Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

One year ago, leaders from all over the U.S. — representing businesses, investors, colleges, universities, towns, cities, and states throughout America — joined together to declare “We Are Still In” the global Paris Agreement, promising to world leaders that America will fulfill its global commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and curb the damaging effects of climate change.mNow, with nearly 2,800 signatories and growing, representing 160 million Americans and more than $6.2 trillion of the U.S. economy, this diverse cross section of the economy is helping to ensure the U.S. remains a global leader in climate change.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Wells Fargo today announced that Mayors Robert Garcia of Long Beach, Calif.; Nan Whaley of Dayton, Ohio; and Jamael Tito Brown of Youngstown, Ohio, received top honors on behalf of nonprofits in their cities with the 2018 CommunityWINS® Grant Program funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation.

Commercial sellers and full-time entrepreneurs on the eBay platform are responsible for creating more than 690,000 jobs, and more than a third of our U.S. sellers come from small towns and rural areas.

The global green bond market is growing, attracting new issuers and contributing to a low-carbon economy.

How can America's forgotten communities overcome decades of extractive development? This NYC community's search for long-term economic vitality reveals the often overlooked qualities of building truly sustainable economic and social vitality.

KeyBank Community Development Lending & Investment (CDLI) has provided $17.4 million in total financing for the construction of Hammock Ridge II in Spring Hill, FL. Key provided a $13.7 million construction loan and a $3.7 million Freddie Mac Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Forward Commitment.

Brendan Bechtel, chairman and CEO of Bechtel, joined American business leaders in championing a fully functioning Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to support maintenance and creation of U.S. jobs. After speaking at the 2018 EXIM Conference in April, Brendan Bechtel penned an op-ed for The Hill, an online news source for policy and political views.

We’re often asked about the most important ESG themes that investors should consider. As bottom-up, active managers, we unsurprisingly tend to focus on those issues that are most material for each investment case. That said, there are several overarching ESG topics that we believe are increasingly important for investors to be aware of right now.

Increasingly, employees with pensions think about how environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors affect their investments. BNY Mellon’s Marvin Vervaart, Asset Owner Segment Head for Europe, Middle East, Africa, and pension fund manager Gert-Jan Sikking, Senior Advisor Responsible Investment for PGGM, a Dutch cooperative pension fund manager, discuss the trend and how it benefits society, our business and our stakeholders.

Sustainable Brands® kicks off its largest community gathering today with Sustainable Brands ’18 Vancouver at the Vancouver Convention Centre West in Vancouver, British Columbia. Over 2,000 business executives along with their teams from 33+ countries are attending the conference and Activation Hub.