La philanthropie française, quels que soient les procédés employés (collectes publiques, legs, donations) ou les canaux utilisés (associations, fondations, mécénat direct), a longtemps été d’une importance modeste par rapport à celle des pays comparables. Plusieurs raisons expliquaient cette situation. Elles sont tout d’abord d’ordre historique et culturel. La quasi-omniprésence [...]

In the Netherlands, the debate around investments in weapons was fuelled by the ground-breaking documentary ‘The Cluster Bomb Feeling’ (freely translated) by ZEMBLA in 2007. It provided insight in Dutch pension funds’ investments in cluster weapons and anti-personnel landmines. Since then, institutional investors in the Netherlands are carefully monitored by [...]

Danone, the French dairy products and bottled water giant, is experimenting with the issuance of corporate bonds that would base part of their return on ESG (environment, social and governance) targets. But the company has put the project on hold because it says sustainability performance indicators are not yet robust [...]

Nanotechnology has silently transformed product design and innovation in a number of sectors. Today it can be found in a wide range of everyday products and packaging, from automobile tires to skin lotion. However, as with many emerging technologies, the potential benefits from nanotechnology are accompanied by emerging risks. Current understanding of the potential risks [...]

Symbiotics Closes Two Pioneer Deals with LOMC and MUCAP. Symbiotics, a leading microfinance investment services company, launched on Thursday December 16th Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise Bonds SA (MSME Bonds), an issuance platform based in Luxembourg dedicated to impact investing for institutional investors. Its two first bonds include a USD [...]

La philanthropie stratégique détrônera-t-elle la philanthropie traditionnelle? Ou la nouvelle philanthropie occulte-t-elle le poids et l’utilité de l’ancienne? Ces questions, un orfèvre en la matière, Jérôme Kohler, co-fondateur de la chaire philanthropique à l’Essec de Cergy-Pontoise, les pose sans ménagement dans le Rapport moral sur [...]

Ethical and socially responsible (SR) investors and funds, through their powerful growing presence, are increasingly succeeding in engaging companies in the process of improving their environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies and actions. And they are proving adept in getting governments and regulatory authorities on their side as well. However, for [...]

France’s largest trades union, the CFDT (French Democratic Confederation of Labour) has taken the novel step of signing up to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) as an asset owner, in a move that will see it integrate ESG factors into the management of its €350m financial reserves taken from membership fees. [...]