Business as usual has for too long increased economic prosperity at the cost of social wellbeing and the natural environment. Our research asks what a better model of business looks like, what it takes to get there, and how to make that transition happen at scale.
We answer those questions through two complementary outputs: research reports developed with and for industry, and peer-reviewed scientific papers produced with leading academic institutions. Together, they translate the research foundation into tools, frameworks and intelligence that businesses, investors and governments can act on today.
Research reports
Our research reports are produced for and with industry. They translate our scientific findings into evidence-backed observation and practical guidance for businesses, investors and policymakers. They are also a primary vehicle for engagement: each report opens a conversation with the companies, institutions and governments we work with.
Finance for Impact
Finance is evolving from a passive allocator of capital to an active driver of systemic change. Through a series of reports, each building on the last, our Impact Finance Lab explores how business behaviours shape shareholder value. Together they form a roadmap for those ready to lead a behavioural revolution in investment decision-making.
Finance for Impact
- A behavioural revolution: sustainability actions that create alpha
- Which sustainability actions boost shareholder returns and which hinder them
- Corporate sustainability and shareholder returns: the role of business impact maturity
Our latest report reframes sustainability as a source of competitive advantage. It identifies a subset of high-impact behaviours that consistently generate returns above market benchmarks and shows why ESG scores told investors nothing that the market did not already know.
Building on the Business Impact Maturity (BIM) model, this report examines the specific actions companies take. Not all sustainability efforts are equal: some drive financial value, while others dilute it.
Our first Impact Finance report laid the foundation for understanding how a company's stage of sustainability development affects shareholder returns. It introduced the BIM concept and tested it against 13 years of market data from 983 North American and European companies.
Markets for Impact
Chemicals decarbonisation
The chemical industry is essential to the global economy and a significant contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This series examines how market-based mechanisms can create financial incentives for low-carbon production across global supply chains.
Markets for Impact
- White Paper: Insetting-based decarbonisation for the chemical industry
- White Paper: A market model towards insetting the decarbonisation of the chemical industry
Our first white paper introduced the concept of a market-based model for decarbonising the chemical industry through insetting, linking upstream emissions reductions to downstream product claims via traceable EACs.
Developed in collaboration with Shell, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Rocky Mountain Institute, Center for Green Market Action, International Sustainability and Carbon Certification, SCS Standards and the University of Minnesota.
Building on our foundational white paper, this report advances the conversation with a roadmap and market model for reducing emissions from a company's supply chain. It develops the case for insetting, a mechanism that links upstream emissions reductions to downstream product claims via traceable Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs).
Mindsets for Impact
Leadership and sustainability strategy
Leadership and sustainability strategy
Produced in partnership with Emeritus, this report draws on interviews with 37 CSOs at large companies across nine countries and 17 industries, including Unilever, Shell, BASF, Schneider Electric, LEGO, Standard Chartered and Société Générale. It introduces the BIM model, a framework for assessing how far a company has integrated sustainability into its core strategy. Where a CSO sits in a company's structure determines what they can change. Companies where the CSO reported directly to the CEO had the most advanced sustainability strategies. Companies where the CSO reported into communications or marketing had the least.
Biodiversity
The evolution of corporate behaviour to tackle biodiversity challenges
Centre on Business for Society, ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ College Business School, in partnership with HSBC, 2023
Drawing on a global dataset of 40,000 corporate sustainability initiatives, this report is the first to map the evolution of corporate action on biodiversity over two decades. It finds that while the volume of initiatives has declined, quality has improved, with companies adopting longer-term approaches through business model adaptation. The findings carry direct implications for businesses, financial institutions and policymakers working to execute the Global Biodiversity Framework and the Science Based Targets for Nature.
Scientific papers
Our academic research is produced in collaboration with scholars across ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ and partner institutions including HEC Paris and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It is grounded in the GOLDEN Sustainability Dataset, the world's largest database of corporate sustainability behaviours.
Our papers address three core questions:
- What model of business fits with humanity's expectations on economic and social wellbeing within planetary boundaries?
- What are the transformational changes necessary in mindsets, business models and markets to realise an economic system fit for purpose?
- For each type of change, what are the progressive steps needed to establish and propagate these new models in business?
View the list of our latest publications.
The GOLDEN Sustainability Dataset
Our research is powered by the GOLDEN Sustainability Dataset, the world's largest structured database of corporate sustainability behaviour. It contains more than 2.6 million initiatives drawn from over 85,000 corporate sustainability reports published by more than 23,000 companies across 100 countries. Our artificial intelligence algorithm, Da Vinci, reads each report, identifies every sustainability initiative and categorises it by type of behaviour, UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and the group of people it aims to benefit.
The dataset expanded by 30% in the past year, in collaboration with ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's Data Science Institute (DSI), HEC Paris and MIT, and is on track for fourfold expansion by 2027.
Work with us
Our research is designed to be used. We work with businesses, investors, stock exchanges and governments to translate findings into decisions. If you are a company seeking to understand your sustainability behaviour, an investor looking for better signals, or a government designing a national transition programme, we want to hear from you.