Impact Dispatch - November 2025

With COP having drawn to a divisive close, I wanted to pause and share a new piece of research from the GIIN that represents a bright spot in an otherwise challenging time.

Drawing on insights from 22 institutions representing $3.5 trillion USD, Navigating Uncertainty, Seizing Opportunity: Institutional Asset Owners and Impact Investing 2025 analyzes the challenges, priorities and progress facing a subset of pension funds and insurance companies headquartered across 10 countries. The report features their perspectives as they move from directional commitments to concrete impact investing strategies, unlocking significant capital aimed at improving the current and future quality of life for their beneficiaries.

The research reinforces what many of us already know: the momentum for impact investing among institutional asset owners is undeniable. The landscape has shifted dramatically in just a few years, as more and more asset owners graduate from pondering impact investing to actively scaling it credibly and consistently. And, despite persistent challenges and macroeconomic uncertainties, their progress is palpable. Each year, more institutional capital flows into impact investments that contribute to efforts like transitioning to a low-carbon economy, expanding access to affordable housing and healthcare, and safeguarding clean air and water.

So, in the spirit of this week’s Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., I want to express my gratitude for the courage, creativity and commitment shown by our entire network and broader impact investing community. All of you are leaders who, despite headwinds, continue to show the world that a better future is possible. 

• Journalist and author Andrew Ross Sorkin on the historical context for the mounting concerns around the economics of AI, via the New Yorker.
• Patagonia recently published a “work in progress” report that details the messy realities of being a company trying to minimize its negative impacts while maximizing the positive, via Patagonia.
• COP30 concluded without any commitments to phasing out fossil fuels, but secured pledges to increase financing for climate adaptation by 2035, via Bloomberg.
• International leaders Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Cyril Ramaphosa and Pedro Sánchez published an FT article, arguing that the world is facing two major, connected crises: climate change and extreme inequality.
• Affordable housing in Los Angeles is attracting new developers, following a policy implementation to streamline the approval process for 100% affordable housing and significantly reduce wait times, via The Wall Street Journal.
• Morgan Stanley shared its 2025 Sustainable Signals survey, which shows a positive outlook as asset managers and asset owners expect growth in allocations to sustainable investments.
• The International Energy Agency (IEA) shared its key takeaways from the World Energy Outlook 2025, which projects how the energy sector may evolve in the coming decades.
• Impact Investor reports that the European impact investing community has generally accepted the proposed overhaul of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) which aims to simplify the framework and increase transparency, but warns of potential loopholes.

• Bloomberg published a breakdown of impact investing, including its distinctions from ESG, how it works in practice and where the momentum is building. The piece features commentary from Amit Bouri as well as highlights from IRIS+ and our recent State of the Market 2025 research.
• IRIS+ has a new impact theme to help investors understand their investments’ impact on and intersections with waste management and circularity. For more information, join the launch webinar on December 16, 2026, at 10:00 am ET. Register here.
• Sean Gilbert, GIIN’s Chief Investor Network Officer, attended PRI in Person in São Paulo for discussions on impact investing and its role in generating real-world outcomes and supporting PRI Pathways as they evolve.
• Amit Bouri spoke on approaches to financing a low carbon economy and expectations for Japan's green transformation initiative, at the GGX Finance Summit.
• The GIIN’s Institutional Asset Owners and Impact Investing research was covered by Impact Investor and NordSIP.

• On December 11, Amit Bouri will speak at the Financial Times' Global Boardroom joining the panel “Impact Investing — Rebuilding Displaced Communities,” moderated by FT journalist Sarah Murray, to explore how impact investing can effectively support communities displaced by geopolitical and economic disruption.
• Save the date for the GIIN’s annual GIIN West Coast Impact Forum and Investor Training in San Francisco on April 7-8, 2026. This intimate gathering of leaders offers a unique platform to engage with the people, ideas and innovations building a better world through impact investing. Register your interest.