Publications Library

Sentiment and Sustainability

Since the 2024 presidential election, the United States has seen a nationwide shift in the political and regulatory environment surrounding ESG, but how do industry executives really view these changes? New ISF research examines the language of U.S. corporate filings and reveals divergent paths for management priorities on DEI and the environment.

ISF Analysis: Canadian Competition, Aussie Rules

Canada’s anti-greenwashing amendments to the Competition Act have caused confusion in the marketplace and litigation risk for firms. Australia’s approach could be a model for effective reforms to fight deceptive marketing, reduce litigation risk and support investment in climate action.

Canadian Corporate Performance on GHG Emissions, Disclosures and Target Setting: Fourth Edition

ISF has once again taken the pulse of climate commitments among S&P/TSX Composite Index companies, analyzing trends revealed by their GHG disclosures and net-zero targets. This year’s study is a critical resource for investors and public- and private-sector leaders alike.

From Ambition to Accountability

The latest ISF White Paper shows there has been a sharp rise in the use of environmental goals by corporations when they’re determining executive compensation, and the number and variety of such targets has increased. But there is still work to do to connect those incentives to real-world climate action.

Understanding Voluntary Carbon Markets

The final report in this series from ISF, CPA Canada and IFAC is based on in-depth interviews with key actors, including buyers, project developers, crediting programs and verification bodies — spanning the carbon credit value chain. These perspectives inform efforts to ensure quality credits and market integrity.

The Transition Finance Playbook: A practical guide for financial institutions

Financing the decarbonization of high-emitting sectors is crucial for meeting Canada’s national targets, but significant challenges persist. ISF and Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) collaborated with some of Canada’s largest asset managers to develop a practical guide for financial institutions to scale up transition finance, supporting real-world emissions reductions and aligning with their fiduciary duties to create long-term value for beneficiaries and clients.

Toxic Assets: Divestment of Polluting Firms’ Bonds by Institutional Investors

Pollution can cause serious harm to the environment and human health, and risk for investors. New research presented in this ISF Working Paper finds that institutional investors divest their holdings of polluters’ bonds following significant toxic release events.

Are investors liking corporate Canada’s ESG tweets?

New ISF research shows that more companies, particularly high-emitters, are taking to social media to promote positive news about their ESG performance. However, the most active posters of ESG messaging are not seeing the favourable cost of capital usually associated with strong ESG performance.

Canadian Sustainable Bond Market Report

A new ISF report studies the issuance of Green, Social, Sustainability, and Sustainability-Linked (GSS+) bonds by Canadian entities from 2014 to 2023. This research analyses market trends, issuer profiles, and allocation of proceeds. It also examines the challenges of green/transition-washing and proposes important policy recommendations to catalyze further market development.

The Wealth of Wetlands

Canada’s vast tracts of nature are a valuable asset that has not been properly accounted for. ISF researchers examined the natural services provided by wetlands in Canada and calculate that they contribute roughly $225-billion in value each year by filtering water and sequestering carbon, equal to around 10% of GDP. However, there is much more work to do to fully assess our economic dependence on nature and invest in its preservation.

Advancing Regenerative Agriculture in Canada

A new study from the Ivey Centre for Building Sustainable Value, supported with a Canadian Sustainable Finance Network Grant from ISF, examines the latest regenerative farming techniques and identifies barriers to investment in sustainable agriculture. The paper recommends a system-level change to position Canadian agri-food production to address the severe impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss on Canadian farms, and also contribute significantly to GHG emissions reductions and preserving natural assets.

Carbon Pricing: Necessary But Not Sufficient

Carbon prices around the world must rise quickly, and broader policies are needed to meet Paris targets and avoid the most severe costs associated with climate change, an ISF study finds.

Partial Disclosure: Assessing the state of physical and transition climate risk disclosure in Canada

The latest ISF study demonstrates that in aggregate, climate-related disclosures by Canadian companies are inadequate, both in terms of quantity and quality. This impedes the ability of financial institutions to properly price the opportunities and risks associated with climate change, which has significant consequences for Canadian competitiveness and the functioning of Canadian markets. The solutions are complex, but manageable if approached cooperatively, with clarity of intention, and with strong regulatory leadership and support.

A Closer Look at the GHG Protocol: Observations and Implications for Standards Setters and Regulators

The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol supplies the most commonly proposed and used national and global standard for companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions. But what the Protocol is and how its standard should be used are often misunderstood. A new report by the Institute for Sustainable Finance and CPA Canada finds that while the Protocol has been wildly successful, its expanded role in securities law requires a rethink. The Protocol makes a good start but it offers much more guidance than defined, prescriptive standards, and there is much work needed to provide companies with clear direction for the gathering and reporting of emissions data that will soon be required.

The State of Corporate Sustainability Data in Canada – Survey Results

A major reallocation of capital will be required to transition Canada to its goal of Net Zero carbon emissions. However, to make the decisions that will get us there, financial institutions, regulators, investors and other stakeholders will need quality information and data about corporate GHG emissions and climate risks. The Institute for Sustainable Finance recently surveyed researchers, investment professionals and academics to better understand the current state of sustainability data.

The Physical Costs of Climate Change, A Canadian Perspective

Canada is highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change. But until now, we haven’t had an effective assessment of the physical risks and the potential cost to Canada from loss of biodiversity, sea-level rise, and infrastructure damage due to fires and floods. ISF fills this void with a new report which finds the total value of capital output lost due to climate change under different scenarios. The costs range from $2.773-trillion with 2°C warming by the end of the century, to almost double that amount at $5.520-trillion under a 5°C warming scenario. The report also compares the investments required to fight climate change to the cost of global warming, and finds the additional physical risks associated with higher warming scenarios are larger than the required investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In other words, tackling climate change more than pays for itself in terms of avoided physical damage alone.

Changing Gears: Sustainable Finance Progress In Canada

ISF's latest report assesses Canada’s progress to scale sustainable finance and bolster Canadian competitiveness. The report uses the Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance’s 2019 recommendations as its starting point, and reveals that while progress has been made against the recommendations, Canada needs to move faster in aligning financial systems with a global low-carbon transition.

This report is available in English and French.

Capital Mobilization Plan

On September 29, 2020, the Institute for Sustainable Finance launched landmark research to provide a concrete, data-driven capital blueprint for Canada’s low carbon transition. The Capital Mobilization Plan for a Canadian Low Carbon Economy highlights that cooperation between the public sector, private sector, and financial system is critical to securing investments needed to meet Canada’s 2030 climate targets.

Green Finance: New Directions in Sustainable Finance Research & Policy

As we increasingly experience the physical impacts of climate change (flooding, extreme weather, forest fires), we will experience the financial impacts as well. The challenge for Canada is: how do we attract global investment while, at the same time, protecting Canadian assets, investors, and firms from risk in the context of climate change? In essence, this is what sustainable finance is about — harnessing our financial systems to help accelerate the activities, decisions, and structures that will put Canadian industries and our economy ahead of the curve.