Capital Allocation and Transition Finance
The Canadian Sustainable Bond Market Report
Canada's sustainable bond market softened in 2025, with total issuance by value down roughly 30% year over year, while the global market held broadly steady. Canada’s market was dominated by public sector borrowers, and the primary use of proceeds was climate mitigation. Learn more with ISF’s annual analysis of market trends, and priority actions for policymakers and market participants to scale issuance and mobilize investment toward environmental and social progress.
The State of Canadian Cleantech Venture Capital Markets
A new ISF report reveals trends in funding for the technology startups that are key to Canadian innovation and climate goals, from early-stage development of nascent technologies such as nuclear fusion, to capital-intensive deployment for infrastructure such as EV charging. And it outlines policy considerations to better support the scaling and retention of domestic innovation.
The State of Private Impact Investing in Canada
ISF and Rally Assets collaborated to shed light on a growing Canadian private impact investing market with expanding investable opportunities. For asset owners, asset managers and other community partners, understanding where capital is allocated, how strategies evolve and where gaps remain is critical to scaling the market to support environmental and social priorities.
March 9: The continued and increasing ambition of climate-concerned asset owners
In the face of headline-grabbing pullbacks and withdrawals of climate ambition among some actors, a group of asset owners has continued and even increased climate investing commitments. In this session, they’ll share their rationale, and the approaches they are taking to achieve their goals.
Will financial markets follow Carney's lead?: Koskinen
Writing in The Globe and Mail, ISF Director of Research Yrjö Koskinen says the quiet of the markets has said more than the political applause about the chances for the Carney government's resource development agenda to succeed.
The Canadian Sustainable Bond Market Report: Second Edition
Sustainable bonds in Canada saw a strong rebound in 2024 with a record $US25.08 billion in total issuance, up 68.5% year over year. Learn more with ISF’s annual analysis of market growth, use of proceeds, sector breakdowns, and policy recommendations to accelerate the market and mobilize investment toward environmental and social progress.
Seizing the market opportunity in the global energy transition
This panel, including some of Canada’s leading investors, examined the impact of recent political and economic turbulence on sustainable investing, and discussed where the smart money is going toward climate action.
Understanding Voluntary Carbon Markets, Part 3
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
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.
Are investors liking corporate Canada’s ESG Tweets?
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.
Experts
Yrjö Koskinen
Director of Research, Institute for Sustainable Finance
Alison Taylor
ISF Research Fellow; Assistant Professor of Finance at Smith School of Business, Queen’s University
Paul Calluzzo
Associate Professor & Toller Family Fellow of Finance, Smith School of Business, Queen’s University
Kenneth S. Corts
ISF Research Fellow; Professor, Economic Analysis and Policy and Marcel Desautels Chair in Entrepreneurship, Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto
Fabio Moneta
ISF Research Fellow; Professor of Finance, Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa
Yingzhi Tang
Senior Research Associate, Institute for Sustainable Finance
Understanding Voluntary Carbon Markets, Part 2
The second report in a three-part series from ISF, CPA Canada and the International Federation of Accountants analyzes the use of voluntary carbon credits by corporate buyers, focusing on Canadian practices and global comparisons.
Understanding Voluntary Carbon Markets, Part 1
To better inform the heated debate over carbon markets, it is necessary to improve our understanding about how VCMs function, and how to critically assess the quality of a carbon credit. A new study, the first in a series by the Institute for Sustainable Finance, CPA Canada and the International Federation of Accountants, provides a crucial resource for existing and potential market participants.
Transition Finance
Transition finance enables capital to flow towards decarbonizing high-emitting sectors such as heavy industry and manufacturing, which are otherwise excluded in the mainstream green finance market. Despite growing regulator- and market-led efforts across the globe, it remains a common challenge to define credible transition investments.
Capital Mobilization Plan
This landmark research report provided a concrete, data-driven capital blueprint for Canada’s low-carbon transition. The Capital Mobilization Plan 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.