This report  caught my eye because it was social justice related issues that originally spurred my interest in socially responsible investment options. Titled, Leading with Justice: Net Zero Investing & Conversations on Climate Justice, it connects the impact of climate related issues to the people and economies of the world. The report provides helpful definitions of Climate Justice and Net Zero along with compelling suggestions for how investors can make a larger impact with their dollars.

Net Zero, according to the writers of the report, “calls on organizations and economies to emit no more greenhouse gases than they remove from the atmosphere by 2050”. They make the argument that for Net Zero to succeed, it must be focused on Justice as a “highly efficient tool for combatting pollution, climate change, and their effects on human health and global ecosystems.”

Below is a brief summary of the 3 main areas of the paper:

1)    Provide context and a working definition of Climate Justice (Pages 1-3).

2)    Why Climate Justice needs to be the focus of Net Zero efforts along with how investors might mitigate risk through incorporating it into investment due diligence (Pages 3-8).

3)    Conversations from various participants regarding practical methods for investors to implement climate justice in the investment selection process.



Included in the second section are examples of companies and investors who failed to take climate justice related issues into account. They concluded that “failure to conduct a risk assessment on projects inclusive of human rights and failure to disclose known social risks to investors correlates with the long-term downward trend of a company’s value.” The significant share price declines that are highlighted provide powerful examples of how important ESG investing is not only for justice related issues but for the bottom line.