SFi March 2025 Newsletter
- annashuvalova2
- Mar 31
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 5
Hello Impact Ecosystem!
It has been a packed month for the SFi community, as we co-organised events with Faith-driven Investor, TBLI,Small Giants Academy, and BlueOnion. We also collaborated with JLL on an insight article exploring the impact and cost-saving potential of decarbonising real estate portfolios.
Looking ahead, we have many exciting initiatives planned for the SFi community, from our Breakfast Roundtable with Generation Investment Management in March, Impact Access Breakfast in April, and flagship SFi Impact Summit in May! Stay connected to keep abreast of the latest and greatest!
From Risk to Reward: Decarbonising Buildings in the Climate Economy
In our latest SFi Insights article, we collaborate with JLL to demonstrate how low-carbon buildings are an economic opportunity for real estate investors and owners which can safeguard the future value of their portfolios.
As the risks posed by climate change to the real estate sector continue to grow, research from JLL highlights the decarbonisation of buildings as a critical priority, offering opportunities to reduce operational costs, enhance asset value, and meet growing tenant demands around sustainability. Leaders like Nan Fung Group and Hang Lung Properties are setting ambitious net-zero targets, further highlighting the financial risks of inaction and the competitive advantage of sustainable properties. Meanwhile, JLL's experience demonstrates energy retrofits and AI-driven analytics can yield significant savings.
In the face of financing gaps for building decarbonisation, innovative policies, collaborative solutions, and public-private partnerships are essential to accelerate decarbonisation and ensure a resilient, low-carbon future.
Ticketing is LIVE for the SFi Impact Summit 2025
Tickets are now available for our SFi Impact Summit 2025 in Hong Kong! On 21 May, we will gather leading global family offices, asset owners and impact leaders from around Asia Pacific and beyond, to spark collaboration and knowledge sharing amongst the brightest minds in impact.
This is shaping up to be our most groundbreaking Summit yet, as we showcase ‘The Power of Momentum: When Capital Meets Purpose’. Early bird tickets are available for one more week, so register to be part of something truly transformative as we collectively accelerate purpose-driven capital.
Exclusive side events will also be taking place throughout SFi Impact Week from 19 – 23 May – your definitive opportunity to connect and shape the future of impact investing.
A Busy Month of Events at SFi
In February, SFi organised two roundtable sharings with our members. The first was a roundtable on the Principles of Faith-driven Investing with Wen Li Lim of Faith Driven Entrepreneur and Samuel Richards of Brightlight. Wen and Sam provided an overview of Faith-driven investing (FDI) as an investment approach that aligns financial decisions with spiritual values, inviting investors to integrate their personal faith into their financial practices.
This was followed by a roundtable on Impact and ESG Investing with Robert Rubinstein of TBLI and Cintia Nunes of The Mills Fabrica. Robert offered attendees his take on the "new normal" of sustainable finance, recognising that while there are headwinds, he sees impact as a trend that will keep moving forward.
SFi also collaborated with Small Giants Academy in early March to co-host a two-day Journey to Impact workshop. Together with Danny Almagor and Alicia Cole, we delved into the essentials of impact investing, including Tactical portfolio planning, Impact measurement and due diligence and Family governance and decision-making. However, we were also reminded that impact investing is not just about hard financial returns; it is also about our hearts, our values and the people who matter around us.
Finally, we partnered with Elsa Pau of BlueOnion and Ben McQuhae of Ben McQuhae&Co. to look at a range of investor portfolios based around their finance vs. impact return objectives. Ultimately, being clear and honest with one's objectives and targets before deployment is the surest way to create a satisfactory impact portfolio.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management is launching their first USD500 million biodiversity-focused bond fund in an effort to support nature conservation. (link)
Standard Chartered issued its first-ever Social Bond, which will support the sustainable development of low-income countries across the bank’s emerging market footprint. (link)
Southeast Asian company Agros raised a USD4.25 million Series A round to expand its solar-powered irrigation business across Southeast Asia. (link)
TECHCOOP secured a USD70 million Series A to expand its agritech platform across Vietnam. (link)
Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth released their "Investor's Guide to Systemic Investing", offering a roadmap into this nascent area for curious investors.
In a new report, World Economic Forum calls for greater urgency and multistakeholder collaborations to scale and accelerate Impact Investments for Climate and Nature in Asia.
Could 2025 be the pivotal year that nature-positive finance and solutions for sustainable construction takes off? We certainly hope so!
We invite Family Office Principals, Private Investors of an endowment or foundation, or NextGen Investors to reach out to us to find out more about the benefits of joining the Sustainable Finance Initiative community. Don't miss out on members' only opportunities, and contact us today!
Stay updated on these gatherings, as well as impact news, research and events we have highlighted for the SFi community in our full newsletter! Let's keep bringing purpose to capital!
