Make progress and profit without destroying our planet

We will get to how soon. First, let's quickly cover some reflections on the past, how the world has changed and what needs to come next in order to convert your sustainability commitments to action.

View downloadable article here

Reflections by the numbers

Critical Insight: This is NOT sustainable.

Every year we use about the same amount of money to destroy the very thing that underpins the majority of global economic value.

EcoAdvisors was created to help convert the US$45T, grow the US$0.045T and

help all types of capital flow to sustainable solutions.

What have we learned throughout these 10 years?

Despite spending ~1000x more destroying versus protecting our planet, we -- as business owners, investors, government officials, high net worth individuals and non-profits -- don't want to destroy the very thing we need to sustain humanity. We need to embrace the following:

• VALUE OF NATURE. Our economy has been built without acknowledging or accounting for what underpins value creation. We treat nature, climate and the environment as externalities that are not incorporated into the core mandate of how we conduct business. Nature needs to be recognized as a real asset and take its rightful place on the balance sheet of the economy.
  

• SYSTEMS VS SILOES. Successful organizations that take a holistic approach and think across multiple entities, sectors and capital types with a common sustainability vision will advance towards their financial goals and sustainability commitments faster.
  

• DIVERSE CAPITAL BASE. Solutions-oriented organizations drive maximum impact by considering all capital sources and structures.

By adopting a systems approach, we can ensure a more planet-friendly future where all people thrive when we address the underlying value of nature, understand the true costs of our activities and rethink the conventional economic model (i.e. produce, consume, discard and pollute).

HOW HAS THE WORLD CHANGED?

First off, we have come a long way in the last 10 years! When we began in 2012, much of our initial work was on education and raising awareness about how sustainability should be a core organizational concern. Since 2015, there have been several strong, public commitments for climate and nature. We are turning now to integrating sustainability into core operations, creating shared value and moving from commitment to action.

2012	​​EcoAdvisors is created to help convert the US$45T destroying our planet, grow the US$45B protecting it and help all types of capital flow to sustainable solutions
2015	​Climate Milestone: The Paris Agreement is adopted
2016	Climate Milestone: The Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are in full force
2017	Climate Milestone: The G20 establishes the Climate Sustainability Working Group (CSWG)
2018	​Climate Milestone: The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) launches voluntary standard
2019	Climate Milestone: The UN-backed global campaign Race to Zero rallies companies, cities, regions, financial and educational institutions to take rigorous and immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030
2020	Nature Milestone: The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) is initiated
2021	Climate Milestones: Beginning to move from voluntary disclosures to regulated disclosures: Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) in Europe Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in the USA is considering climate disclosure International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) is created
2022	Nature Milestones: The TNFD releases beta versions as a lead up to the Sept 2023 release of the voluntary framework v1.0 It's time for a global moment for nature! COP 15 aims to set new goals and develop an action plan for nature over the next decade.

"Greenhouse gas emissions keep growing, global temperatures keep rising, and our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible. We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator."

António Guterres, UN Secretary-General at COP 27

How has EcoAdvisors evolved SINCE 2012?

Our core business was initially weighted to the philanthropic sector. As our client-base grew, it diversified across sectors, drawn by our systems approach across themes, capital types and asset classes. When TCFD changed the climate conversation overnight, and the world recognized climate impacts as a fiduciary responsibility and material for financial decision-making, we were ready and we continue to be ready.

Since joining the Race to Zero and becoming a member of the informal working group tasked to develop the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), commitments and disclosures are gaining more momentum. Not only that, we are seeing more clients taking a systems approach (i.e. instead of focusing on one entity, clients are integrating sustainability across philanthropy, family office investments and corporate interests). As demand grows for action, so does the need to go beyond advising and invest at scale for climate and nature. Our emerging asset management business, EcoInvestors Capital, aims to do just that.

Now is the time to leap from sustainability statements and commitments to action.

From the field to the boardroom and back, EcoAdvisors' sustainability expertise has guided clients and navigated systems to channel capital and resources to efficiently source, undertake proper diligence, and oversee solutions that advance both sustainability impacts and profit/progress motivations. Sustainability concerns don't need to be maximized in everything we do.

If we can frame and integrate sustainability into all decision-making, we can find solutions that advance both. Take a look below.

FRAME	Understand that... decisions exist in a system and contextual environment where trade-offs might be required systems and context evolve and the trade-offs of yesterday will not be the trade-offs of tomorrow multiple goals can advance at the same time (in fact, far more than we pursue today)
DISCOVER	establish a clear theory of change that will serve as the foundation of your strategy and help you move from long-term commitment to near-term action with associated impact measurement and monitoring components prioritize actions that are achievable and materially progress towards emissions reductions or a nature positive future in incremental, time-bound phases
EXECUTE	find the right skillset and employ unique diligence and oversight tools to act on these commitments faster be creative with various forms of financing and customer behaviors and consider the differences in cash flow and pay back dynamics relative to conventional pathways widen the tent to bring in allies, both traditional and unconventional, to address systemic issues and drive collective action lower risk perception by using concessionary and blended capital and get more conventional actors on board to drive more resources towards impactful and profitable solutions
MANAGE AND MEASURE	monitor and report your progress regularly on a suite of indicators continually look for sustainability-related risks, opportunities and dependencies don't wait for frameworks to be released; start now!

If you are...

• a business

• an investor

• a government

• a high net worth individual

• a non-profit

...EcoAdvisors can meet you where you are and guide you to action

We help you craft your sustainability strategy, build solution pathways, provide access to our extensive network, and create governance structure, measurement and reporting systems to track progress and accountabilities.

The best (and least costly) time to integrate sustainability into your decision-making and actions was yesterday. Act effectively and with urgency today and advance both positive sustainability impacts and profit/progress motivations without destroying our planet.