United StatesAs specialist investors in the transition to a sustainable economy, making our voices heard with policymakers has been an important part of Impax’s work for decades. We believe it is crucial for investors to participate more closely in public policy design in order to accelerate this transition, including by reducing emissions and protecting natural resources.
Our team is regularly consulted on the design and implementation of public policy. We strive to influence policy outcomes that support the growth of markets in solutions to environmental and social challenges. Through such advocacy, we can both maximise the effectiveness of policies and identify future investment opportunities.
Read about our recent global policy advocacy activities and the impact of our work in the Engagement and Policy Advocacy Report 2022.
Our global advocacy strategy is currently focused on four key themes. Click to read an example of our activity for each of these areas.
- Financing the transition to net-zero emissions
- Greening the financial system
- Human capital such as diversity, equity and Covid-19
- Biodiversity
Through our policy and advocacy activities we collaborate closely with a broad network, including the scientific community, industry bodies and not-for-profit organisations. Here is a selection of our current memberships.
Bringing about public policy change often seems to take a long, slow arc to completion, but with ice sheets collapsing, resources diminishing and inequality widening, there is new urgency to deliver the major changes needed to transition to a more sustainable economy. There is also growing recognition of the crucial role the financial sector can play in accelerating that transition.
We look forward to making a positive contribution to the important work ahead.
Chris Dodwell
Chris is a climate change and environmental policy expert with over 25 years’ public and private sector experience. He is responsible for managing Impax’s engagement in the development of policy issues and providing insights on policy to the firm’s investment teams.
Before joining Impax in 2019 Chris worked at Ricardo Energy & Environment for eight years as Director of Climate Change, Clean Growth and Strategic Partnerships. Here he was responsible for overseeing key projects in the aforementioned areas as well as building relationships with clients in the public and financial services sectors. Prior to this he worked for 10 years at the heart of the UK Government’s work on climate change, including leading the UK’s implementation of the EU Emissions Trading System and heading the UK Delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Chris began his career as a solicitor at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer where he worked on a variety of civil, criminal and public law litigation relating to the impact of pollution on the environment and human health.
Chris graduated with a BA Hons in Classics from the University of Cambridge in 1990 and later went on to achieve a Master of Laws in Environmental Law from University College London in 2002.
Recent Insights
Natural selection: the investment case for addressing biodiversity loss
In this Q&A, Lisa Beauvilain and Chris Dodwell explain why biodiversity loss is critically important for investors to consider, and how investment opportunities are arising from reducing pressure on the natural world.
Outlook 2023: Why testing times call for sustainable solutions
The macroeconomic backdrop in 2023 will be a real test for companies, with the impetus for authentic solutions to sustainability challenges being greater than ever.
What the Inflation Reduction Act means for climate-focused investors
Our initial reflections on a package of real economy policies that should help unlock private investment in the sustainable transition