Trading-focused ESG network Sustainable Trading is set to close its doors in the coming months, three and a half years after its launch, The TRADE can reveal.
Members voted for closure at its general meeting on 17 July following a recommendation from the board. Members have been notified, and a liquidator will be appointed to ensure financial and legal requirements are met ahead of its closure towards the end of summer.
The not-for-profit network has experienced suffering membership levels thanks to an increasingly challenging landscape caused by unfavourable market conditions, namely in the US.
Speaking to The TRADE exclusively, founder Duncan Higgins explained that the current political environment had created several hurdles for firms looking to enforce greater sustainability within their organisations.
“Political headwinds around the world have created significant challenges for financial organisations, particularly those operating in the sustainability space,” he said.
“As a result, we’ve had both declining member numbers and less ability for firms to commit time and resources to the organisation. It’s left us in a position where we’re in a much more challenged environment and less able to make a collective impact. With the decline in member numbers, the difficulty in operating the organisation continues to increase and the positive impact that we could have was decreasing.”
The same pressures have seen an exodus of banks and asset managers exit their Net Zero initiatives as firms’ priorities become increasingly focused elsewhere.
Similar trends have been seen in the UK, with pensions organisation, Make My Money Matter, also closing in February earlier this year due to funding issues.
Positive progress
Sustainable Trading launched in February 2022 with the intention of improving ESG initiatives across the trading landscape.
The network has seen widespread adoption since its launch with members including, AXA Investment Managers, Bank of America, Barclays, Schroders, BTIG, Invesco, the London Stock Exchange Group, M&G plc, State Street Global Advisors, T. Rowe Price, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and Fidelity International, among many others.
It launched its new Member Progress Framework in November last year aimed at offering a step-by-step approach for firms to make measurable progress, earn recognition and contribute to higher industry standards.
The network also supported volunteering initiatives taking organisations into schools, commenced an ESG survey, published thought leadership and launched a best practices framework for member organisations to adhere to.
“One key achievement was to develop with our members a set of best practices that covered a wide set of topics within their organisations and within their trading businesses,” Higgins tells The TRADE.
“That was a huge undertaking and something that we had so much collective energy from all of our members to be able to deliver.”
Sustainable Trading’s work will become publicly available to both members and non-members on its website to ensure its continued use within the industry following the organisations closure.
Higgins intends to remain in the City. His next venture is unconfirmed.