The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates the financial services industry in the UK, estimates investment firms could save around £20 million ($41.6m) a year by replacing detailed product-level reports based on the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) with simpler, more targeted information.

"As part of being a smarter, more proportionate regulator, we're cutting complexity in our rules for asset managers, while keeping the focus on clear, useful information for investors," FCA director of wholesale buy-side Michelle Beck said.

"These proposals will make it easier for firms to communicate with their customers in ways that genuinely inform and engage them."

It is seeking views from asset managers, asset owners, trade bodies, and consumer groups to ensure the proposed rules work in practice and support growth.

In its review, FCA found that TCFD product reports were getting low engagement from retail investors while institutional investors can typically engage directly with firms to meet their specific information needs.

The FCA found while the rules have improved firms' awareness of climate risks, product-level reports are often seen as too complex by investors and not widely used.

"Firms thought that TCFD reporting has generally been helpful for raising awareness of climate risks in the market. However, they don't consider product-level TCFD reporting to be a useful climate risk management tool as they have their own ways of identifying and monitoring climate risks," FCA said.

"More broadly, firms encouraged us to consider international competitiveness given the cost of producing the reports and that investment products domiciled in other jurisdictions are not subject to these requirements."

FCA said the changes aim to give investors clearer insight into how climate risks, such as floods, storms and other extreme weather events, could affect investment performance, while reducing unnecessary costs to firms.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed government and R&D spending increased 1% to $4.4 billion in 2024-25 compared to 2022-23. However, when adjusted for inflation, expenditure declined 4% in real terms.

ABS head of business statistics Tom Lay said the increase represented the weakest growth in government R&D spending since 2018-19.

"This 1% increase in government R&D expenditure is the lowest since 2018-19, when it grew 2%," Lay said.

Government spending on R&D as a proportion of gross domestic product also slipped, falling from 0.17% in 2022-2023 to 0.16% in 2024-25.

Environmental sciences recorded the largest increase in funding, rising $224 million, or 55%, to becoming the leading field for research expenditure across government organisations. The sector overtook biomedical and clinical sciences, which saw spending increase by $78 million, or 14%.

"We are continuing to see rises in spending towards environmental related R&D. Growth in in this area aligns with government investment to promote renewable technologies aimed at reducing carbon emissions under the Net Zeror Plan," Lay said.

Meanwhile, spending fell sharply in several other disciplines. Information and computing sciences recorded the largest decline, down $112 million, or 25%, while agricultural, veterinary and food sciences fell $67 million, or 11%.

At the jurisdictional level, Commonwealth government R&D expenditure declined 1% to $2.8 billion, while state and territory government spending increased 3% to $1.6 billion.

"At the Commonwealth level, R&D spending focused mainly on defence and environmental management. At the state and territory level, R&D spending was directed mainly toward health," Lay said,

The figures highlight a shifting research landscape as governments prioritise environmental and climate related initiatives despite overall R&D investment losing ground in real terms.

The launch of the Global Landscape Opportunities (GLO) strategy offers investments across forestry, agriculture, and complementary markets such as carbon and biodiversity.

It will be established in Luxembourg for opportunities across North America, Europe, Australia-New Zealand, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa.

The GLO strategy will invest across a broad spectrum of natural capital assets, including sustainable forestry assets, agricultural land and food production systems, carbon and climate-related investments, and biodiversity and ecosystem markets, New Forests said.

New Forests chief executive Mark Rogers said the launch is in response to growing investor demand for institutional-grade, global allocations to natural capital.

"The launch of our Global Landscape Opportunities strategy marks a significant step in the evolution of New Forests as a global natural capital investment manager," he said.

"We are seeing strong investor demand for scalable, institutional strategies that provide diversified exposure to natural capital.

"Natural capital is increasingly recognised as a core component of resilient portfolios, offering the potential for long-term returns while supporting critical outcomes such as climate stability, biodiversity and sustainable land use."

Meanwhile, global head of investments David Shelton said the capital markets increasingly recognise the role of land-based assets to provide returns and diversification.

"Historically, many investors have accessed natural capital through regional allocations, but not all institutions have the scale, resources or expertise to build and manage global portfolios themselves," Shelton said.

"Building on New Forests' regional return performance, this strategy allows investors to access a diversified global portfolio where we actively allocate capital across regions, sectors and markets to optimise outcomes."

The target audience for GLO is institutional investors including pension and super funds, insurance companies, family offices, endowments and foundations, New Forests said.

The report by RIAA notes private markets, spanning private equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure are attracting greater attention from investors. This is due to their potential to deliver diversification, differentiated returns and access to opportunities not available through public markets.

While responsible investment (RI) approaches such as ESG integration, stewardship, thematic investing and impact investing are common in listed markets, the report argues private markets offer unique advantages because investors often have greater influence over assts and management decisions.

"One of the most effective ways of implementing RI in private markets is through engagement," the report said.

Unlike public market investors, private markets managers frequently hold direct operational control or significant influence over assets, enabling them to implement sustainability initiatives more directly and create long-term value.

The report highlighted RI could help private market investors manage climate, governance and social risks while identifying new growth opportunities, improving operational efficiency and strengthening business resilience.

It also warned that ESG risks can be magnified in private markets due to the long-term and illiquid nature of many assets.

"As critical assets for companies or essential infrastructure for society, their physical nature means they are often carbon-intensive and exposed to both physical and transition risks over long time horizons," the report said.

Several case studies were cited as examples of RI in action.

These included Australian Ethical investment's Growth Opportunities Fund, which had secured more than $700 million in commitments and invests in themes such as decarbonisation, digitalisation and demographic change. Early investments include electric bus infrastructure in India and innovative ages care developments in Australia.

The report also highlighted Kilter Rural's Murray Darling Basin Balanced Water Fund, which combines commercial water investments with environmental restoration projects, and Nuveen's Nature Positive Farming Initiative which links farmland productivity with biodiversity, water management and emissions reductions outcomes.

RIAA's latest fact sheet notes while the principals underpinning responsible investment are broadly consistent across public and private markets, private assets offer investors additional tools to drive measurable environmental, social and financial outcomes through long term stewardship and active ownership.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly emerging as a defining force in the global economy. It is already accelerating progress in many industries including climate modelling, agriculture and healthcare.

At the same time, its expansion is driving demand for energy-intensive data centres, increasing pressure on electricity systems, emissions and water use. It is also raising issues around labour displacement, bias and misinformation, data privacy and market concentration.

This tension is the crux of the ethical AI debate.

For investors, the challenge is no longer whether to invest in AI but whether it can be done in a way that aligns with responsible investment principles.

AI and sustainability: Two sides of the same coin

Much of the debate around AI and sustainability has centred on its environmental footprint.

Training and operating large models require significant computational power. The data centres supporting this infrastructure consume vast amounts of electricity and depend on advanced cooling systems. The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects demand from AI and data centres to quadruple by 2030.

While these concerns are well-founded, they capture only one side of the equation. AI is emerging as a tool to improve efficiency across high-emissions sectors. It is being used to optimise electricity grids and integrate renewables, enhance industrial processes and reduce energy intensity and improve building energy management. AI is both a consumer of energy and a potential enabler of decarbonisation. AI's impact will depend on how it is deployed and the nature of the energy systems supporting it.

For investors, AI is not a single, homogenous theme but a layered ecosystem. Its environmental and social implications vary significantly depending on where a company operates within that ecosystem.

Mapping the AI value chain: Where do the ethical risks and opportunities sit?

In our view, the environmental risks of AI are concentrated primarily in the infrastructure layers, while social and governance risks sit closer to the end user. We believe that a layered structure provides a more nuanced way to approach the AI theme. Rather than treating AI as a binary decision, this allows investors to differentiate between parts of the ecosystem based on their risk profile and potential for positive impact.

Semiconductor companies such as Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) form the backbone of this ecosystem. Their key environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations centre on supply chain resilience as well as the energy and water intensity of manufacturing. These companies may be one step removed from how AI is deployed but they are not fully insulated from its downstream impacts.

The use of their products contributes to the overall energy demand of AI systems and may be reflected in Scope 3 emissions [indirect greenhouse gas emissions occurring across an organisation's value chain, for which it is not directly responsible nor directly controls], even if these impacts are not directly controlled and are harder to measure.

The layer following semiconductors is the cloud infrastructure layer, where hyperscale providers deliver the computing power required to scale AI. This is where the environmental footprint is most concentrated. As adoption accelerates, this layer is likely to drive incremental demand and offer the greatest opportunity for efficiency gains and renewable energy integration.

At the model layer, developers such as OpenAI and Anthropic sit at the centre of governance and societal risks such as safety, misuse, bias, misinformation and transparency. Software and platform companies that embed AI into products and services used by businesses and consumers sit at the application layer. This is where social impact and the real-world benefits of AI become most visible.

Playing AI through an ethical lens: Choosing the right parts of the value chain

So how does this translate into portfolio construction?

In our view, playing AI ethically is less about avoidance and more about directing exposure toward parts of the value chain where risks are more manageable and outcomes better align with sustainability objectives.

This often begins with the infrastructure layer. Companies such as Nvidia are at the core of the ecosystem, providing the computational power for AI. While AI growth has increased overall energy demand, successive graphics processing unit (GPU) generations have improved performance per watt, reducing overall energy use.

Beyond chip design, Nvidia is also advancing system-level efficiency through software optimisation and accelerated computing, alongside broader sustainability initiatives across its operations and supply chain.

Further upstream, ASML plays a critical role in enabling advanced semiconductor manufacturing. While chip fabrication is energy and water intensive, ASML is increasing material circularity and working with customers to reduce energy use per wafer [a thin slice of semiconductor material used in manufacturing microchips]. It is also setting emission reduction targets and system-level improvements that can scale across the supply chain.

At the application layer, Salesforce and Adobe are embedding AI into enterprise and creative platforms with a strong emphasis on governance. Salesforce has established an Office of Ethical and Humane Use of Technology and introduced its Einstein Trust Layer to support data privacy, transparency and safe use of generative AI. Adobe has integrated responsible AI principles across its product suite, with a focus on content authenticity, attribution.

The common thread across these examples is not the absence of risk, but that these companies operate in areas where risks are more measurable and are open to engagement.

Responsible AI and engagement: The ethical investor's edge

While selecting the right companies is an important part of playing the AI theme responsibly, it is only part of the equation. Investors are increasingly thinking about where to invest and how companies are developing and deploying AI responsibly.

The CSIRO's Responsible AI framework provides a practical foundation for investor engagement on AI governance and responsible use in Australia. It outlines how organisations can identify and manage risks such as fairness, accountability, transparency, privacy and safety; encouraging governance, impact assessments and controls across the AI lifecycle.

A framework such as this enables more structured engagement. Rather than broad discussions, investors can focus on governance, oversight and risk management, including how companies address bias, misinformation and misuse, and how real-world impacts are assessed and monitored.

Given AI's rapid evolution, this process of continuous dialogue between investors and companies is essential.

Is there an ethical way to play AI?

AI is at the intersection of the most powerful forces shaping markets today, from energy systems and labour dynamics to data, geopolitics and technological concentration. As a result, it does not lend itself to simple labels of 'ethical' or 'unethical' in the way traditional sectors might.

For investors, the implication is clear. As AI continues to evolve, ongoing dialogue between investors and companies will play a central role.

Outcomes will depend not just on exposure, but on how that exposure is understood and managed over time. Looking through the value chain, assessing environmental and societal impacts, and engaging on responsible AI practices, will be critical to navigating both the risks and opportunities.

In that sense, the ethical way to play AI is not a fixed answer, but a moving target. It requires a process that evolves alongside the technology itself, adapting to new risks, new opportunities and new expectations. And in a theme evolving as quickly as this, that process may matter more than the starting point.

First Sentier MUFG Sustainable Investment Institute director Sudip Hazra said one big gaps they found was in the understanding of financial materiality and portfolio impact of ocean themes.

The framework breaks down these risks including degradation threats such as storms and sea level rise, operational risks such as supply chain disruptions, transition risks as well as reputational risks for consumer-facing business models.

"In the framework we come up with items where a portfolio manager or any kind of investor could look at those risks, help to apply those risks to their portfolio, and really come up with specific outcomes and engagement questions to be able to evaluate and act on those risks better," Hazra said.

Hazra noted we are all getting a free subsidy in terms of natural climate regulation from the ocean and it is not going to be free if we don't maintain it.

"First of all, we would want investors to understand the dependencies within their portfolio holdings on oceans. Secondly, the impacts are obviously very important. What impacts are their companies actually having on the ocean?" he said.

Hazra emphasised investors shouldn't feel overwhelmed by this as something brand new that they have to start from scratch.

"We think there's a lot in investment methodologies around sustainability that already can potentially build in oceans and really requires the extension of current work to extend to oceans as a thematic," he said.

Hazra said the report is broad and specific in its approach with a section being sector agnostic and designed to be top down, where investors can look at the issues regardless of their specific sector or even asset class.

It also identifies ocean dependent sectors such as fisheries, aquaculture, marine transportation, tourism and offshore oil and gas and risks to them.

In terms of adoption, Hazra said one blocker could be psychological.

"I think one of the first blockers is perhaps psychological and sustainable investors already have so much on their plate. One objection might be whether a sustainable investor has resources that they perceive are needed to handle a topic like this," he said.

"One thing we would emphasise is that you don't actually need to be an expert on oceans to be able to integrate it."

The platform, expected to launch in the second half of the year, will be jointly controlled by Mitsubishi HC Capital and Brookfield, where the latter will be responsible for the operational aspect. Future asset acquisitions will be subject to approval from both entities, with each contributing on a pro rata basis, they said.

The seed portfolio comprises approximately 570 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity diversified across the UK, Spain, Sweden, Finland, France and Ireland, with an equity value of about $658 million (€400m).

The assets are under long-term power purchase agreements, which have a weighted average remaining term of approximately 10 years, they said. Collectively, the assets offer a "highly stabilised" cash flow profile amid strong downside protection and resilience across market cycles.

The platform is also evaluating potential future acquisitions of additional renewable energy assets in Australia, including onshore wind, utility-scale solar and battery energy storage facilities.

Brookfield's Energy Group deputy chief investment officer Ignacio Paz-Ares said: "We are pleased to partner with Mitsubishi HC Capital to launch a scaled renewable energy platform anchored by a diversified seed portfolio of high-quality operating assets."

"With the potential to deploy significant additional capital into a pipeline of renewable power assets, the platform is well positioned for growth across Europe and Australia."

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi HC Capital general manager and senior corporate officer Hayato Shinada said the initiative is well aligned with the business' portfolio strategy.

"By combining Mitsubishi HC Capital's financial and investment expertise with Brookfield's asset management capabilities, we will build and scale our business platform to deliver reliable and sustainable operations," he said.

"In addition, we will leverage expertise in development and operations gained through our broader European renewable energy partners, including European Energy A/S. As the importance of renewable energy continues to grow, particularly from an energy security perspective, we will leverage our European platform to expand globally and pursue growth opportunities, driving long-term value creation."

New Zealand's bipartisan Modern Slavery Bill passed its first reading in April 2026 and is currently under review by the Education and Workforce Select Committee.

The signatories noted New Zealand's key trading partners including the UK, Canada and Australia already have modern slavery laws in place while several others have adopted or are considering forced labour import bans.

"Failure to introduce appropriate modern slavery legislation carries significant risk. As our trading partners tighten their due diligence and enforce import bans on goods made with forced labour, Aotearoa New Zealand risks damaging international business relations and emerging as a soft entry point for risky goods," the signatories said.

"Appropriate legislation provides the clarity and consistency needed to support this work, creating a level playing field to ensure all businesses are required to meet these standards."

The 32 signatories represent institutional investors and New Zealand businesses accounting for more than NZ$324 billion ($268bn).

"The undersigned, representing a strong cross section of the private sector, support a legislative response to modern slavery. We urge political collaboration to ensure passage of new laws without undue delay and look forward to supporting the progression and implementation of this regime," the signatories said.

Australian Human Rights Institute director Justine Nolan recently said while the current Australian Modern Slavery Act raises awareness in educating people on the problem but falls short in following through and being effective. She noted it is about ticking a box and getting the processes in place rather than being impact or outcome focused.

An assessment by Monash Centre for Financial Studies on Australian reporting standards also found that while more companies are complying with reporting requirements and the quality of compliance is improving, companies continue to have inadequate due diligence, poor supply chain descriptions and modern slavery risks identification.

The ASX-listed building products manufacturer released its Q1FY26 results on 20 August 2025 while also downgrading its FY26 guidance. Following the release, its share price declined by approximately 34%, wiping billions of dollars from its market capitalisation.

It first provided its FY26 guidance on the ASX on 21 May 2025.

The class action alleges James Hardie knew its performance was deteriorating well before 20 August 2025 but failed to update the market.

The proceedings have been brought by anyone who acquired James Hardie shares between 21 May 2025 and 19 August 2025. The investigation is being led by Slater and Gordon and has been filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The proceeding is likely to allege that James Hardie engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and breached its continuous disclosure obligations, in contravention of relevant sections of the Corporations Act 2001 and ASX listing rules.

Jamies Hardie said it considers it has at all times complied with the disclosure requirements, denies any liability and will vigorously defend the proceedings.

Last year, the firm was also under fire over a $14 billion deal to acquire US-based Azek. A deal that was done without an investor vote, leading to backlash from other major investors including AustralianSuper, UniSuper, Aware Super and HESTA.

This led the ASX to launch a review into shareholder approval requirements for mergers and takeovers of listed companies undertaking a significant transaction.

The partnership forms part of ANZ's 10-year Australian First Nations Strategy, dubbed Fuelling the Fire, to invest in First Nations-led financial education and wellbeing initiatives that support economic self-determination, the bank said.

Over the two-year partnership, the foundation's in-person community outreach will expand, ANZ said, and is expected to support hundreds more First Nations people nationally to build financial capability, confidence and pathways to improved financial outcomes.

First Nations customers will also gain access to culturally grounded financial education, through the foundation's My Money Dream and My Business Dream programs.

Additionally, over the period, ANZ staff will receive cultural competency training to better understand First Nations peoples' unique relationships and struggles with money, ANZ said.

ANZ head of First Nations strategy Shelley Cable said investments in First Nations-led solutions remain crucial for the group.

"Our shared ambition with First Nations Foundation is to invest in First Nations people to become financially empowered and confident," Cable said.

"This will create greater choice, opportunity and self-determination for First Nations people, customers and communities."

The collaboration builds on the success of First Nations Foundation's Financial Wellness Outreach initiative, which has already helped reconnect First Nations people with more than $31 million in lost superannuation since 2016.

First Nations Foundation chief executive Leah Bennett added: "By choosing to partner with First Nations Foundation, ANZ is not just supporting a program or a project, they're investing in community-led solutions, cultural strength and long-term change. Self-determination is central to how we lead and design our work."

"Our communities know what's best for us, and we're at our strongest when we're backed by the trust, leadership and support of partners like ANZ."

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of ASX300 boards now have 38% female representation, marking meaningful progress on gender diversity, according to the latest BDI, which was compiled by Watermark Search International, the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and Deloitte. The proportion of female board members steadily rose from 36% in 2024 to 37% last year.

The share of boards with equal gender representation climbed to 21%, while all-male boards fell sharply to just 1.4% in 2026 from 4.3% in 2024. A minority (14%) of boards currently have one woman or none.

The 12th annual report also found women hold 38% of board seats, up one percentage point on last year.

AICD chief executive Mark Rigotti said the findings reflect mixed progress.

"Progress on gender diversity has continued, with women holding a growing share of board seats and fewer all male boards than ever before. That progress did not happen by chance. It reflects sustained attention by boards, investors and the broader governance community, and it shows that change is possible when intent is maintained over time," he said.

In terms on ethnicity and Indigenous representation, the BDI highlights a deterioration in cultural and ethnic diversity. Participation by Indigenous directors has fallen - now holding only five positions, down from seven.

Directors from non-Anglo-Celtic backgrounds account for 6.5% of board seats, while representation of international directors also declined. One quarter (24% down from 29%) are from outside Australia. The top three representations come from North America (47.5% up from 37.4%), the UK (16.4% up from 14%) and New Zealand (15.6% down from 24%).

"At the same time, momentum is slower in other areas. Representation of directors from culturally diverse backgrounds remains limited, and participation by Indigenous Australians and other under-represented groups is still very low," Rigotti said.

"These results invite boards to look beyond the current snapshot and consider whether existing approaches to skills matrices, succession planning and search practices are sufficiently broad for the challenges ahead."

The BDI also pointed to gaps in other aspects of diversity. Only one additional director identified as LGBTQ+, while no board members reported having a disability.

Data overload or data goldmine? Investors race to decode nature's signals

Question:

How can geospatial tools help investors move from climate risk mapping to nature risk management, and what does this mean for investment decisions?

Answer:

Geospatial data, like satellite imagery and sensor data, has moved from being a reporting tool to a strategic asset for investors. According to Josh Gilbert, head of geospatial strategy, ISS STOXX Sustainability, the challenge is no longer data starvation but "data digestion": translating abundant, complex environmental data into clear, actionable financial insights. Sectors with tangible assets (like mining, real estate, and infrastructure) are most directly impacted, but as supply chains and nature risks become more visible, all asset classes are affected. The investors who learn to integrate geospatial and nature data into their decision-making will gain a competitive edge.

Why it matters:

For investors, this shift means that understanding climate and nature risks is no longer optional or just a compliance exercise. The ability to interpret and act on geospatial data will increasingly drive portfolio resilience, risk management, and even alpha generation. Those who treat nature and climate data as core investment signals, not just pretty dashboards, will be better positioned in a volatile, changing world.

Sources:

• Josh Gilbert, head of geospatial strategy, ISS Stoxx Sustainability

• Michelle Baltazar, executive director of media, FS Sustainability

• European Space Agency, SustGlobal, Responsible Investing Association Australia

• Industry frameworks: TCFD, IFRS, SASB

Timestamps:

00:00 Data digestion vs data starvation

01:15 Guest background: from economics to geospatial strategy

03:22 Why investors struggle with climate and nature risk

04:59 How geospatial data moves from reporting to real investment insight

06:22 Sectors most impacted by climate and nature risk

08:44 Misconceptions: dashboards vs actionable metrics

10:53 Nature risk management: real-world examples

12:32 The next decade: AI, numeric models, and financial integration

15:32 Competitive edge for early adopters

16:56 Final thoughts and wrap-up

We record on Gadigal land and we pay our respects to the traditional custodians of country and elders past and present.

https://www.fssustainability.com.au/

*Both FS Sustainability and ISS STOXX Sustainability are owned by ISS STOXX.

In a report, Out of Gas: Managing the decline of gas in Australia, the Grattan Institute argues governments have avoided difficult decisions about the long-term future of gas despite Australia's commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Speaking on the Grattan Institute podcast, energy program director Alison Reeve said gas use was already falling across households, industry and electricity generation, but not quickly enough to meet climate targets.

"We have to start grappling with the reality that gas is not going to last forever," Reeve said.

The report warns that while renewable gases, hydrogen and carbon capture technologies will play a role in reducing emissions, they will not be sufficient to sustain current levels of gas consumption.

"What that points you towards is we need to reduce the amount of gas that we're using," Reeve said.

Grattan said governments should provide clearer long-term signals, including setting phase out pathways for household gas use and better coordinating planning between gas and electricity networks

The report highlights the risk of a "death spiral" for gas networks as more consumers electrify, leaving fewer users to shoulder the fixed costs of maintaining pipeline infrastructure.

"The worry is that you could get into a situation with completely unmanageable gas bills for some people," Reeve said adding that vulnerable households could be disproportionately affected if governments fail to manage the transition.

The Grattan Institute also said policymakers need to rethink the future role of gas fired generation. While batteries are increasingly replacing gas for short term grid support, Reeve said gas would still be needed during prolonged periods of low renewable output.

"We know we're going to need it, and we know that there's going to be times when you get that two-week period in winter where its cloudy and its cold," she said.

Beyond domestic consumption, the report argues Australia should prepare for a gradual decline in its liquefied natural gas export industry as global decarbonisation efforts accelerate and international buyers reduce demand.

"We need to make sure that we are getting the best value that we can out of having an LNG export sector at the moment," Reeve said.

The report calls for governments to better integrate gas and electricity planning while ensuring taxpayers are not left carrying future rehabilitation costs from ageing gas infrastructure.

Cracking the code: Using nature data to understand the impact of the ASX200 assessed the nature-related impacts and dependencies of Australia's ASX200 companies, drawing on data from three widely used assessment tools GIST Impact, MSCI, and S&P to provide a comparative view of nature-related impacts.

The impact by the sectors is driven primarily by greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and land use pressures.

The report noted sectors that appear to have lower impact when assessed on direct operations alone such as financials, IT and consumer staples, often exert significant influence on nature.

This can be through capital allocation, energy and water demand, and global value chains that can create impacts on ecosystems far from the physical footprint of a company, the report said.

"These impacts are currently difficult to capture using existing datasets but represent a growing source of unpriced risk for investors," the report read.

However, the report noted while there are significant gaps in the data available to assess nature-related impacts, these gaps should not justify inaction.

"The direction of risk is clear, and evidence across multiple datasets supports consistent sector level conclusions," the report read.

"Differences between tools primarily reflect methodological limitations, particularly the partial treatment of supply chain and financed impacts, rather than disagreement about the sectors in which nature-related risks are concentrated."

Where data is limited in understanding the individual company impacts, the report encouraged engagement for better company-level understanding using the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework.

"Investors can use capital allocation, system stewardship and company-specific engagement to address systemic and company-specific nature-related risks," the report read.

"Investors can use data from assessment tools and company reporting to identify drivers of nature loss, and the investors' points of leverage to address those key drivers."

The third guide in the series, Asking Better Questions on Nature, targets chief financial officers, providing a practical framework to assess how dependencies on nature could materially impact the financial performance, valuation and long-term strategy of their companies.

In using the guide, CFOs can integrate nature-related considerations across risk management, capital allocation, financial planning and performance management.

It helps CFOs keep in mind that business activities do contribute to nature loss, degrades nature's capacity to provide the inputs businesses across sectors need from it.

The guide also highlights the risks arising from a company's impacts and dependencies on nature can include stranded assets, disruption to operations, higher production costs, increased insurance premiums and reduced asset values.

TNFD chief executive Tony Goldner said nature has quickly moved from a corporate social responsibility and compliance issue to a strategic risk and opportunity management imperative.

He added that CFOs must now understand how the resilience of cash flows of their business depend on nature's flow of essential inputs into their operations and business model.

A4S executive chair Jessica Fries pointed to research indicating that 85% of companies in the S&P Global 1200 have significant dependencies on nature within their direct operations.

"[Therefore], gaining a better understanding of nature-related risks and opportunities, impacts and dependencies, is critical," she said.

The guide presents 11 questions for CFOs to consider on how nature-related information and insights can be integrated into financial and risk management processes. It also outlines the information they should look for in materials and recommendations prepared by their teams, helping them prepare for increasing scrutiny from boards, investors and other stakeholders.

Last year, the TNFD released similar guides for board directors and asset owner investment committees.

King Charles established A4S in 2004 with the aim of helping finance leaders adopt sustainable and resilient business models by giving them the tools to embed environmental and social risks directly into economic decision-making.

BDO's Global Risk Landscape 2026 report said Australian organisations are grappling with a risk environment where geopolitical instability, cyber threats, artificial intelligence and regulatory pressures increasingly overlap.

It found that 83% of business leaders believe risks are becoming increasingly interconnected and complex, while 89% said they now consider the interdependencies between risks when assessing threats.

Meanwhile, more than half of business leaders (52%) said they find it difficult to distinguish meaningful risk signals from background noise, while 55% said short-term operational pressures frequently override long-term risk planning.

Commenting, BDO Australia risk advisory partner Michael Hill said the findings highlighted a growing disconnect between the way risks emerge and the way many organisations continue to manage them.

"Risk is no longer a series of isolated events that can be managed within individual functions," Hill said.

"Geopolitical disruption, cyber threats, regulatory change and emerging technologies increasingly interact with one another. This means organisations need a clearer understanding of how these risks connect and what that means for decision-making across the business."

Hill said many organisations are still managing risk through disconnected functions, despite threats increasingly cutting across every part of the business.

"Risk doesn't arrive neatly packaged anymore," he said.

"A geopolitical event can become a supply chain issue, a cyber issue, a regulatory issue and ultimately a financial issue. Organisations that continue to assess those risks in isolation will struggle to respond quickly enough."

Businesses best placed to navigate uncertainty would be those that embed risk ownership more broadly across leadership teams, rather than leaving it solely to specialist risk functions, he added.

"Half of the business leaders surveyed said they believe risk information remains siloed across departments, while only nine per cent described their risk management approach as very proactive," Hill continued.

"This creates an environment where those best placed to navigate uncertainty will be those that embed risk ownership more broadly across leadership teams and operational functions."

The Lonsec Investment Governance Solution (IGS), which is integrated into the research house's iRate platform, is designed to centralise governance monitoring by bringing together fund ratings changes, performance trends, fee movements and other investment signals into a single reporting framework.

The launch comes as governance obligations across advice, superannuation and platform businesses continue to evolve, placing greater emphasis on demonstrating robust and defensible investment decision making processes.

Lonsec executive Lorraine Robinson said investment governance has become a critical focus across the financial services industry.

"Across advice licensees, platforms and trustees, expectations around governance have never been higher," Robinson said.

"Advisers and clients want to know that investment options are being monitored and accountability. The Lonsec Investment Governance Solution provides the framework and transparency that supports better decision making and greater confidence at every level," she said.

The solution seeks to address a common challenge for governance teams which continue to rely on spreadsheets and fragmented monitoring processes to oversee investment menus and approved product lists.

According to Lonsec, the platform creates a structured audit trail that enables organisations to document how investment decisions are reached and monitored over time.

Lonsec head of sales Anna Schofield said recent events across the financial services sector had heightened awareness of governance responsibilities.

"With recent high-profile failings in our industry, the focus on investment governance has intensified and the obligation on those who manage APLs and investment menus in particular has become clearer," Schofield said.

"By embedding governance signals directly within iRate, the Lonsec Investment Governance Solution gives investment teams and advisers greater clarity and confidence in decision making, with a clear and defensible record of how and why decisions were made," she said.

The solution is targeted at advice licensee, investment committees, trustees and platform operators seeking to strengthen governance frameworks while reducing the administrative burden associated with ongoing investment monitoring.

Lonsec said the offering builds on its existing research capability, which covers more than 1900 investment products and is supported by a local research team focused on the Australian market.

The move reflects growing industry demand for governance tools that can help firms evidence oversight processes as regulators place increasing emphasis on accountability, transparency and member outcomes.

The review examined 26 sustainability reports lodged by Group 1 entities under the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (AASB S2), which required companies to disclose how climate-related risks and opportunities could affect their financial performance and long-term resilience.

While the findings suggest large organisations are investing heavily in climate risk assessment, much of that analysis is not making its way into public disclosures.

Finity principal Sharanjit Paddam said the first reporting cycle demonstrated a strong commitment to meeting the new requirements but also highlighted inconsistencies in how companies approached disclosure.

"Reviewing these first reports has provided a real opportunity to understand how some of our largest corporations are interpreting and applying the detailed requirements of AASB S2," Paddam said.

"The analytical rigour is clearly there. What we expect to see develop over successive reporting cycles is greater confidence in translating that internal work into public disclosure," Paddam said.

The analysis found that 24 of the 26 entities reviewed voluntarily conducted climate scenario analysis, despite it not being explicitly required under the framework. Around 70% modelled three or more scenarios, exceeding the mandatory minimum of two.

However, while companies were undertaking increasingly sophisticated climate modelling internally, disclosure of the results remained limited. Most organisations published high-level quantitative assessments, with only a handful attempting to directly connect climate impacts to financial statements.

Finity's review also uncovered wide variations in the time horizons companies used to assess climate risks. Some organisations defined "long term" as little as five years, while others assessed impacts over 25 years or more, creating challenges for investors seeking to compare disclosures across sectors.

The divergence was particularly evident among resource companies, where reporting horizons ranged from five to 25 years despite operating within the same regulatory framework.

Transition plan disclosures also varied considerably. Some companies revised or scaled back emissions reduction commitments previously made through voluntary reporting channels, reflecting heightened scrutiny around target setting and greenwashing risks.

Paddam said organisations yet to enter the reporting regime should view climate disclosures as more than a compliance obligation.

"This is not a set and forget exercise, and Group 2 and Group 3 entities who treat it as a strategic planning tool rather than a compliance exercise will find it delivers value well beyond the report itself," Paddam said.

Under Australia's phased implementation timetable, Group 2 and Group 3 entities will begin reporting under the mandatory climate disclosures regime from 2027 and 2028 respectively.

The report, Societal Infrastructure Blueprint: A Roadmap for Pension Funds, argues retirement funds already generate significant social benefits beyond providing retirement incomes, but often fail to recognise, measure or communicate that value.

Developed by a working group comprising almost 20 pension fund leaders globally, the framework outlines how funds can strengthen their contribution to member wellbeing and broader economic resilience while remaining firmly anchored to their fiduciary duties.

The report arrives as pension systems face mounting pressure from aging populations, growing inequality and changing member expectations. According to the blueprint, the global population aged over 65 is expected to exceed 1.6 billion by 2050, while infrastructure investment gaps in areas such as housing, healthcare and education are forecast to reach US$15 trillion by 2040.

With pension funds collectively managing more than US$56 trillion in assets worldwide, the report positions the sector as uniquely placed to help address these challenged through its long-term investment horizon scale.

"Understanding how pension funds build social infrastructure is especially important now, as aging populations and rising inequality are starting to strain public systems, and evolving member expectations challenge existing pension models," Working Group co-plead Gareth Gibbins said.

"This Blueprint gives pension funds a practical, structured path to recognize that role, act on it, and measure it, without stepping outside their fiduciary mandate."

The framework is built around three stages. The first encourages funds to identify and communicate the broader benefits they already deliver, including reducing elder poverty, improving health outcomes and supporting social cohesion.

The second stage focuses on optimal initiatives that can deepen social impact, including investments in affordable housing, healthcare infrastructure and education alongside expanded member services such as financial literacy programs and wellness support.

The final stage centres on measuring outcomes through tools such as social return on investment and wellbeing valuation frameworks, enabling funds to quantify and report their broader social contribution.

The report argues stronger measurement and disclosure will improve transparency, strengthen member trust and help funds demonstrate their value to policymakers and stakeholders.

Drawing on case studies from Denmark, Singapore, Canada and Australia, the blueprint concludes social impact should not be viewed as an adjunct to pension fund activity, but as a natural extension of the sector's core purpose of delivering long term financial security and societal stability.

Munro said the move expands access to a strategy focused on companies positioned to benefit from the global decarbonisation trend.

The fund, which is available through NZX Wealth Technologies and Consilium Wrap, invests in a concentrated portfolio of global equities across four themes: clean energy, clean transportation, the circular economy and energy efficiency.

The strategy was initially launched as a wholesale fund in New Zealand in March 2025 through a partnership between GSFM and Munro Partners. Since launch, it has grown to NZ$71.82 million and delivered a return of 70.4% net of fees in the 13 months to 30 April 2026.

GSFM chief executive Damien McIntyre said the fund offers investors exposure to one of the most significant long term, structural shifts underway in global markets.

"As global capital markets continue to shift towards sustainability and thematic investing, the Fund will become increasingly relevant," McIntyre said.

"Having the support and seeding from KiwiSaver providers, Aurora Capital and SBS Wealth has strengthened our ability to deliver these products to New Zealand investors," he said.

The move comes as asset managers continue to develop products tied to energy transition and climate related investment opportunities, despite growing scrutiny around sustainable investing claims globally.

Munro Partners' Climate Leaders strategy seeks to identify companies expected to either enable or benefit from decarbonisation, reflecting a thematic approach that focuses on long term growth drivers rather than traditional sector allocations.

GSFM said demand from wholesale investors has supported the fund's growth since launch prompting the expansion into the retail market.

McIntyre said the firm was also assessing whether additional investment strategies could be introduced to address gaps in the New Zealand market.

"The GSFM team is reviewing its other existing strategies, as well as assessing new ones, to determine which will be suitable to fill in an investment gap for New Zealand investors," McIntyre said.

The fund is managed and issued by Adminis Funds Limited and represents the firm's first retail fund offering in New Zealand.

The Innovate RAP builds on the first one delivered in 2024 and is underpinned by partnerships with First Nations-led organisations, including First Nations Foundation.

"From our Reflect RAP, we learned more about First Nations cultures, built awareness across our organisation and established relationships with our industry partners," ART said.

In the next two years, the $370 billion super fund is aiming to deliver financial education designed for First Nations members, strengthen culturally informed member support and amplify First Nations voices through responsible investment stewardship,

It is also building a "culturally safe" and inclusive workplace, as it works towards a 2% First Nations workforce target.

The super fund noted that many of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members continue to face systemic barriers navigating the superannuation system, including the proof of identity, skills and knowledge in finance, usage of services, early access to super, and more.

ART chief investment officer Ian Patrick, who is also the sponsor of the plan, commented those are the gaps the super fund is trying to fill.

"It's about making sure we make a difference in their lives, in the communities that we serve and in making the system better overall for our members," Patrick said.

"Across our services and partnerships and the way we work, we're focused on improving financial outcomes for everyone and building long-term trust in the system. Our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan is an important way that we can deploy our efforts to help deliver for our members."

Senior economist Benjamin Trevis and economist Marco Santaniello said output per capita which speaks to living standards would fall in most destination economies as productivity gains from improved labour market allocation would be lost.

The report highlighted the size of the hit would vary based on the working-age share of each country's migrant inflows.

"Output per capita falls by around 12% by 2060 in Spain, reflecting heavy reliance on working-age migrants, while there is a more modest decline of around 1% in the US as its inflows are more mixed in age composition," the report read.

Australia and Canada stood out as exceptions, with output per capita rising around 1% and 4% respectively.

"Both countries receive a high share of inflows that are largely outside the labour force; removing these inflows reduces population more than it reduces the workforce, so the capital stock is shared among a workforce that is only slightly smaller, lifting capital per worker and pushing output per capita above our baseline," the report read.

The report noted in the near-term, no migration would have an impact on demand as migrants are "first and foremost consumers".

"Removing future inflows to destination economies forgoes would-be migrant spending on housing, goods, and services, dampening aggregate demand and weighing on inflation in the early years of the scenario," the report read.

"The drag on demand is partly cushioned by the fact that, although earnings vary across the skill distribution, migrants typically earn below the host-country average and are concentrated in lower-earning sectors."

In the long-run, however, the productivity hit would compound the labour supply shock.

The report states the productivity impact would be seen through two channels: high-skilled migrants generating knowledge transfer and innovation spillovers and migrants at all skill levels who fill structural gaps and free domestic workers to move into more productive roles.

"Total factor productivity is smaller in the near term but builds over time, becoming a material drag from the 2030s onwards as the loss of knowledge transfer and labour market allocation gains compounds," the report read.

Origin countries would have a positive outcome in this scenario, particularly those that have historically seen large numbers of workers move abroad such as Pakistan, the Philippines, and parts of Eastern Europe as migrants stay back and lift aggregate output.

Output gains, however, are limited as the productivity channels are markedly weaker than in destination economies, where larger inflows and a higher concentration of high skilled migrants amplify the uplift.

The report noted ageing economies will face sharper fiscal challenges without migration as immigrants tend to arrive at prime working age, contributing more to taxes and social contributions than they receive in social protection, housing, health, and education spending.

The "zero migration" scenario is an extreme, the report said, and its value lies in quantifying the contribution that migration makes to long-run growth, against which actual outcomes and policy responses can be benchmarked.

Drawing on the 2026 Australian Financial Review Rich List, Oxfam found the country's billionaire class now controls more than $686 billion in wealth, with the number of billionaires rising to a record of 178, up 17 from a year earlier.

The organisation said the figures highlights a growing divide between Australia's wealthiest individuals and households facing persistent cost of living pressures, including rising housing, grocery and energy costs.

According to the analysis, the nation's 20 richest Australian's now hold more wealth than the bottom three million households combined.

Oxfam said the $25.67 billion increase in billionaire wealth over the past year alone could have funded significant social outcomes, including lifting nearly one million Australians out of poverty, covering household electricity bills nationwide for more than a year, or funding Australia's aid budget almost five times over.

Oxfam chief executive Jennifer Tierney said the findings underscored the need for broader tax reform to address rising inequality.

"As ordinary Australians continue to feel pressure at the checkout, at the petrol pump and when paying rent or mortgages, billionaire wealth is continuing to surge," Tierney said.

"There is something fundamentally wrong with a system where extreme wealth keeps skyrocketing while so many people are struggling to afford the basics, and governments claim there is not enough money for housing, healthcare, climate action and essential services," she said.

The comments come after the Federal Budget introduced measures aimed at easing cost of living pressures and reducing some tax concessions for higher income Australian's, including changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing arrangements.

While welcoming those reforms, Oxfam argued they do not go far enough to address structural wealth inequality.

"While modest, reforms to capital gains tax and negative gearing are important steps towards a fairer tax system," Tierney said.

"Australia should not continue rewarding wealth accumulation more generously than work, particularly at a time when so many households are under pressure."

The latest findings build on concerns raised by Oxfam earlier this year, when the organisation reported the average Australian billionaire's wealth increased by almost $600,000 a day in 2025, with collective billionaire wealth rising by more than $10.5 billion.

Oxfam has consistently argued that stronger tax measures are needed to address the growing concentration of wealth. The organisation has previously called for a net wealth tax on the richest 0.5% of households, the removal of the capital gains tax discount for individuals and trusts, and the abolition of negative gearing concessions. According to its analysis, a 5% tax on billionaire wealth could have raised $17.4 billion in a single year, funding measures such as universal affordable childcare, extended energy bill relief and increased humanitarian assistance.

The announcement follows earlier engagements with potential partners, including developers, generators, electricity distributors, and suppliers earlier this year in the North West Minerals Province across Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Julia Creek, and Richmond.

The fund is considering proposals ranging from new energy generation projects, gas and battery storage systems, as well as broader support for the North West Power System.

Alongside progressing localised energy solutions, the fund will also set out the operational and infrastructure requirements to coordinate and de-risk future investments in the region, informing planning for the CopperString Western Link between Hughenden and Mount Isa, QIC said.

QIC has released investment guidelines to support the call for proposals, focusing on key criteria around reaching commercial operations by 2030 and improving energy costs around the region.

Commenting, QIC head of global infrastructure Ross Israel said the feedback from market sounding had provided key insights to allow QIC to fast-track opportunities to connect private capital with priority projects.

"Supporting near-term investable projects that deliver reliable, affordable and sustainable energy will help unlock economic development opportunities in the North West," Israel said.

"A critical piece of this work will be undertaking the work required to define the end-state system to optimise the opportunity set in the region.

"QIC's role is to turn the objectives of the Queensland Energy Roadmap into investable projects that deliver reliable, affordable and sustainable energy and the North West Energy Fund presents a clear pathway for QIC to partner on near-term opportunities."

Meanwhile, treasurer and minister for energy David Janetzki said the fund builds on the Queensland government's commitment, including the CopperString project.

"This fund enables us to pass on the benefits of CopperString to communities west of Hughenden while advancing the accelerated delivery of the project's Eastern Link." Janetzki said.

He added the fund has backed practical projects to deliver more affordable and reliable power that drives the state's economy.

"Strong feedback was received during market sounding and new renewable energy generation to service the Dugald River Mine is already being considered, alongside other proposals," he said.

"To progress economic development in the North West, we need investment in flexible solutions that reduce the cost of energy to make industry more competitive.

"The North West Minerals Province is one of the richest mineral producing regions in the world, potentially holding $700 billion in critical minerals. Further unlocking opportunities will help deliver even more benefit for Queensland's economy."

The rules were first proposed in 2022 under the Biden administration. Two years later, the SEC approved amendments to the rules under the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, mandating public companies to disclose detailed information on climate-related risks, greenhouse gas emissions, and the financial impacts of extreme weather events on their business models, strategies and outlook.

However, the rules never officially took effect after facing setbacks and legal challenges.

In April 2024, the SEC stayed the climate disclosure rules pending completion of consolidated litigation in the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

In March 2025, the SEC voted to end its defence of the rules and by September, the court placed proceedings on hold to allow the SEC to reconsider its position.

The SEC is now attempting to officially rescind the rules, submitting a proposal to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on May 4 to do so.

The SEC said the rules impose substantial costs on public companies and their shareholders that are not justified by the informational benefits they may provide to some investors, arguing they undermine its objectives of facilitating capital formation and promoting public company status.

The SEC further contends that mandating prescriptive climate disclosures conflicts with its long-standing registrant-specific, materiality-based approach, which allows companies to determine what information is financially relevant to investors.

Paul S. Atkins, the chair of the SEC, said the rollback would return the commission to its core mandate in line with its legal authority.

"SEC disclosure obligations should comply with the commission's statutory authority, be guided by materiality as the North Star, avoid the practical effect of dictating corporate behaviour, and be imposed only when the expected benefits justify the likely costs and burdens," Atkins said.

Question:

What is the HALO trade, and why are asset-heavy companies suddenly attracting investor attention in the age of AI and decarbonisation?

Short answer:

The HALO trade (Hard Assets, Low Obsolescence) is reshaping investment strategies. According to Dierdre Cooper, companies tied to physical infrastructure (like grids, pipelines, and industrial equipment) are seeing renewed growth as AI drives demand for electricity and hard assets. Unlike asset-light sectors threatened by automation, these companies are essential for electrification and climate solutions. Investors who focus on this theme may benefit from attractive valuations and strong growth, especially as decarbonisation and electrification accelerate globally.

Why it matters:

For sustainable investors, the HALO trade highlights a shift from tech and asset-light stocks to companies with tangible, enduring value. Understanding this trend means recognising the importance of infrastructure, energy storage, and electrification in a world increasingly powered by AI and climate technology. Missing this shift could mean missing out on the next wave of growth and resilience in global portfolios.

Sources:

• Michelle Baltazar, executive director of media, FS Sustainability

• Dierdre Cooper, head of sustainable equity, Ninety One

• Ninety One Global Environment strategy

• Companies: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), Hongfa Technology, Shaman Electric Co., Limited, Infineon Technologies, TE Connectivity

• Industry context: MSCI All Country World Index, decarbonisation trends

Timestamps:

00:00 Asset-heavy companies and electrification

00:29 HALO trade explained

01:24 Ninety One's sustainable investing approach

03:15 Global environment strategy vs traditional equity

06:11 AI, asset-light vs asset-heavy sectors

08:32 Data centres and electricity demand

11:30 PE multiples and growth outlook

13:13 Market cycles and investor sentiment

14:28 Electricity as "all of the above" solution

17:25 Exciting trends for the next decade

19:52 Autonomous robots and electrification

20:42 Risks and selectivity in thematic investing

21:33 Wrap-up and final thoughts

We record on Gadigal Land and we pay our respects to the traditional custodians of country and elders past and present.

https://www.fssustainability.com.au/

The funding increases ARENA's total support for the project to $16.8 million and will significantly scale participation in the trial. The number of households with V2G capability will increase from 50 to 1000 while households participating in smart EV charging will more than double from 950 to 2000.

The expanded project will allow EV owners to automatically charge their vehicles when electricity prices and emissions are low, while also enabling eligible vehicles to export store energy back to the grid during periods of peak demand.

ARENA chief executive Darren Miller said the initiative would help address some of the key challenges preventing broader V2G adoption.

"To unlock V2G at scale, we need to bring together customers, car makers, networks and technology providers," Miller said.

"A big part of that is giving manufacturers the confidence their vehicles will perform as expected including through validated approaches to battery use and warranties," he said.

The project will initially work with Chinese electric manufacturer BYD to implement charging standards that support bidirectional charging, while also conducting real world battery testing to address warranty concerns.

According to ARENA, the expanded rollout is expected to provide valuable insights into customer behaviour, technology performance and market integration, helping shape future policy settings and industry investment.

"This project brings those pieces together to demonstrate how EVs can become an active part of the energy system," Miller said.

"That means savings for owners and better utilisation of the grid, which can bring down the cost of the network for everyone."

The announcement adds to ARENA's growing role in delivering Australia's energy transition. Earlier this month, the agency was tasked with administering the federal government's $1.1 billion Cleaner Fuels Program and is progressing the next stage of its Hydrogen Headstart initiative. Reinforcing its position at the centre of Australia's decarbonisation and energy security agenda.

The Amber Electric expansion forms part of ARENA's Driving the Nation Program, which is focused on accelerating electric vehicle uptake and supporting technologies that improve energy system flexibility.

"Australia is at a critical juncture in energy policy. The decisions made now around gas will have lasting ramifications. The gas transition will not get easier or cheaper if we wait. The choice is between chaotic and inequitable, or steady and fair. It's time to move," the report said.

The Out of gas: Managing the decline of gas in Australia report said the fall in the use of gas has created new problems in the energy market.

"Electricity networks are under strain, backup generation for the power system is not being built fast enough, gas bills are rising, and manufacturers are closing," the report read.

"The energy transition is also a transition for gas - from a widespread fuel to one that occupies some vital but small niches in a mostly-electrified economy."

The report said the government must take control to both accelerate and manage the gas transition. To phase out the use of gas, it recommended methodically and predictably reduce gas use across the economy which would include setting phase-out dates for the use of gas in households.

"Each sector will move at a different pace, depending on its options. Even in a mostly electric economy, there will still be some residual demand for gas," the report read.

To meet this demand, the report said Australia will need supplies of renewable gases such as biomethane and hydrogen, which the government can drive through the development of targeted grants, finance and a demand-side obligation.

A declining gas market will need to be managed very differently, the report said, to avoid sky-rocketing prices for consumers and stranded assets for gas network owners.

The role of gas-powered electricity generation is also changing, which is running less often, but is increasingly valuable as a backup during rare renewable energy droughts, the report said.

"The federal and state governments should use upcoming reforms to the wholesale electricity market to remove financing barriers for new gas-powered generators," the report read.

"Without integrated planning, consumers and taxpayers are exposed to the risk of over-investing in gas and under-investing in electricity infrastructure. Gas and electricity system planning should be integrated to keep infrastructure costs low and ensure the electricity network can handle increased demand from gas-to-electric switching."

According to the authority, environmental crime encompasses deliberate acts or negligence that cause harm to the environment and often linked to transnational organised crime including unlawful pollution and waste, wildlife trafficking and illegal logging and timber trade.

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) chief executive Brendan Thomas said the funding will help the organisations identify drug trafficking, child sexual exploitation, environmental crime and other serious crimes affecting Australia and the region.

Thomas was also recently appointed to co-chair the Pacific Financial Intelligence Community (PFIC) initiative and noted the funding will be important to identify bad actors at its source.

"These crimes cause significant harm to Australian and Pacific communities and every dollar laundered helps them flourish," he said.

"AUSTRAC's long-standing Pacific partnerships are aimed at helping the region better detect and disrupt illicit money flows linked to transnational organised crime.

"With this funding AUSTRAC will strengthen those capabilities even further - including using artificial intelligence to more effectively detect illicit financial flows and to ultimately protect communities across the region and in Australia.

"This investment is about giving Pacific partners the tools and skills to follow the money behind serious crime, ensuring Pacific partners are equipped to protect their financial systems and, in turn, Australia's."

AUSTRAC is also expanding training and mentoring for analysts and regulators, focused on practical detection techniques, emerging criminal trends impacting the region, and stronger engagement with reporting entities, it said.

"This is a long-term partnership. We're working side by side with Pacific agencies to build capability, share intelligence and stop criminal activity at its source," Thomas added.

AUSTRAC works closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Federal police (AFP) and regional partners to deliver programs as part of Australia's broader commitment to stability, security and prosperity in the region.

O'Rourke said the regulator, however, does not want the baseline to become the benchmark.

"Instead of apples and oranges, we're kind of in the orchard where the apples come in different shapes. They're not kind of that uniform [shape] that you see in the supermarket yet, but they are all apples for apples. And we're moving into the comparability that's much easier than we were in the apples and oranges world," she said.

On its observations from the early reporting, ASIC reiterated the importance of being clear and effective on the judgements that are applied in preparing climate statements.

"We think that close attention is required to disclosure of judgements for helping readers understand what weight to put on information," O'Rourke said told the recent Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) Conference.

She added it is important that the disclosure of voluntary or additional climate-related information doesn't obscure the mandatory and material climate-related financial information.

"There was a lot of latitude historically, including putting it together, and we recognise people might want to convey additional information as well. There's no problem with that. It's just about [ensuring] the line between the statutory information is well defined and any other information," she said.

ASIC has also seen issues where people were cross-referencing to things that didn't meet the requirement set in the reporting framework.

"Standards in relation to cross-referencing are actually quite specific and prescriptive. The cross reference to another report to introduce that into the report has to be available on the same terms and at the same time," she said.

The regulator is also keeping an eye out on the issue of disclaimers being in conflict with the statutory framework and the objectives.

ASIC's issue with prospectuses and other documents are also under the spotlight.

"It's not new. But if they go too far, if people try and disclaim the capacity to rely or use the information too far, then that's inconsistent with the requirements of the climate reporting," O' Rourke said.

She highlighted the importance of using past events, current conditions, and forecasts consistently as ASIC saw instances of companies preparing their risk disclosure without referencing past events that happened to that company.

Another area that stood out for ASIC included climate-related targets set by companies.

"Lots have, but they were varied, especially whether they had a climate-related target. So different approaches to the assessment of whether targets had to be met under law or regulation... so just that concept of whether it's required or not," she said.

O'Rourke said ASIC as the regulatory body aims to take a pragmatic and proportionate approach to supervision and enforcement as the requirements are being phased in.

Released this week, Homes for Australia: A national plan consolidates national reform agenda spanning supply, rental protections, home ownership and homelessness support.

At the centre of the strategy is an ambitious target to deliver 1.2 million new homes by 2029, alongside Commonwealth-backed support for up to 420,000 homes over the next decade.

The government said the plan responds to decades of structural deterioration in housing affordability, with house prices climbing from around three times average incomes four decades ago to roughly eight times today.

Minister for housing Clare O'Neil said Homes for Australia is the latest initiative from the Albanese government and brings together the progress already made, including the actions taken in the 2027 Federal Budget, into a comprehensive national plan.

"This plan is a chance to take stock, outline the progress so far, and set out a blueprint for the further work needed to build a housing system that works for all Australians," she said.

The strategy places heavy emphasis on increasing housing supply through planning and zoning reform, faster approvals processes and major investment in enabling infrastructure, including transport links, sewerage, utilities and serviced land.

It also seeks to address workforce shortages and productivity constraints in the construction sector through skills development, streamlined building regulations and greater use of prefabricated and modern construction methods.

Alongside supply-side reforms, the plan introduces significant tax changes aimed at redirecting investment toward new housing stock. From 2027, negative gearing will be restricted to newly built housing, while the capital gains tax discount will be replaced with an indexation model.

The government said the changes are designed to encourage investment into housing supply rather than existing dwellings, while helping level the playing field first home buyers.

Support for aspiring homeowners will also be expanded through the 5% Deposit Scheme and the Help to Buy shared equity program, which is expected to support 40,000 households. The plan also commits delivering 100,000 homes reserved for first home buyers.

Renters are another major focus of the strategy, with the government proposing a national "Better Deal for Renters" agenda that includes stronger tenant protections, limits on rent increases, bans on rent bidding and improved minimum rental standards.

The plan also aims to accelerate growth in the build to rent sector and further expand Commonwealth Rent Assistance.

Meanwhile, the government pledged to grow the social and affordable housing sector, targeting 55,000 supported homes over five years, including 40,000 through the Housing Australia Future Fund.

Additional funding will also be directed toward homelessness services, crisis accommodation and First Nations housing, with the plan prioritising community led delivery models and alignment with Closing the Gap objectives.

The others to receive recognition are AustralianSuper, Aware Super, CareSuper, Cbus Super, Equip Super, Hostplus, TelstraSuper and UniSuper.

RIAA said Responsible Super Fund Leaders represent the highest-scoring super funds assessed across governance, commitment, implementation, outcomes and transparency.

In the Responsible Investment Leaders category, some of the 47 fund managers to be recognised include Aoris Investment Management, Ausbil Investment Management, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, First Sentier Group, Impax, MFS Investment Management, Mirova, Pella Funds Management, Resolution Capital and U Ethical Investors.

For the 2026 Responsible Investors category, some of the standouts this year include Dexus, DNR Capital, Ellerston Capital, Federated Hermes, Firetrail, Loftus Peak, Northcape Capital, Platinum Investment Management and Wavestone Capital.

RIAA assesses Responsible Investment Leaders and Responsible Investors across four pillars covering commitment, ESG integration, stewardship and capital allocation.

Organisations recognised this year have demonstrated strong governance frameworks, systematic integration of ESG factors into investment decision-making, and transparent reporting on long-term outcomes and stewardship activities, including use of independent verification.

They have also contributed to higher standards across the market, such as more consistent disclosure practices, improved visibility of ESG risk management processes and clearer evidence of how responsible investment approaches are being implemented in practice.

RIAA unveiled the list at its 2026 annual conference held in Melbourne.

"Responsible investment is entering a more mature phase, where leadership is defined by what organisations do, not just what they say," RIAA co-chief executive Estelle Parker said.

"We're seeing leading organisations lean into transparency, governance and evidence, translating intent into practice through clearer disclosure, stronger reporting and the use of independent verification. That's building confidence for investors and strengthening trust across the market."

Capping the second and final day with a word cloud flashed on the big screen, this year's registrations of more than 700 in-person and online, hashtagged 'systems thinking' as their main takeaway.

Earlier that day, Rick Alexander, chief executive of Shareholder Commons, had spoken in a panel titled: Investing in an interconnected world: Systems thinking for long-term value.

That session pulled together many of the themes from Day One - from preserving cultural heritage and operationalising nature to understanding biodiversity risks, assessing the impact of the country's largest companies and recognising how geopolitical shocks will sharply raise the cost of capital.

The RIAA team assembled a strong line-up of presenters and workshop facilitators over both days, which allowed RIAA members plenty of time to take notes, get research and network.

Unrelated to the sessions but unmissable was the sheer size of the venue. The Plenary Hall and exhibition hall towered at more than 16 meters high, disproportionately dwarfing everything else in the area. Two coffee carts kept everyone adequately hydrated (and caffeinated) while lunch and tea breaks catered well for all preferences.

Carl Prins, chief executive of Pathzero, one of the exhibitors, said a conference highlight for him was the workshop with asset owners and managers on mandatory reporting where participants discussed the challenges with transparency and disclosure. "The lack of information means they can't quantify the risk in portfolios," he said.

Meanwhile, Alexandra Brown, founder and chief executive of Ethical Invest Group, said, "Renewables and fossil fuels were the biggest issues from clients according to poll results, but it was great to see a broad variety, including modern slavery and some clients asking for exposure to defence."

"The conversations around these issues are getting more sophisticated, and advisers can gain insight with these topics by attending the conference."

Recordings of the live-streamed sessions will be available in the coming weeks.

On the second day of the RIAA Conference yesterday was a formidable roster of panelists including a leading researcher that rates more than 5000 fund products, a fund manager with more than $1.4 trillion in assets under management and two super funds with a combined retirement pool of $400 billion.

Anchoring the product labelling expertise in the session were RIAA's top policy and certification experts.

Shamir Popat, senior manager research analyst at Morningstar, delivered some home truths, particularly with the defence sector outperforming most indices in the last 12 months.

"You had the guys who were saying, 'We will never buy weapons'. What's happened since then? Ukraine war with Russia. What's happening in this year? Managers are walking back on their values because of the way the world has changed."

It's like the world of sustainable investing has momentarily ground to a halt.

"Values are taking a backseat to performance. It's that simple. We're at a point in the market cycle where momentum in some of these themes is so high and the market is so narrow that everything else is taking a backseat."

Staying on theme, Bhanu Singh, chief executive officer in Australia for Dimensional Fund Advisors, said that historic data is yet to borne out a strong correlation between ESG metrics - and associated labelling - with returns.

"Around the late 2000s, we launched a series of commingled strategies around the globe for investors.

"So far, we haven't seen any link between ESG metrics, such as emissions because that's where the data is really strong, and any additional information about returns in your portfolio.

"The premise that you can buy companies or overweight companies that have lower emissions, should lead to outperformance - that it gives you more information than what you already know from their prices and cash flows - we don't see any evidence to suggest that," he said.

It's also hard to see the impact of exclusions from a return's perspective.

"If you look at a trading market, and you go back to the history of the ASX300 and start excluding all the energy stocks - and look at the performance of the ASX300 with and without energy stocks - it's almost identical over that entire period," he said.

"Sectors go in and out of favour, and when you take on something like a sustainability overlay, you will end up with bets against or for certain sectors."

New label: Responsible ownership

Taking it a step above fund labelling, Liza McDonald, head of responsible investment at $235 billion fund Aware Super, called their whole-of-fund approach as 'responsible ownership'.

"We will be the owners of the market, but what we want to do is own those assets responsibly and that comes into play around ESG integration and stewardship, and they're the main ways in which we manage our portfolios," she said.

"We do acknowledge that a number of our members do want to invest their money in line with their value so we do offer what we term 'socially conscious' options."

These options are predominantly based on a screening approach.

"There's fossil fuel screens, ethical screens and then there are screens around conventions and controversies," she said.

With the conflict in the Middle East and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 really changing the game for the defence sector, Aware Super has listened to its members regarding investing in weapons.

"When we looked at introducing a weapons exclusion, we found that it would introduce a huge tracking error into those options, but that's what our members wanted, so we've still got to balance that return and we've got to think of a way to do it," McDonald said.

"We offer these products because members want them. It's our job to make sure we're meeting that. We need to make sure we're offering a portfolio that speaks to the 'Your Future, Your Super' test."

UniSuper on the 'sensible middle' approach

Unisuper, which from July 1 updates its negative screens on companies with revenues associated with conventional weapons under its sustainable options, was also on the panel with Jodie Barns, manager of ESG investments, acknowledging the dichotomy of returns versus values in their membership.

She said three in four members would like to invest sustainably but only if they're not worse off than a typical member in a mainstream option.

"So, we know that sustainable investing and giving members this choice is important, but making money is important, too," Barnes said.

"My greatest worry about anything that restricts our investable universe sufficiently is that we are no longer able to provide choice and provide a retirement product that is sensible for our members."

Going back to the core topic of product labelling, all the panelists agreed that hard-and-fast rules don't work.

"I very much think that a principles-based approach and a nuance-based approach, rather than a tick-boxing exercise is the right way. If someone's angry at you somewhere, you're probably in the sensible middle."

On the upside, Morningstar's Popat said that what the geopolitical shocks had done for the sector is eliminate the pseudo-sustainable products and strategies in the market.

"One of the biggest things we've seen is that the greenwashers get taken out. The funds that were launched too quickly in 2018 [to ride the sustainability] trend, trying to capture flows, their products didn't reach viability and we've seen the record levels of closures in the last year."

At the very least, product labelling should continue doing that - get rid of the greenwashing.

Shalini Samuel, head of certification at RIAA, said that RIAA runs a year-long certification program that's anchored in the responsible investment standard which ensures what is said on the tin then translates across into portfolio construction and the interim disclosures.

"We absolutely do want labelling to ensure that things do not mislead. That's the core objective of labelling," she said.

FS Sustainability is a media partner of the 2026 RIAA Conference held in Melbourne May 27-28.

Alonso, the worker engagement officer at Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF), shared her testimony about wage theft and unsafe workplace conditions when she worked as a cleaner.

"During COVID, my coworker behaved in a very intimidating way to me, making inappropriate comments... I was scared, so I stayed quiet."

She said many temporary visa holders faced unpaid trials, and even when they were paid, they often missed out on minimum wage, super and other basic entitlements.

"Many workers are afraid of losing hours or losing their job completely. That's why they just stay quiet."

Call for reforms

Anti-slavery commissioner Chris Evans said that the standards are "nowhere good enough" and companies should do more to uncover any modern slavery practices within their supply chain.

The commercial property, hospitality and agricultural sectors are among those heavily exposed as they sub-contract service jobs.

Evans drew on a major study of worker conditions by the Migrant Jutice Institute released earlier this month to call for reforms.

"Three-quarters of the 10,000 [surveyed] reported having been underpaid... That's not an occasional breach by a rogue employer. That's the system not working."

He said the red flags are easy to spot. Companies should check if there are multiple subcontractors under the same contract and whether staff are getting paid under the standard full-time wage slips or through ABNs.

"These are systemic issues... subcontracting on subcontracting on subcontracting, and multiple ABNs... all those things are warning lights."

Evans is campaigning for tighter rules and penalties for non-compliance.

At present, the Modern Slavery Act reporting requirements only apply to companies with at least $100 million in revenues, but the government wants to lower that threshold to $50 million, with a public consultation now underway to pass that into law.

Material risk to investors

Panel moderator Måns Carlsson OAM, head of ESG and co-portfolio manager at Ausbil Investment Management, said that workforce conditions that heighten the possibility of Modern Slavery Act breaches impact investments, not just as 'negative surprises' to the market but also in transparency.

"We have been encouraging more disclosure... but we will never know how many companies have found cases [of workplace violations] and just cut the suppliers. That's a big unknown."

Carlsson, who is part of the RIAA board, participated in a workshop at the conference designed to help financial advisers better understand how to exclude harmful human rights practices from their investments.

His fellow workshop host, Rachel Alembakis, stewardship manager at U Ethical, said, "The point of the workshop was to help participants understand and practice using the tools and strategies necessary to engage with companies to support them in finding, fixing and preventing modern slavery in a collaborative and open way."

"It was pleasing and fulfilling to see participants wholeheartedly take up the scenarios and work through the strategies and we hope they have become more comfortable with engaging on this issue."

Besides industry workshops, portfolio companies can also engage with advocates like Alonso through her employer CAF, which runs a certification scheme to eradicate Modern Slavery in supply chains.

Commissioner Evans' key message to the conference delegates is to help shape policies and operations based on lived-experiences of survivors and to encourage reporting of modern slavery non-compliance.

"The Modern Slavery Act is designed to find modern slavery and remediate it... I congratulate the companies who find it, because they're looking properly."

"People declaring they're finding it is an example of the system working."

FS Sustainability is a media partner of the 2026 RIAA Conference held in Melbourne May 27-28.

Allan James, head of indigenous engagement at BHP, said that co-designing the rules of engagement with the community is centre to what they do, acknowledging that previous agreements were shaped by a Western construct.

Today, it's moving away from that and, more importantly, ensuring staff and management within BHP have a high level of cultural knowledge and awareness.

"We've got various phases of different cultural awareness programs underway. From a 45-minute online course to actually spending a week on country with traditional owners," said James.

The programs are ongoing, not just a box-ticking exercise. "It's a continuum. It's not just what course you've done so you can call yourself competent," he added.

Jamie Lowe, panel chair and chief executive of the National Native Title Council, also believes cultural engagement is not enough. Companies should have a good relationship with Indigenous communities.

"You can't have engagement in a bad relationship, and you can't have a relationship without conversation. The first one you generally don't have a whole lot of choice in, so you make the best of it. But when a new relationship is going, it's got to be pretty intentional."

Having those conversations mean companies can avoid potentially disastrous environmental activities, including a tree-planting project in the wrong location.

"We would have been ploughing lines into a cultural heritage site. That risk was avoided by having traditional owners walk on site, which is a very practical example of a beyond-compliance approach," said Laura Osmetti, head community & social performance at Silva Capital.

Kado Muir, chair of National Native Council and former chair of First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance, said that existing sustainable frameworks provide the community with a negotiating tool - but that engagement is about finding a common ground and fully recognising First Nations rights.

"It would be great to reach a point where our contribution to the products that come off our land is recognised in value, where customers across the world would value knowing their minerals or energy came from Australia with First Nations cultural stewardship embedded in it."

FS Sustainability is a media partner of the 2026 RIAA Conference.

The tender, announced under the Queensland Energy Roadmap, seeks private sector proposals for utility scale gas-fired generation projects capable of supporting peak demand and firming intermittent renewable energy supply by 2032.

QIC said the process follows extensive market sounding activity conducted across late 2025 and early 2026, which attracted interest from around 40 participants.

QIC head of global infrastructure Ross Israel said the tender is focused on securing flexible generation capacity capable of supporting system resilience as renewable penetration increasing across the electricity network.

"The tender will be conducted through a staged evaluation process, with proponents assessed on their ability to build and deliver the required new gas fired generation capacity into the market, project readiness, capability, track record, and the overall value they can provide to Queensland electricity consumers and the state," said Israel.

Proposals incorporating complementary technologies or broader infrastructure solutions will also be considered, provided they align with the core requirements of delivering 400MW of additional gas-fired capacity.

The initiative reflects the increasingly prominent role gas generation is expected to play in maintaining grid stability during Australia's energy transition, particularly in industrial regions such as Central Queensland where energy demand is forecast to grow.

According to QIC, Queensland produced nearly $27 billion of gas last year, directly supporting around 9000 local jobs.

Forecast cited in the tender documentation indicate Queensland could have up to 4.1-gigawatts of gas-fired generation capacity by 2030, increasing to between 6.1 and 8.3-gigawatts by 2035.

The additional generation capacity is expected to support both energy security and future industrial demand, particularly as coal-fired power stations progressively retire and renewable energy projects expand.

The tender process is scheduled to conclude by the end of 2026, with successful projects expected to be operational by 2032.

New data release by the Climate Bonds Initiative shows the green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bond market, collectively referred to as GSS+ has added almost US$6 trillion in issuance since 2020 alone. The market took 13 years, from 2006 to 2019, to reach its first US$1 trillion milestone.

Since 2021, annual growth has averaged around US$1 trillion a year, underscoring accelerating investor demand for climate and sustainability linked financing structures.

The Climate Bonds Initiative said the milestone demonstrated sustainable debt markets are now operating at institutional scale across regions, currencies and issuer types, even amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty and more volatile macroeconomic conditions.

Green bonds continue to dominate the market, with cumulative issuance now exceeding US$4 trillion. According to Climate Bonds Global State of Market 2025 report, green labelled bonds accounted for 64% of aligned GSS+ issuance last year, supported by strong demand for projects tied to clean energy, low carbon transport, green buildings and climate resilience infrastructure.

Europe remained the largest regional market in 2025, representing 45% of total aligned annual issuance, while more than 400 new issuers entered the sustainable debt market during the year.

The organisation said the rapid growth reflects increasing adoption of labelled debt instruments by governments, banks, corporate and development institutions seeking to fund the transition to lower carbon and more resilient economies.

Social and sustainability bonds have also continued to expand as investors broaden their focus beyond climate mitigation toward affordable housing, healthcare, education and inclusive growth initiatives.

Despite the sector's growth, Climate Bonds warned significantly more capital would still be required to finance the global transition, estimating around US$10 trillion annually will need to be mobilised to support climate resilient and low carbon economies.

The organisation said the next phase of growth would depend heavily on maintaining market integrity through stronger standards, clearer taxonomies and credible transition pathways.

"Sustainable debt is now operating at scale across regions, issuers, currencies, and use cases," Climate Bonds said.

"The next phase is about getting the right deals in place," they said.

The Built Different: Modern Methods of Construction report, compiled in partnership with Urbis, found MMC could cut construction times by 20% to 50% and reduce costs by around 20% when implemented at scale.

MMC includes prefabrication, off-site manufacturing, modular or volumetric building, 3D printing, robotics, and AI integration processes.

It comes as Australia is projecting a national shortfall of between 200,000 and 300,000 dwellings against the National Housing Accord target of 1.2 million new homes by 2029, the report said.

Average construction times have risen 40% since the pandemic and a new standalone home now takes 9.2 months to build, while a new apartment building takes close to two-and-a-half years.

Commenting, CEDA head of research Danika Adams said more buildings are required to meet Australia's housing needs, and a more efficient approach must take place to reach the target.

"The National Housing Accord target of 1.2 million new dwellings by 2029 is ambitious, and current progress is falling short," Adams said.

"Modular construction is currently used for less than 5% of new Australian homes. Given housing supply is constrained by how slow and expensive it has become to build, modern methods of construction offer a practical way to improve that.

"Traditional construction is not keeping up. These methods already exist, they work, and the challenge now is scaling."

The report found productivity has since deteriorated, with dwellings built per construction worker falling 40% since the 1970s.

Urbis partner Clinton Ostwald acknowledged the shortfall and stated better alignment will be critical to revitalising productivity in construction.

"We know this is a system-wide challenge, which means it also needs a system-wide response," Ostwald said.

"To scale modern methods of construction, we need better alignment across planning, regulation, procurement, finance and the supply chain so industry has the confidence to invest and deliver at scale."

Further, Adams said the report identifies barriers to implementation including fragmented regulation, inconsistent standards, financial constraints and workforce capability gaps.

"This is not a silver bullet, but with coordinated policy and united support from industry and government it is a tangible, scalable and evidence-based way to build more homes, faster and at lower cost," Adams said.

CEDA and Urbis encouraged governments to treat MMC as a central tool for unlocking housing supply at a time of critical national need.

As uncertainty around geopolitical risks and geoeconomic shocks heighten, asset owners and wealth managers must anticipate the potentially negative impact on assets, investments and economies, the annual Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) Conference held in Melbourne heard.

Speaking on a panel, Colonial First State (CFS) chief investment officer Jonathan Armitage warned geopolitical disruption is no longer episodic but a defining feature of today's investment landscape, with far-reaching implications for asset pricing and portfolio construction.

"There's this view that geopolitical events occur once in a while and are one-off scenarios. The events of the last five or six years have demonstrated that that is no longer true," he said.

What is happening now, Armitage explained, is a "magnification" of several forces - a confluence of events in the Middle East and other parts of the world, along with macroeconomic factors, such as the reversal of globalisation, volatile inflation and resource scarcity.

While this is not necessarily new, Armitage said it is a good reminder for investors that these are becoming part of the new investing landscape.

"It's less about thinking this is a one-off scenario with a relatively small probability of occurring. This is now almost the operating environment we have to invest in," he said.

What is inevitable is the rise in the cost of capital.

"That will feed through into bond markets [and] reflected in the way investors think about private assets and long-term investments, particularly in reassessing where it is considered safe to do business," he said.

The conflict proved that once historically stable environments, whether defined by geography or politics, are now less stable.

"One of the ramifications of what's happened in the Middle East is significant financial services development across the peninsula. I don't think anyone expected those areas to come under missile or drone attack. That was not a scenario many businesses setting up there had really thought through," he said.

Such developments underscore the need to incorporate geopolitical risk more systematically across both liquid and unlisted markets.

Despite these dynamics, Armitage said markets have yet to fully reflect the repricing required.

"I don't think you've necessarily seen that adjustment yet. I think the cost of capital is rising everywhere," he said.

"Do I think there will be an adjustment process over time? Yes, but I'm not entirely sure we're seeing that yet."

Armitage also flagged a growing disconnect between opportunity and risk, as investors seek exposure to markets being positively rerated despite the underlying geopolitical uncertainty.

This doesn't mean avoiding such investments opportunities, rather, finding ways to build protection and resilience around them. Diversification from a total portfolio perspective, he said, is one way.

Furthermore, investors should not ignore the speed at which assets respond to front-page news, whether on a data terminal or via the internet.

"We need to ensure that we're constructing portfolios that can absorb those very rapid developments," Armitage said.

FS Sustainability is a media partner of the 2026 RIAA Conference.

This week on The Greener Way, host Michelle Baltazar speaks with Emily DeMasi, regional team lead - North America EOS at Federated Hermes, about why human capital risks, such as workplace culture, harassment and violence, labour rights, and supply chain conditions, are financially material for investors through impacts on productivity, reputation and long-term returns.

DeMasi explains how stewardship engagement assesses human capital using employee surveys, whistleblower mechanisms, and core disclosure metrics such as workforce size (including gig and contract workers), turnover, demographics, and total workforce cost.

They discuss AI's double-edged impact, from efficiencies and training needs to job displacement anxiety and potential worker surveillance.

00:39 Why human capital matters

02:45 Workplace harassment as material risk

04:29 Do employee surveys work?

05:50 Investor engagement metrics

07:55 AI workforce disruption

11:13 Case studies

13:43 Best practice supply chain frameworks

16:18 Why stewardship is crucial

17:42 Looking ahead on AI and governance

We record on Gadigal Land and we pay our respects to the traditional custodians of country and elders past and present.

https://www.fssustainability.com.au/

Volkmer joins from Australian Retirement Trust and brings experience across climate strategy, stewardship and impact investing spanning both public and private markets, prior to joining ART, she spent seven years at Wellington Management leading sustainable investment initiatives.

The firm also appointed former TelstraSuper Investment Management executive Arthur Bengasino as head of investment solutions.

The hires comes as wealth managers face growing demand from affluent families for institutional style portfolio construction, broader access to private markets and more tailored sustainability strategies.

LGT Wealth Management chief investment officer Scott Haslem said the appointments reinforced the firms focus on deepening its investment expertise across both traditional and alternative asset classes.

Bengasino joins after eight years at TelstraSuper Investment Management, most recently serving as head of opportunities and real assets. He brings experience across private markets, including co-investments, secondaries and alternative assets, and will work with clients on portfolio structuring and implementation.

Volkmer joins from Australian Retirement Trust following seven years at Wellington Management, where she was director of sustainable investment. Her appointment reflects increasing client demand for sustainability integration and climate aware portfolio strategies across public and private markets.

The appointments form parts of broader expansion at the firm, which also added two senior family advisory specialists as wealthy families increasingly seek support that combines investment management with governance and succession planning.

LGT Wealth Management chief executive Michael Chisholm said ultra-high-net-worth clients are no longer treating investment management, family governance and succession as separate conversations.

"Portfolios are becoming more sophisticated, with greater exposure to private markets, while families simultaneously navigate more demanding governance structures and intergenerational transitions," Chisholm said.

The business is wholly owned by the LGT Group, which is backed by the Princely Family of Liechtenstein.

SA Power Networks is South Australia's electricity distribution service provider, as the issuance underscores its role in supporting the decarbonisation of the state while delivering an essential service to its customers and community.

ANZ acted as joint lead manager and sole green bond coordinator on the transaction.

The deal follows SA Power Networks' updated sustainable financing framework, which enables the alignment of sustainable finance instruments with the Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy.

Commenting, SA Power Networks chief financial officer Scott Gillen said the alignment is critical to achieve sustainable goals and long-term capital returns.

"I believe it is essential to align our financial goals with our environmental and social responsibilities to ensure long-term value creation for our customers, stakeholders, and the South Australian community," Gillen said.

"By aligning our financial strategy with our approach to sustainability, we can continue to help decarbonise our grid whilst achieving long-term financial success with appropriate returns for our owners and investors.

"We also recognise the growing importance investors place on environmental, social and governance integration within their capital allocation decisions."

Meanwhile, Australian Sustainable Finance Institute chief executive Kristy Graham added: "This deal demonstrates how the taxonomy can be applied in practice, and we hope it helps catalyse further market adoption of taxonomy-aligned sustainable finance in Australia."

"As the first issuer to confirm alignment with the taxonomy's voluntary environmental and social safeguard criteria, SA Power Networks has demonstrated how a high integrity approach can be applied within the Australian market.

"This continues the strong market momentum behind the Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy which we hope will continue to bring credibility, rigor and growth to the sustainable finance market in Australia."

ANZ head of global sustainable finance Katharine Tapley echoed both statements.

"We commend SA Power Networks for its leadership and ambition in setting a high bar for transparency and credibility in sustainable finance," Tapley said.

"We hope this transaction encourages greater adoption of taxonomy-aligned structures, helping to set a consistent standard for the market and support the continued growth of sustainable capital flows."

Proceeds from the transaction will be allocated to eligible new and existing distribution assets aligned with the technical screening criteria set out in the taxonomy, including projects that enhance bushfire preparedness and strengthen grid resilience and reliability, ANZ said.

Dries Lagerberg assumes his new role on June 1, having served as head of group sustainability regulations and commitments for the last three years.

Lagerberg joined Rabobank in 2000 as legal counsel based in Netherlands. He then moved to London in the same role before becoming head of the primary markets team, bringing him back to the Netherlands.

Lagerberg went on to other senior legal roles covering financial markets, retail banking and litigation.

In his new role, Lagerberg will lead the group sustainability department and report directly to Rabobank chief executive Stefaan Decraene.

Over the past three years, Lagerberg has been a member of Rabobank's group sustainability management team, helping to shape and advance the bank's sustainability ambitions.

He succeeds Aafke Keizer, who served in the post since 2022. She has now taken up a new but unnamed role within Rabobank.

"Sustainability is at the heart of Rabobank's cooperative identity. I look forward to continuing to work with colleagues and partners to accelerate our impact for members, clients, society, and future generations," said Lagerberg.

Separately, Rabobank recently joined the European banking consortium Qivalis to help develop a regulated, Euro-denominated stablecoin for on-chain payments and settlements.

The Qivalis consortium now comprises 37 financial institutions across 15 European countries, aiming to progress and scale the secure and scalable digital financial infrastructure for banks operating in the region.

Qivalis wants to launch the stablecoin that is fully backed with fiat currency and designed in line with the European Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), under the planned supervision of De Nederlandsche Bank.

The group is currently pursuing authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution and plans a market launch in the second half of 2026.

Schroders Greencoat took over APF Energy from SWEN Capital Partners via its direct impact strategy, SWEN Impact Fund for Transition, and APF BV.

APF Energy provides energy that can be used as a direct substitute for natural gas by producing biomethane from agricultural manure and food by-products.

APF Energy operates brownfield biogas plants. It comprises six assets, including three fully operational sites and three at construction stage, plus a late-stage pipeline. These generate biomethane from a feedstock mix of agriculture manure and food by-products, addressing nitrate challenges associated with the Netherlands' livestock industry.

Schroders Greencoat said the country's high volume of agricultural feedstock, combined with one of the densest gas distribution networks in Europe, makes it a particularly attractive market for biomethane development.

Paris-based SWEN Capital Partners operates in private markets, specialising in private equity, unlisted infrastructure and private debt.

SWEN Capital Partners managing director François Pasquier and principal Grégoire Allemandou said: "Schroders Greencoat's deep expertise in bioenergy and energy transition infrastructure makes them the great partner to take the platform to its next stage of growth. We are also particularly pleased that this transaction marks the first exit from our second vintage, SWEN Impact Fund for transition 2 (SWIFT 2), reflecting our strategy of backing high-quality platforms in the renewable molecules sector."

Schroders Capital global head of infrastructure Minal Patel said biomethane has an increasingly important role to play in the European energy transition, particularly in sectors where other low-carbon solutions are less readily available.

"The Netherlands is one of the more advanced markets due to its mature regulatory framework, strong policy support for renewable gas and well-established infrastructure. This platform gives us a strong foothold from which to apply the expertise we have built across our bioenergy portfolio," Patel said.

Bergsma reflects on his the last two decades in the sector and describes how capital raising has evolved from needing to explain basic technologies to today's dedicated institutional infrastructure teams, alongside greater competition.

He explains clean energy investments across solar, onshore/offshore wind and battery storage that appeal to Nuveen's institutional clients.

He also highlights what's new in the battery storage sector and Australia's land-driven scale advantages versus Europe.

For investors just entering the clean energy sector, he explains the need to address China-concentrated supply chains and Australia's grid buildout needs.

01:02 A career milestone in clean energy

02:13 Capital raising outlook

03:09 Nuveen infrastructure strategy

04:43 Geopolitics and energy security

06:47 Data centres and demand surge

08:41 Risk return spectrum explained

09:45 Australian investor appetite

10:54 Nuveen's local pipeline

12:04 Ten-year outlook on batteries

14:40 What could go wrong?

We record on Gadigal land and we pay our respects to the traditional custodians of country and elders past and present.

https://www.fssustainability.com.au/

Minderoo is backed by Andrew and Nicola Forrest's private investment group Tattarang.

The consortium will produce applied research, shared datasets, and market-building infrastructure to support investors, policymakers and practitioners.

It will focus on continued delivery of Australia's largest annual impact investing benchmarking study, in partnership with Impact Investing Australia.

The research agenda includes democratising access to impact capital including place-based and First Nations capital models, intergenerational wealth transfer for family offices and philanthropic capital mobilisation as well as accelerating financing of affordable housing.

Minderoo Foundation chief executive John Hartman said philanthropy has a clear role to play in building Australia's impact investing market.

"By backing the Asia Pacific Impact Investing Research Consortium, Minderoo Foundation is supporting the evidence, standards and coordination needed to move more capital into areas where it can have real impact, including social and affordable housing and place-based initiatives," Hartman said.

UNSW said the consortium represents a new model of collaboration between academia and industry - bringing together leading researchers, philanthropic organisations, and financial institutions to co-design and deliver rigorous, practice-informed research.

UNSW Centre for Social Impact director and co-lead of the consortium Professor Danielle Logue said the initiative is designed to meet impact investing needs by embedding academic rigour within real-world market dynamics.

"What is different about this consortium is how we work. By partnering directly with industry and philanthropic leaders such as Minderoo and UBS, we are co-creating research that is both academically rigorous and immediately relevant to capital allocation decisions," Logue said.

"This model ensures independence and integrity through UNSW's research standards, while grounding our work in the realities of how capital actually flows. It allows us to build the evidence base and market infrastructure the sector now needs to scale responsibly."

The consortium will operate as a collaborative platform, working across sectors to strengthen the effectiveness, credibility and growth of impact investing in Australia and the wider Asia Pacific region.

UBS Global Wealth Management Australia head of not-for-profit segment Zarmeen Pavri said: "This structure will ensure that stakeholders explore innovative ways to deploy funding across the full spectrum - from philanthropic grant making through to patient, catalytic and commercial capital. We do this with the end goal that resources reach the opportunities with the greatest potential for measurable impact."

The fund, now registered for sale to wholesale investors and adviser clients in Australia, combines fundamental global equity investing with ESG integration through a proprietary framework incorporating stewardship insights from Federation Hermes's EOS engagement business.

The launch marks Federated Hermes' second wholesale fund introduced to the Australian market this year, following the February rollout of its Global Trade Finance Fund. The firm already has a sizeable institutional footprint locally though its stewardship arm, EOS at Federated Hermes, which advises on approximately US$2.3 trillion (AU$3.38 trillion) in assets globally. This includes mandates linked to several of Australia's largest superannuation funds.

Benchmarking against MSCI World ex Australia Index, the strategy will typically hold between 250 and 500 stocks selected through a systematic and data driven investment process supported by fundamental oversight from the portfolio management team.

The strategy also integrates a proprietary ESG framework incorporating engagement insights from EOS, alongside Federated Hermes; multi factor risk model, MultiFRAME, which is used to manage portfolio risk and balance exposures across the portfolio.

Geir Lode, who leads the global equities team and serves a lead portfolio manager for the strategy, said heightened macroeconomic volatility continues to create opportunities across global markets.

"Our disciplined, risk aware approach aims to identify resilient businesses that look attractive across multiple dimensions and avoid material weaknesses, while controlling risk and maintaining balanced exposures," Lode said.

The strategy has been managed since 2007 and oversees approximately US $5.8 billion in assets globally.

Associate director of business development Liz White said the launch reflects growing demand among Australian wholesale investors for broader global diversification beyond domestic equities.

The initiative, led by the CapitaLand Hope Foundation (CHF), will support 12 grantee organisations across China, India, Singapore and Vietnam.

The latest funding round includes an initial S$3.5 million (AU$3.8m) allocation alongside a newly introduced Outcomes Achievement Fund, which will provide additional funding to grantees that successfully deliver predefined social impact outcomes.

The announcement was made at the Philanthropy Asia Summit 2026, where the foundation hosted discussions on outcome driven philanthropy and long-term investment in children and youth.

CapitaLand chief corporate officer Tony Tan said the initiative reflected the organisations commitment to building resilient communities through long-term investment in younger generations.

"At CHF, we believe that investing in children and youth is one of the most powerful ways to build resilient communities," said Tan.

The second edition of CCRI expands on the inaugural 2025 program, which distributed S$3.4 million (AU$3.7m) to 12 non-profit organizations. While the initial program focused primarily on identifying and funding high potential organisations, the 2026 initiative adopts a broader ecosystem approach aimed at strengthening operational capabilities and improving collaboration across the social investment sector.

As part of the expanded framework, CapitaLand has deepened partnerships with AVPN and Philanthropy Asia Alliance.

AVPN will assist with grantee selection, due diligence, impact monitoring and cross regional learning programs, while Philanthropy Asia Alliance will help identify organisations with demonstrated philanthropic networks to scale successful initiatives.

CapitaLand said the revised structure is designed to strengthen accountability and improve long term social outcomes by linking funding more directly to measurable impact delivery.

Julia Leske has been promoted to head of sustainability business, APAC, which is a newly-created role reporting to the group's global head of sustainability business, Till Jung. Prior to the appointment, Leske was managing director, senior consultant sustainability strategy.

"Julia brings deep regional insight and a strong strategic lens at a time when investors are looking for clarity and consistency in how sustainability frameworks are applied," said Jung in a company statement.

"Her experience navigating the many market and regional nuances, coupled with her command of global sustainability industry developments, will greatly benefit our clients' ability to turn responsible investing into action."

Leske said the role builds on her existing responsibilities and focuses on setting clear direction for the application of sustainability frameworks in the region.

"I'm looking forward to collaborating with clients, colleagues and industry peers as strategic and practical challenges test assumptions and sharpen our thinking," she said.

Leske joined ISS STOXX with the 2019 acquisition of Canberra-based CAER, where she served as CEO. In December last year, she joined the board of the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA).

ISS STOXX Sustainability provides climate data, analytics, and advisory services to help financial market participants understand, measure, and act on climate-related risks across all asset classes. The group's sustainability solutions also cover corporate and country research and ratings.

Rainmaker Group, publisher of FS Sustainability, is part of ISS STOXX.