Developments and commentary in and around the ESG investment space.

AllianceBernstein has become the founding member of the Corporate Affiliate Program at the newly launched Columbia Climate School, an organization concentrating on addressing climate change and the issues revolving around it.

With $697 billion in client assets under management, the involvement of such a fund management group highlights how in the investment industry is - as many of its practitioners say - to use financial muscle to drive change around global warming and other forces. Debate continues on whether producing certain environmental outcomes is fully compatible with maximising shareholder returns over the long run. Advocates of such investment ideas say there is no conflict.

In its new role, AllianceBernstein will “facilitate the engagement of commercial enterprise with Columbia’s pioneering climate and sustainability research.”

The investment firm began to work with Columbia in September 2019, creating a curriculum focused on integrating climate science into portfolio management and construction. 

The organizations recently rolled out the Climate Change and Investment Academy, which has seen a global cohort of more than 1,000 asset owners and consultants trained and certified on a series of climate finance issues and research.