Investing in companies that are adapting, transitioning and innovating around climate change can be an important part of mitigating some of its most harmful effects.

At the same time, it might also help your foundation meet its financial goals: research increasingly suggests that on average, corporations with stronger environmental policies may also exhibit stronger corporate performance.

In this session, we’ll talk about opportunities in climate change investing, while using case studies to show how foundations can apply them. The discussion will center on the following questions:

1. How can my foundation’s capital help address climate change?
Roughly $1.6 trillion per year through 2050 is needed for the world to stay at or below the threshold where the most dangerous effects of climate change from a mortality, biodiversity and GDP standpoint can be contained. We’ll walk through case studies that show how foundation investment portfolios that build climate awareness into their approach can help fill this gap in capital.

2. Is divestment the only option?
Historically, a common way to address climate change was through divestment, or the exclusion of traditional oil and gas stocks. But in the past several years, a variety of different approaches have emerged.

3. How do we measure success?
Climate change investing is about double-bottom lines: 1) the fiscal return and 2) the environmental impact. We’ll illustrate how we’ve worked with foundations to identify meaningful targets like reducing carbon footprints; limiting environmental waste; and aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, while also focusing on financial performance.

4. Why now?
One of the few silver linings from the last year is that our skies are the cleanest they’ve been in decades, with carbon emissions down 17% from 2019 to 2020. Yet, when vaccines are effectively distributed and human consumption returns to normal, so too may emissions.

Read the full article about how foundations can combat climate change at Exponent Philanthropy.