Policy & regulation

Social entrepreneurship is rising on the European political agenda, pushed by the pandemic. We look ahead to the European Commission upcoming action plan for the social economy.

Brussels has big plans for how to make the EU’s steel industry (almost) emission free. “There is a great surge to make hydrogen fuel take off,” said Carole Ferguson of Industry Tracker.

The risk weighting of climate change in capital allocations is a fraction of what it should be, says Thierry Philipponnat of Finance Watch.

After more than a decade of working on sustainable finance at Deutsche Börse, Kristina Jeromin is now campaigning to become a MP for Germany’s Green Party. We need a whole new definition of returns on capital, she says.

This summer Impact Investor talks to investors and entrepreneurs about how the pandemic has shifted priorities. This week: Delphine Moralis, the new CEO of the European Foundation Centre.

It’s a new buzzword in Brussels. Social outcome contracting is seen by the European Commission as a tool for orchestrating social change, with the potential to unlock large amounts of private investment.

More transparency and clearer rules for investors are expected when the EU renews its sustainable finance strategy next week. Unless businesses are given real incentives to decarbonize, what investors can do remains limited, warns Eurosif.

The pandemic has rewired the way people think about their power as consumers. It has also supercharged ambitions for circular value chains and sustainable investment and trade in general.

The Netherlands must scale up its climate investments before it is too late, the Dutch central bank (DNB) warned in a recent report. Impact Investor asked a large public investor in Europe’s biggest seaport for a reaction.

The circular economy to keep the planet’s precious resources in productive use for longer is entering popular consciousness. EU policies are driving investment opportunities in getting rid of waste.