’s lives. That’s what makes Climatize unique.

I think of Joshua Dowdy, owner of Liberty Hill Farms and an Army veteran. During a recent visit to the projects, he shared how his solar installation transformed his farm, boosting energy independence and turning him into a local clean energy pioneer. You can watch our Climate Conversation #1 with Joshua below. His story is just one example of the resilience and community impact made possible by all the investors who chose to back their renewable energy projects.

POWERED with Joshua Dowdy on Installing Solar in Rural America

For me and the team, Climatize keeps showing that the renewable energy ecosystem works and is ready to scale. One important reminder here: Over 95% of new energy generators waiting to be interconnected in 2024 are zero-carbon resources like solar, wind, and battery storage².

So, Why Should Anyone Care?

We want to reframe climate change from a narrative of sacrifice to one of opportunity.

At this point, we all know that climate change isn’t a threatening future problem, but a concerning reality that’s shaping our everyday lives right now. Just look at the recent floods in Texas, which took more than 120 lives.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), highlighted dramatic alterations in the way weather changes patterns behave from one extreme to another in shorter periods, how our food systems’ productions struggle to keep up and how this affects the quality of their final products³, and in the rising costs that are impacting our current lives. But if you’re reading GreenMoney, then we’re preaching to the choir.

Another success story is MB Reps, an auto shop in Nashville, Georgia. Their solar and battery system, funded through Climatize, became a lifeline during Hurricane Helene. When the town lost power for seven days, they kept cooling and cold storage running for food and medicine, turning their project into a community resilience hub.

Shifting Gears to Solar, a $143,000 solar and battery storage system on MB Reps’ roof – photo courtesy of Climatize

For many people, climate change feels urgent, yet it’s easy to feel powerless to make a real difference. Figuring out where to start can be overwhelming. But your choices do matter. Research shows that individual decisions can play a significant role in reducing emissions and shaping energy systems4. So, every action we take could help drive us closer to a cleaner, more resilient future. We can look at climate change as an opportunity to make our lives more efficient, connected, and sustainable.

Can Anyone Get Started in Impact Investing?

Investing in renewable energy projects is a way to empower the energy transition. As Jigar Shah, former Director of DOE Loan Programs Office, said: “Accelerating climate wealth means more than just founding startups and raising venture capital. It means giving everyone the ability to build wealth by investing in the economy we all want to live in.”

For a long time, putting your money to work this way felt out of reach because of high minimums, accreditation rules, and complex terms. Not anymore. New tools like regulation crowdfunding and climate-focused options make it possible for more people to participate directly.

On Climatize, you can choose project offerings that align with your goals, starting at just a $10 minimum.

If you would like to try Climatize, it’s important to know that investing through our platform is a regulated process. As a potential investor, you’ll need to provide your Social Security Number and other basic information to verify your identity and your investment capacity, just like any other brokerage. Data security is important to us, and that’s why we take our gatekeeping role seriously. You can read our Privacy Policy to see how we safeguard your data. We are with you every step of the process.

Are You Ready to Climatize?

We know getting started can feel intimidating. That’s why we created a free guide that breaks down what impact investing means, how Climatize works, and what to expect. We are not asking for anything, just giving you value. This isn’t charity. You can download it from the specific landing page we set for the GreenMoney readers.

We are not done here. We will be back in the next issue with an infographic and a map showing all the funded projects, plus deeper dives into some of the most inspiring success stories from Climatize. We welcome anyone to be part of this journey towards the energy transition. Spread the word. Stay tuned.

 

Article by Will Wiseman, CEO & Co-Founder of Climatize. Will has over a decade of experience in renewable energy, particularly solar, having operated in every role, including finance, engineering, project management, and construction, where he personally built 15 solar farms. He holds a Double MSc in Renewable Energy Engineering from KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology.

After joining the 2019 Global Climate Strikes, Will quickly learned that while many people view climate change as an urgent problem, they often feel powerless to make a difference. From this observation he founded Climatize which makes it incredibly simple to invest in renewable energy projects across the US with as little as $10 while earning up to 10% in annual interest. As the CEO of Climatize, Will has built a community of over 2,300 investors who have invested over $9,400,000 in 19 solar, battery storage and energy efficiency projects in 9 states. 

In 2024 Climatize won the Keeling Curve Prize in the Finance category, in 2023 Will was selected among the Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees in the Social Impact category and in 2022 he was selected among the Young Global Changers by the World Policy Forum. His work at Climatize has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas list.

His goal is to fund $1 billion per year of renewable energy projects within 5 years. Together with the team at Climatize, he’s building the financial network for climate action that will enable anyone to invest in any renewable energy project from anywhere in the world.  

 

 

Article Footnotes:

1  https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2023

2  https://emp.lbl.gov/publications/queued-2024-edition-characteristics#:~:text=The%20amount%20of%20new%20electric,wind%2C%20and%20battery%20storage

3  https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/beyond-data/2024-active-year-us-billion-dollar-weather-and-climate-disasters

4 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332223003548

Energy & Climate, Featured Articles, Impact Investing, Sustainable Business

Investing in Ocean Resilience-a sea change in climate finance by Karen Sack ORRAA

Investing in Ocean Resilience: a sea change in climate finance

By Karen Sack, Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance

> Back To August 2025 Issue
Above image: Kunduchi, Tanzania – photo courtesy of ORRAA

Karen Sacks, ED and president, Ocean Risk and Resilience Action AllianceA Turning Tide in Climate Finance

A regenerative and sustainable blue economy represents a trillion-dollar frontier investment opportunity with the potential to generate significant returns for investors while advancing social and environmental goals.

The importance of coastal and ocean ecosystems to the global economy cannot be overstated. Coastal regions are home to almost half of all economic activity and 40 percent of the world’s population. Coastal floods and storm surge already cost the world between USD$10-40 billion dollars a year, projected to reach USD$1 trillion annually by 2050, yet less than one percent of climate finance is invested into coastal nature-based solutions.

The Ocean is living capital and a highly undervalued asset class. When we invest in its health, we invest in our own. The cost of inaction far outweighs the price of progress. To turn away from the Ocean is to abandon more than USD$8 trillion in potential value. To embrace its promise is to unlock USD$15.5 trillion in benefits, create 12 million jobs by 2030, and bring greater resilience to nations most in need. Yet the science clearly shows that the window for action is closing fast. That is why we must be patient with capital and impatient with action, delivering investment that reduces risk and drives environmental, economic, social and cultural security. But no one sector can go it alone. It is going to take radical collaboration, from beachfront to boardroom.

Who We Are and Why We’re Here

This is where the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA) comes in. We are a global coalition of more than 120 partners, including banks, insurers, governments, multilaterals, NGOs, locally led SMEs, and academic institutions. All are committed to a common mission: by 2030, to activate at least USD$500 million in investment into finance and insurance products that build the resilience of 250 million climate-vulnerable coastal people in the Global South, and with a focus on Nature-based Solutions.

Our model works at three interconnected levels. Starting from the ground up, we are building a pipeline of finance and insurance products. We then target the missing middle, bridging policy and capital by strengthening and enabling environments, supporting standards and guidance, and building platforms that bring together investors, communities, project developers, and governments. Finally, we work from the top down to build a capital market for the Ocean — one that blends concessional, philanthropic, and return-seeking capital in ways that align financial incentives with climate and community outcomes. And there are ‘shovel-ready’ investment opportunities right now searching for investors.

Real Projects, Real Impact

Since its inception, ORRAA has been supporting an incubation and innovation marketplace through small and medium-sized grants to locally led, climate, nature and gender-positive projects. This ranges from microinsurance and savings accounts for small-scale fishers, to coral reef parametric insurance, and blue carbon credit systems rooted in local stewardship. In just the past four years, we’ve supported 50 projects in 30 countries through grants totaling USD$20 million, supporting more than 340,000 people and leveraging an additional USD$65 million of investment.

From Principles to Practice

In 2022, ORRAA and partners (including Salesforce, Conservation International, the World Economic Forum, and The Nature Conservancy) launched the High-Quality Blue Carbon Principles and Guidance. These principles are now being adopted globally by developers, investors, and intermediaries as the basis for development, investment and deployment.

High-Quality Blue Carbon Principles and Guidance - ORRABut principles only matter when they’re practiced. That’s why we also developed the High-Quality Blue Carbon Practitioners Guide with Conservation International, released in October 2024, with support from the UK Government’s Blue Planet Fund.

And to solve the supply-demand gap, we’re developing a new digital tool: The Octopus Platform. Powered by Salesforce’s agentic AI and in partnership with 2050 and unveiled at the Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF) in June 2025, the Octopus Platform will be a global marketplace that connects investors, project developers, and SMEs working on ocean solutions, helping ensure the right money meets the right projects.

A Step-change for a Sea-change

Finally, working from the top-down, ORRAA’s Sea Change Impact Financing Facility (SCIFF) is developing financial instruments that bridge the ‘valley of death’ between grant funding and investment-readiness by providing a funnel through which they can progress, leading to bankable propositions and investment opportunities across the capital stack.

Just like a small skiff, or fishing boat, rarely sails alone, the financial instruments being developed are a flotilla working together to deliver the cornerstone elements of a capital market for the Ocean. They include impact funds that invest into Small Island Developing States, a Blue Guarantee Facility, a Blue Bond Accelerator and blended finance vehicle for marine protected areas.

Local fishermen in Indonesia, photo courtesy of ORRAA
Local fishermen in Indonesia, photo courtesy of ORRAA

And through our #BackBlue Ocean Finance commitment, which now includes over USD$3.45 trillion in assets under management, we are providing the Ocean with a seat at the table when finance and insurance decisions are made. Those decisions must include stopping financing destructive activities — and not starting new potentially destructive ones, like deep sea mining — and investing for our common future and long-term financial, social and environmental returns. Institutional investors and asset managers need to mobilize across the capital stack — grants, concessional, patient and return-seeking — mobilizing the development of financial instruments which allow millions, billions and then trillions of dollars to flow.

A Wave of Momentum: UNOC3 and the BEFF

In June 2025, we saw two landmark events: the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, and the BEFF in Monaco. Together, they signal a new chapter in ocean finance. At the BEFF, over €8.7 billion in public–private and philanthropic investment was committed to 2030, with €1 billion being deployed or investment ready in 2025. Leaders from business, finance, and government outlined a vision for a blue economy that is just, regenerative, and investable.

Then, at UNOC3, the Nice Ocean Action Plan was announced, with key pledges including €1 billion from the European Commission for ocean science and conservation, USD$3.5 billion from development banks to tackle plastic pollution, the creation of the world’s largest marine protected area in French Polynesia, and major funding for ocean governance from Germany, New Zealand, Spain, and Costa Rica. In addition, 19 more countries committed to ratify the High Seas Treaty, bringing us within reach of the 60 needed for it to enter into force, finally offering an international agreement governing the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. These binding commitments are reformulating how the global financial system engages with our most vital shared resource.

Mawimbi Seaweed Farming in Kenya, courtesy of ORRAA
Mawimbi Seaweed Farming in Kenya, photo courtesy of ORRAA

Looking Ahead: Toward COP30

As we look to COP30 in November in Brazil, hosted under President Lula’s leadership, we expect that climate, nature and ocean finance will come together in the heart of the Amazon, connecting climate justice, biodiversity, and community resilience. The time is now to shift from viewing the Ocean as a resource to be exploited, to understanding it as a regenerative engine for people and planet.

The wave is building. And it’s going to take all of us — investors, scientists, policymakers, and communities — to ride it together.

 

Article by Karen Sack, executive director and president of Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA). Karen has worked on ocean conservation, law and policy for the past three decades. Karen previously served as CEO of Ocean Unite, co-founded with Sir Richard Branson and José María Figueres. Previously, she held senior roles at The Pew Charitable Trusts and Greenpeace International. Karen has spearheaded global campaigns to secure a new UN high seas biodiversity treaty, establish large marine reserves and end illegal fishing and high seas bottom trawling. She initiated the Global Ocean Commission. Karen is originally from South Africa and now lives in the United States. 

Energy & Climate, Featured Articles, Food & Farming, Impact Investing

Algae to krill marine food web illustration - SeaVoir Wellness

Saving our Southern Ocean, one Algae-based Omega 3 supplement at a time

By Ashlan Cousteau, SeaVoir and Voyacy Regen

> Back To August 2025 Issue
Above Illustration: Krill don’t produce their own omega-3s; instead, they obtain them by consuming algae, which synthesizes the essential fatty acids. Whales, seals, penguins and countless other species depend on these organisms for survival. 

To the far south, in the icy ancient waters around Antarctica, the largest climate catastrophe in the history of our planet is unfolding, potentially devastating our planet for generations to come, but you’ve probably never heard about it. Krill, the small but mighty lynchpin for the entire Antarctic marine ecosystem and the food that feeds the entire global marine food web, are being taken from their natural habitat at enormous rates primarily for one really stupid reason: the mass production of Omega-3 supplements. Ripped out of the water and away from the diets from keystone species like whales, dolphins, and penguins, these krill are mashed up in massive industrial processors, compressed down into tiny gel capsules destined for the health section of your local pharmacy.

Ashlan and Philippe Cousteau, founders of SeaVoir and Voyacy Regen
Ashlan and Philippe Cousteau – ocean restorationists, filmmakers, founders of SeaVoir and Voyacy Regen

The demand makes total sense: as our planet teeters on the brink of climate catastrophe, human health trends increasingly turn to nature in search of resilience. Omega-3 fatty acids, long hailed for their cardiovascular and cognitive benefits, have sparked massive global demand. Yet the irony could not be starker: in seeking to heal ourselves, we are wreaking havoc on the health of one of Earth’s most critical ecosystems.

But there is another way — an answer that does not come at the cost of abusing the Southern Ocean to trigger ecological collapse. SeaVoir, a pioneering venture in the rising tide of the blue economy co-founded by my husband, Philippe Cousteau, and I, offers a bold, necessary alternative: an algae-based Omega-3 supplement that honors both human wellness and oceanic integrity. In doing so, SeaVoir’s goal is not only to change the supplement industry — we hope to chart a course toward a future where the health of people and the ocean move forward together.

Omega-3 fatty acids — particularly EPA and DHA — have become a cornerstone of the modern health and wellness industry. Their association with heart health, brain development and inflammation reduction has turned them into a multibillion-dollar commodity. But behind each bottle of fish or krill oil lies a troubling reality: ecological devastation.

The production of traditional Omega-3 supplements is heavily dependent on the wholesale slaughter of small pelagic fish and krill. These animals form the foundation of marine food chains, particularly in the Southern Ocean. When we remove them in massive quantities, we don’t just reduce fish stocks — we unravel ecosystems.

Adelie Penguin Colony, photo Philippe Cousteau
Adelie Penguin Colony, Antarctica – photo courtesy of Philippe Cousteau

The consequences are dire. Whales, seals, penguins and countless other species depend on these organisms for survival. Starving krill populations mean starving megafauna. And these are not just cute animals — they are vital actors in the ocean’s carbon cycle. Whales, for example, help fertilize phytoplankton through their waste, encouraging carbon absorption on a planetary scale. Disrupting these relationships weakens one of the world’s most potent natural carbon sinks — the Southern Ocean, which sequesters more atmospheric CO? than any other region on Earth, including the Amazon rainforest.

This isn’t simply an ecological crisis — it’s a climate catastrophe. As ocean temperatures rise and acidity increases, we must preserve and strengthen the biological networks that keep the planet cool. Continuing to extract from these systems to meet wellness demands is both shortsighted and dangerous.

Enter SeaVoir. Born from a confluence of science, sustainability and visionary entrepreneurship, with a healthy dose of our family legacy, SeaVoir reimagines what health and healing can look like in the 21st century. At its core lies a simple but radical idea: the health of our ocean is inseparable from our own.

SeaVoir Wellness Omega 3+ Ultra 60 capsule jar
Photo courtesy of Philippe Cousteau

Drawing inspiration from the legacy of my husband’s grandfather Jacques Cousteau and generations of marine stewardship, SeaVoir was founded on the belief that innovation can and must be restorative. It is not enough to do less harm. In the face of planetary tipping points, our task is to actively heal — both ourselves and the ecosystems we are part of.

SeaVoir’s flagship product is an entirely algae-based Omega-3 supplement. No fish. No krill. Just pure, potent nutrition from the original source of marine Omega-3s — algae. By bypassing the middlemen of the ocean food chain, SeaVoir eliminates the need for extractive harvesting and opens a pathway to scalable, sustainable wellness.

In fact, studies have shown that algae-based Omegas are actually more absorbable and nutrient rich than their traditional fish-krill based counterparts. They don’t contain the nasty aftertaste or fish burps that plague those who take common traditional fish oil Omegas. In every way, SeaVoir’s supplements are the best choice for those who want the numerous benefits that come from Omega 3s.

But this is more than a product. It’s a mission: to create a regenerative relationship with the ocean through science, entrepreneurship, and public education. SeaVoir is not just reducing harm — it is planting the seeds of a blue future.

What makes algae so powerful, is its simplicity. Algae is where Omega-3s originate in the marine food chain. Fish and krill accumulate these fats by eating phytoplankton and microalgae, so SeaVoir decided to go straight to the source.

Cultivated in photobioreactors — controlled, land-based systems that require no ocean harvesting — SeaVoir’s microalgae are grown with minimal water and net-positive carbon outcomes. These closed-loop environments drastically reduce environmental impact compared to fish or krill farming, which are resource-intensive and devastating to surrounding ecosystems.

Moreover, algae cultivation offers significant climate benefits. Algae absorbs CO? as it grows, and its rapid reproduction rates make it a promising avenue for carbon capture.

The implications are vast. By decoupling Omega-3 production from wild ecosystems, SeaVoir offers a restorative alternative that can be scaled globally. This is not a niche substitution — it is a template for how technology and ecology can work in harmony to meet human needs without planetary cost. It also takes a firm step through the door to an exciting and promising future: the restorative blue economy.

The restorative blue economy is an emerging framework that recognizes the ocean as a source of sustainable economic growth. It goes beyond traditional green investments by focusing explicitly on the economic development of marine ecosystems, technologies, and economies in a way that builds ecological health, i.e. no offshore oil and gas.

SeaVoir is a textbook example of what the restorative blue economy aspires to be: profitable, scientifically sound, and regenerative. For impact investors, it ticks every box — delivering a premium consumer product while aligning with ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) goals. It also represents a key area of growth within climate finance: ocean-based biotech and sustainable aquaculture.

As interest surges in plant-based innovation and marine conservation, SeaVoir stands at the crossroads of both. Investors are beginning to understand that the future of climate solutions doesn’t lie only in forests or solar panels — it lies in the vast, underexplored realm of our ocean. SeaVoir is a beacon for capital that seeks purpose alongside profit.

Today’s consumers are more informed — and more demanding — than ever. We see a growing movement toward clean-label, ethical and sustainable health products. Plant-based alternatives are not just trending — they are becoming standard.

SeaVoir speaks directly to this moment. It offers wellness without compromise. Its algae-based Omega-3s are vegan, non-GMO, mercury-free and sustainably grown. But more importantly, they tell a story — one that connects each capsule to the preservation of whales, krill and the delicate machinery of ocean life.

This storytelling is crucial. Brands that educate and inspire foster deeper consumer trust. SeaVoir’s transparency, ocean advocacy and scientific rigor position it not just as a supplement provider, but as a movement — a choice consumers can feel proud to make.

As awareness of the environmental cost of traditional Omega-3s spreads, SeaVoir’s market position will only strengthen. It is not merely riding the wave of plant-based wellness — it is helping to shape it.

Beyond Omega-3s, SeaVoir sees a future of restorative marine wellness: supplements, skincare, and nutraceuticals that are not only safe and effective but actively beneficial to the planet. It envisions partnerships with climate research institutions, conservation groups, and fellow innovators in the blue economy.

With ambition matched by integrity, SeaVoir seeks to be more than a company — it aims to be a lighthouse. A signal of what’s possible when commerce, science and care for the Earth work together.

At a time when our ocean cries out for stewardship and our climate hangs in delicate balance, SeaVoir offers more than a product — it offers a promise. That we can nourish ourselves without destructive extraction. That health need not come at the price of harm. That innovation, when rooted in ecological integrity, can restore what we’ve broken.

To investors, SeaVoir signals a new frontier — a place where climate solutions, biotechnology and consumer demand converge. To consumers, it offers a choice: to support wellness that is not blind to its origins but deeply connected to them.

As my grandfather-in-law Jacques Cousteau once said, “We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.” SeaVoir remembers. And in remembering, it leads us toward a blue future — vibrant, resilient, and alive.

 

Philippe and Ashlan Cousteau scuba dive, photo courtesy of Philippe CousteauArticle by Ashland and Philippe Cousteau, impact entrepreneurs, ocean restorationists and filmmakers who dedicate their lives to our blue planet across multiple industries.

Ashland and Philippe are the co-founders of Voyacy Regen, a company bringing coastal restoration to commercial scale to regenerate our natural coastal barriers, along with Voyacy Places creating exciting destination-based experiences that engage guests to discover the wonders of the ocean and inspire them to protect and restore it.

The Cousteaus also have two impact wellness brands. SeaVoir offers an Omega 3 supplement made from algae, nature’s source of Omega-3’s (fish and krill get their Omega-3s by eating algae). SeaWeed Naturals combines the powerful benefits of restoratively farmed marine ingredients like seaweed and algae and regeneratively-farmed land ingredients to create a whole new category of Land X Sea Wellness. 

Ashlan and Philippe have produced and starred in multiple award-winning television documentaries for Discovery, Travel Channel, CNN and more. In 2004, Philippe founded EarthEcho International, an environmental education organization dedicated to building a global youth movement to protect and restore our ocean planet which has worked with over 2 million youth in 146 countries.

Energy & Climate, Featured Articles, Impact Investing, Sustainable Business

HOPE Credit Union Makes Landmark Investment in Talladega College in AL

HOPE Credit Union Makes Landmark Investment in Talladega College in AL

> Back To May/June 2025 Issue
Pictured above: Interim Talladega College President Dr. Walter Kimbrough, Talladega College Board of Trustees Chair Rica Lewis-Payton, and Hope Enterprise / Hope Credit Union CEO Bill Bynum at the “State of the College” update.

Impact finance leader has supported 26 HBCUs across the Deep South

HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation / Hope Credit Union) signaled its ongoing commitment to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with a $15 million working capital loan to Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama to empower the college to restructure its balance sheet and bolster its long-term viability.

Talladega loan is the latest example of HOPE’s alliance with HBCUs to increase economic mobility in the Deep South. In 2019, HOPE published and disseminated the “HBCU-CDFI Economic Mobility Guide,” a seminal analysis that outlined key outcomes from collaboration between Jackson State University, Mississippi Valley State University and HOPE to improve conditions in under resourced rural and urban areas. HBCUs have long played a critical role in moving people along the economic continuum. Similarly, Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, invest in people and places that have been historically underbanked.

HOPE has generated over $60 million in investments to support HBCUs across the Deep South. Examples include Oakwood University’s Healthy Campus 2020 program, a strategic initiative established to address poor health outcomes and preventable diseases among students and to help address health, food and job insecurity faced by low-income residents of Northwest Alabama; and financing that enabled Fisk University to finance the renovation of four historic buildings to enhance student services and academic programs, and complete technological and security upgrades throughout the campus.

“HBCUs make an outsized contribution to the prosperity of people and communities in the Deep South. Our investment in Talladega, Oakwood and Fisk reflect the alignment of mission and values between HOPE, HBCUs, and the communities they serve,” said HOPE CEO Bill Bynum.

HOPE’s investment in Talladega College comes at a pivotal time for Alabama’s first private historically black liberal arts college, known for academic excellence for over 150 years. The infusion of working capital is expected to enhance the institution’s cash flow, support operational needs, and build a foundation for future growth. This initiative marks a key milestone in the college’s journey toward long-term sustainability following a series of strategic actions implemented since September 2024.

HOPE provides broad-based support for HBCUs. Beyond financing for campus facilities and the surrounding communities, HOPE places a priority on being a financial resource to HBCU faculty, staff, students, alumni and their families, which are often underserved by traditional banks. HOPE is also the primary financial institution for the HBCU Athletic Conference, the nation’s largest athletic conference for private HBCUs.

“Our support for HBCUs is about more than dollars, or even the institutions themselves — it is an investment in the economy of the entire nation. When HBCUs succeed, they equip our future workforce, future entrepreneurs and future leaders to drive an economy where everyone can prosper,” said Bynum.

HOPE invites HBCUs, community development partners, and philanthropic organizations to collaborate in shaping a more prosperous future. Visit our Community and Economic Development HBCU page to learn more.

Hope Credit Union 30 years

About HOPE

HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation, Hope Credit Union and Hope Policy Institute) provides financial services; leverages resources; and engages in advocacy that strengthens the financial health and wealth of people in under-resourced Deep South communities. Since 1994, these efforts have benefitted more than three million people in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, and influenced billions in investments in persistent poverty communities nationwide. Learn more at www.hopecu.org

Additional Articles, Impact Investing, Sustainable Business

ImpactAssets 2025 Impact Investment Fund Managers List-2

ImpactAssets 2025 Impact Investment Fund Managers List

> Back To May/June 2025 Issue

More than one-quarter of IA 50 2025 applicants were first-time applicants, underscoring the rapid expansion of the impact investing industry globally.

ImpactAssets, the impact investing leader with a 15-year track record of mobilizing capital for good, recently released the ImpactAssets 50™ (IA 50) 2025, the definitive guide to impact investment fund managers globally. This year’s IA 50 features 165 experienced and emerging impact investment fund managers, the highest number to date. See the full list here.

Now in its 14th year, the IA 50 remains the most comprehensive resource for identifying best-in-class impact fund managers, offering investors a rigorously curated and publicly accessible database to explore the industry’s leaders across the full range of investment types.

This year’s IA 50 highlights unabated momentum in impact investing: Application volume has grown 250% since 2020, and 28% of 2025 applicants had never applied before – both signals of rapid market expansion. Total assets under management (AUM) of IA 50 firms surged to $130.6 billion, representing a 35% year-over-year increase – driven by the inclusion of new, large impact managers, as well as the steady growth of established firms. Notably, this year’s Emerging Impact Manager (EIM) category lists 21 managers who focus on climate as their primary impact theme, the largest number ever in this category and a category total that has nearly doubled since 2021. This year’s EIM category also witnesses a resurgence of infrastructure-focused managers with three such managers selected, signaling the highest-ever infrastructure focus on the EIM list.

“As impact investing continues its march into the financial mainstream, the IA 50 has become a powerful barometer of industry maturation and the most respected recognition in our sector,” said Margret Trilli, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of ImpactAssets and an IA 50 Review Committee member. “The scale, growth and credibility of this year’s IA 50 managers demonstrate that impact investing is not only thriving, it is becoming an undeniable force in the market.”

Market Signals: Key Trends from the IA 50 2025

All told, 50 impact investing fund managers were selected for this year’s core IA 50 list, 65 managers for the Emerging Impact Manager list, and 50 managers for the Emeritus list.

The composition of the IA 50 2025 reveals key trends shaping impact investing today:

  • Growing Manager AUM:A total of 24 IA 50 managers have reached institutional scale, with $1 billion or more in AUM, a 33% increase over the two previous years.
  • Financial Returns and Impact Work In Tandem: 46% of managers on the list target market-rate returns, while 28% pursue above-market returns. The core IA50 list is predominantly market-rate (36%) and above-market (28%) managers.
  • Climate and Social Impact Priorities:50% of listed managers primarily focus on social themes such as financial inclusion and community development, while 33% prioritize climate-related investments, including clean tech, alternative energy, and decarbonization.
  • Beneficiaries of Impact Capital:The majority of IA 50 managers focus on supporting small businesses, rural communities, low income, and disadvantaged communities.
  • Third-Party Impact Verification on the Rise: 28% of core IA 50 managers and 24% of Emeritus managers have impact reports verified by third-party assessors, marking a steady progression in impact transparency.

“This year’s IA 50 showcases how impact investing is quickly coming of age – not only in scale and financial sophistication, but also in accountability and rigor,” said Jed Emerson, IA 50 Review Committee Chair. “The increasing prevalence of third-party impact verification, larger institutional-scale fund sizes, and record-breaking newer entrants signal a maturing market that remains deeply committed to driving positive change.”

The IA 50 Selection Process: Unmatched Rigor and Expert Review

ImpactAssets employs a rigorous multi-stage process to select the IA 50, ensuring it remains the most credible and thoughtfully curated benchmark for impact investing excellence. Unlike lists based purely on AUM rankings or editorial selection, the IA 50 blends quantitative analysis with expert qualitative review to identify managers that are not only financially sound, but also deeply committed to measurable impact.

IA 50 selections are made by the distinguished IA 50 Review Committee, composed of 16 of the most globally-recognized impact investing leaders and practitioners, ensuring that the IA 50 remains the industry’s most credible, thoughtfully curated benchmark for impact investing excellence. The review process includes a quantitative analysis, led by ImpactAssets Capital Partners, based on application information, impact reports and public disclosures. The IA 50 Review Committee makes the final selection, ensuring the analysis adheres to a structured framework of fairness and rigor. All firms included in the IA 50 have met strict criteria, including a track record in impact investing, clear social and environmental impact goals, and U.S. investor accessibility.

“The IA 50 not only reflects where impact investing is today, but also provides a roadmap for its future,” said Rehana Nathoo, Founder and CEO at Spectrum Impact and an IA 50 Review Committee Member. “The rigorous selection process and expert review that define the IA 50 reinforce its position as the industry’s gold standard – giving investors confidence that the firms featured are at the forefront of driving meaningful impact.”

 

About the ImpactAssets 50 

ImpactAssets 50™ (IA 50) is the definitive guide to impact investing fund managers globally. The publicly available database is composed of experienced and emerging private debt and equity impact investment fund managers committed to generating positive impact. The IA 50 2025 reflects the innovation and exponential growth of impact investing that the IA 50 has helped to spotlight over 14 years.  The IA 50 is not an index or investable platform and does not constitute an offering or solicitation to buy or sell securities or a private placement, or recommend specific products. Nor is this an endorsement of any of the listed fund managers. It is not a replacement for due diligence. Additional details on the selection process are available here.

About ImpactAssets

ImpactAssets Inc. is an impact investing leader dedicated to changing the trajectory of the planet’s future and improving the lives of all people. As a leading impact investing firm, ImpactAssets offers deep strategic expertise to help its clients define and execute on their impact goals. Founded in 2010, ImpactAssets increases flows of money to impact investing in partnership with its clients through its impact investment platform, philanthropic solutions, and field-building initiatives, including the IA 50 database of private debt and equity impact fund managers. ImpactAssets has more than $3 billion in assets, working with purpose-driven individuals and their wealth managers, family offices, foundations, and corporations. ImpactAssets is an independent 501(c)(3) organization. is an independent 501(c)(3) organization.

About ImpactAssets Capital Partners 

ImpactAssets Capital Partners PB LLC is an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. ImpactAssets Capital Partners is a public-benefit LLC owned by ImpactAssets. ImpactAssets Capital Partners was created to bring the ImpactAssets platform and customized investment services to institutional investors such as family offices, foundations and corporations.

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Sustainable Indigenous Finance to be launched at the US SIF conference in Washington DC - June 25-27

Sustainable Indigenous Finance ‘Collaboration for Innovation’ to be launched at the US SIF Annual Forum

The world is changing and so are the markets. US SIF is exploring new initiatives that will strategically position members with better risk-based analytics to navigate the increasing volatility and offer innovative collaborations with the diverse perspectives, creativity and investment acumen needed to identify new risks and opportunities within the finance markets in this rapidly changing world.

The first US SIF Collaboration for Innovation will be launched at its Annual Forum in Washington DC on June 27. Led by US SIF Board Member and Founder of First Peoples Worldwide, Rebecca Adamson, the collaboration will establish an investors and Indigenous Peoples’ hub that combines investment acumen and academic rigor with a global Indigenous network for innovating Sustainable Indigenous Finance. The purpose of the Sustainable Indigenous Finance Collaboration is to provide practical analytics and evidence-based research (including quantitative and empirical evidence on Indigenous risks) and establish a safe creative space to translate Indigenous priorities (such as land rights, culture shelf determination, and FPIC), specifically through the lens of financial materiality.

Financial Materiality and Indigenous Peoples

A new report by US SIF, First Peoples, and ImpactARC, Sustainable Indigenous Finance: Investors and Indigenous Peoples, found that investors often overlook the potential adverse impacts on Indigenous peoples that can then result in significant business risks — from supply chain disruptions to land tenure disputes — and hence, affect financial performance. Indigenous Peoples’ land constitutes 23% to 30% of the earth’s surface and contains vast natural resources such as 80% of the biodiversity[1], 50% of the inland waters, 36% of the large intact forests and vast amounts of the new transition minerals (over 50% of the lithium 70% of the nickel, copper)[2]. This reinforces the fact that Indigenous conflict isn’t just about the extractive sector — it now spans new transition minerals, natural resources, ecoservices, and clean energy.

Recent research by the Wharton ESG Initiative supports this thinking.  Wharton found that Indigenous Peoples’ rights — coupled with their natural assets — have been historically under-addressed by investors and are now impacting financial performance across the majority of sectors. The first-of-its-kind global research, titled ‘ESG Material Credit Events and Credit Risks’[3], quantified material risk events for 1,444 projects operating on or near Indigenous lands and found that companies incur 500% higher risk events than those operating elsewhere. Moreover, individual projects had an increased risk from 3 to 66 times higher than other company projects. In a further study, Wharton tracked the correlation to Indigenous Peoples’ conflict and potential material risk factors Research found that foreign direct investment (FDI) increases armed conflict across all sectors[4]. The meta-study looked at over 3,000 Indigenous conflicts and concluded that where both Indigenous lands and investments co-exist, an additional 6.7-armed conflict events can be expected in the following year.

In both studies Wharton also found that companies with poor Indigenous Peoples risk management also had low environmental and social performance ratings as well as higher financial risk. Investors are often analyzing these risks separately and overlooking their interconnectedness. Factors such as erratic weather patterns, water insecurity and the exponential increase in demand of goods and services should not be viewed in isolation as they are frequently correlated. Investors still looking at their portfolios as an aggregate of individual businesses without acknowledging the underlying correlated risks to their asset base may be mis-valuing their portfolios.

Washington, DC: The Sustainable Indigenous Finance Panel

The Sustainable Indigenous Finance Collaboration, curated by Rebecca Adamson, eponymous of the Wharton Rebecca Adamson Indigenous Peoples Risk Index and Advisor to the Wharton School-wide ESG Initiative, will be announced tentatively by Deb Haaland, former Secretary of Interior and candidate for New Mexico Governor, at the US SIF Annual Conference this summer.

The announcement will be followed by a panel of the foremost experts and Indigenous leaders for a conversation on how investors can support Indigenous priorities and investment opportunities along with a deep dive into the newest Indigenous ESG research and how to reduce portfolios volatility. The panel on “Sustainable Indigenous Finance” and the new report, Investors and Indigenous Peoples will launch on Friday, June 27th.

Esteemed Panelists will Include:

Mark Podlasly – Member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation in British Columbia, serves as Chief Executive Officer at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC). FNMPC is dedicated to protecting the environment and advocating for better benefits and equity positions in the projects on its members’ traditional territories. FNMPC project portfolio now exceeds a combined total capital cost over $45 billion.

Witold (Vit) Jerzy Henisz – Vice Dean and Faculty Director, the ESG Initiative Deloitte & Touche Professor of Management in Honor of Russell E. Palmer, former Managing Partner the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mark Trahant – Winner of the 2025 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence Nieman Foundation, Pulitzer Prize finalist for his reporting on Native Americans, PBS  Frontline reporter, Seattle Times columnist winner of the Society of Professional Journalists Award, former editorial page editor for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Chairman and CEO of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, Editor at Large of ICT and member the American Academy of Arts and Science.

 

Footnotes:

[1]  https://iwgia.org/en/news/3268-facts-indigenous-peoples

[2]  https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/stories/2024/we-cannot-ignore-the-tension

[3] Witold, J. Henisz, James McGlinch, ESG, Material Credit Events, and Credit Risk, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol 31 (2), 105-117 (2019). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jacf.12352

[4]  Henisz, W.J, Jamison A.S., & Tadmor D.  Indigenous Land Claims and Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence of Conflict Impacts from Geo-Spatial Media Event Data .Wharton, (2023)

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