Publications • September 19, 2025
Integrating investor impact in the EU regulatory framework
Contributors
Nicola Stefan Koch
Head of Retail and Impact Investing
David Cooke
Law and policy Lead - The Sustainable Finance Observatory
Supports
Publications • September 19, 2025
Integrating investor impact in the EU regulatory framework
Supports
Contributors
Nicola Stefan Koch
Head of Retail and Impact Investing
David Cooke
Law and policy Lead - The Sustainable Finance Observatory
Expertises
Impact measurement
We expect a multi-trillion euro market potential for financial products that genuinely generate measurable social and environmental impact. Despite growing regulatory attention, markets still lack a credible, standardized methodology to assess investor contribution, creating risks of impact-washing and misallocation of capital. SFO's analysis and knowledge production since 2018 has shaped EU sustainable finance policy, and produced tools such as the Impact Potential Assessment Framework (IPAF), ISO 14097, Climate Impact Management System and guidance on environmental impact claims and client sustainability preferences. Widely trusted by policymakers and market actors, we are now scaling IPAF and building AI-enabled assessment and allocation tools which support integration of investor impact into EU regulation. Our goal is to help investors optimise portfolio impact and direct capital towards high-impact investments at scale.
Retail investing
There is a major market failure between EU retail investors investment preferences and the fact that only a small share actually hold impact generating financial products. Since 2017, the Sustainable Finance Observatory has been a leading authority shaping EU retail sustainable finance through research, policy engagement, product innovation (e.g. MyFairMoney) and large-scale communication.
Transparency
Focused on supply for finance, this pillar of activities monitors financial institutions' sustainability practices such as net-zero commitments.