Speaking at COP 27, UN Secretary-General António Guterres was crystal clear. “We must have zero tolerance for net-zero greenwashing.”

His words reflect a growing unease across financial, business and political communities about the proliferation of companies and asset owners making extravagant claims about ESG, sustainable, ethical, or impact investing.

Greenwashing is rife – and it is causing investors to question the very value of allocating capital to managers who highlight their ‘sustainable’ credentials.

Snowball is different. We share investor frustration. We are equally disappointed with the extent of bland, unsubstantiated claims from the owners, curators and managers of capital. But we are also absolutely clear that the world needs to change, and the financial community has a central role to play in that transition. That shouldn't involve choices between ‘green’ investing and ‘traditional’ investing. At Snowball, we place equal importance on positive impact and positive financial returns. There is no either, or: it is just a better way to invest.

We also believe that scepticism and suspicion can best be alleviated if those of us who claim to be working for people and the planet are prepared to show stakeholders what we are doing, how we are doing it and why it matters. That’s why Snowball invited The Good Economy to hold us to account. They carried out an independent verification of our impact approach to see if we are living up to our ambitions. Now, we have published their report so anyone and everyone can see our progress.

In our winter newsletter, we explain more fully why we commissioned the report and what it reveals – where we have done well and where we need to do better.

We don’t know of any other asset manager who has made this level of information public before. But we believe this should change. If investment managers are making claims about their credentials, why not put them to the test and publish the results? That is the best way to tackle sceptics. And, crucially, it is the best way to make this world a better place.

If you have any thoughts on the article or would like to learn more about Snowball, please do be in touch on hello@snowball.im