Knowledge and Insight

An unexpected contraction in retail sales dampened UK growth expectations in January, while Eurozone GDP stagnated as political instability and rising unemployment hit France and Germany. In the US, President Donald Trump fulfilled his promise to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and his executive order encourages domestic energy exploration and the elimination of the electric vehicle mandate. Meanwhile, the EU looks to boost its global tech and clean energy position with a new strategic business initiative.

Greenbank’s 2025 action plan highlights our programme of thematic engagement, which is divided into priority and secondary groupings. Our priority themes for 2025 are climate change, nature, and human rights, and our secondary themes include health, workforce, circular economy, and animal welfare.

Dominated by elections, 2024 brought the first Labour Party budget in 14 years in the UK and a landslide victory for the Republican Party in the US elections. Global inflation struggled to slow, and in equity markets, the US led the way once again with the ‘Magnificent 7’. Looking ahead to 2025, systemic risks around climate change, inequality, biodiversity loss and ill-health remain unresolved, guiding Greenbank’s 2025 engagement work to three key topics: climate, nature and human rights.

Deputy head of Greenbank Nicola Day, shares her insights as COP29 concludes and the pathway to COP30 begins.

What role does the Investor Coalition on Food Policy play to promote health and resilience?

Failure to agree binding commitments at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan was followed by an inability to agree a legally binding global treaty on terrestrial and marine plastic pollution in Busan, South Korea. There was better news from world leaders in reaching agreement on targets to accelerate action on antimicrobial resistance.

Congratulations to Greenbank’s Stewardship and Engagement Lead Sophie Lawrence who won the award for ‘Sustainable and ESG Investment Woman of the Year (small to medium firms)’ at the 2024 Investment Week Women in Investment Awards.

As the 13th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights wraps up, we reflect on the key messages from this annual global gathering.

Speculation about the autumn budget dominated the narrative for UK markets in October, and in a post-US election update we look at what another Trump presidency could imply for climate action and sustainability issues.

Deputy head of Greenbank Nicola Day singles out some likely topics to feature at this year’s COP which has been designated the ‘finance COP.’

What does the UN global plastics treaty mean for companies and investors? In this Green Shoots webinar we looked in detail at the issue of plastic pollution and its relevance to companies and investors.

Greenbank organised a visit to a solar farm in Somerset for staff and professional contacts. Investment analyst Will Findlay-Wilson gives a first-hand account of the trip, and explains the context, and some of the considerations, of solar power generation.