IFB convening with its members, meeting other NABs and preparing for the 2nd Belgian Impact Day

In September, Laure Peronnin of Astanor Ventures and and Paul Buysens of Incofin Investment Management, both members of IFB, came to the Impact House to talk about the different ways their organisations define and measure impact. The audience was a varied crowd working for banks, fund managers, impact investors, consultants and network organisations. What became clear is that there are many different methods to impact, with ample room to explore and learn from each other. For IFB, these are important inputs as clarity and alignment on impact is crucial for understanding, growing and improving our joint efforts on impact finance in Belgium. Thank you very much to our speakers Laure Peronnin and Paul Buysens! And we look forward to the next IFB Members’ Talk.

IFB attended the GSG (The Global Steering Group for Impact Investment) Global  Impact Summit 2023 in Malaga; an initiative by Sir Ronald Cohen and hosted by SpainNAB. Leaders from finance, business and philanthropy came together to solve some of the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges. 10 years after its establishment, the GSG Summit brought together more than 900 participants from the global impact finance ecosystem. European countries were well represented, along with many participants from Latin America, Africa and Asia. IFB is proud to be part of this global network. This conference was a great opportunity for IFB to exchange ideas, expand its network and move the impact agenda forward.

Over two full days, a vast array of topics was presented and discussed; impact finance and its relationship with philanthropy, with diversity and equity, with AI and tech, with global health; the relationship between climate change and capitalism, the SDGs and the social economy, impact valuation, the regulatory landscape, the current state of impact finance on all different continents and much more. As IFB, we were happy to contribute to the session on European cross-national collaboration with Raffaella De Felice, Laure Wessemius-Chibrac, Cyrille Langendorff, Filippo Montesi Altamirano and Jose Luis Ruiz de Munain. The European regional impact investing ecosystem is growing stronger with clear common goals and efficient collaboration.

In Málaga, we further discussed three core items of European collaboration:

1. Impact Transparency and Data Harmonization: IFB will align on these topics with her European partners, where possible act and communicate together.

2. Knowledge Sharing and Building of Best Practices: aiming to learn from the experience of the IFB equivalents in other countries and build with them on best practices.

3. Policy Advocacy, especially on EU matters: with SFDR consultation as first concrete example. IFB is now aligning with the other NABs and intends to ask our members for their input that we can include in our joint NAB input towards the European Commission.

As we prepare for the 2nd Belgian Impact Day, IFB shared many messages, including the following:

Embracing Impact: A Transformative Shift in the Financial Sector

Financiers of all sorts are increasingly prioritizing impact alongside financial returns. Members of IFB note three compelling external factors driving this shift:

1. Addressing Global Challenges: Climate change and social issues are pushing investors to take an active role in mitigating risks and facilitating the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy. The imperative is clear: without strategic investments, the world risks exceeding the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature rise, endangering global well-being and financial stability. This links directly to growing social inequalities. Including social considerations in a financing decision often strengthens the investment.

2. Adapting to Regulatory Changes: Governments worldwide are enacting regulations with a keen focus on climate action, creating substantial investment opportunities. For instance, the US Inflation Reduction Act allocates over $370 billion in funding, and the EU Green Deal may commit over €1 trillion to sustainability by 2030. The SFDR emerged from the European Green Deal, which encompasses European Commission policy and legislative proposals designed to make the EU carbon-neutral by 2050. It lays the roadmap for a sustainable economy and positions sustainable objectives squarely at the core of EU policy.

3. Meeting Investor Demand: Investors, particularly younger generations are driving the demand for impact-focused investments, by seeking investments that align with their values. These investors are increasingly conscious of the societal and environmental consequences of their portfolios and are keen on investments that create a positive social or environmental impact. Consequently, fund managers are compelled to pivot towards impact investing to meet these evolving client preferences.

In this rapidly changing financial landscape, the convergence of global shifts, regulatory pressures, and client expectations is propelling fund managers to look beyond mere financial metrics and embrace investments that make a positive impact.

If you want to learn about these topics, share your experiences and contribute to the debate: join us on 8 November. Find the link below where we also mention our keynote speakers and event sponsors.