PhD – Thomas Enjalbert – Measuring the impact of investment

With the climate crisis and the overshooting of planetary boundaries, finance is called upon to contribute more actively to global transitions. Some investors seek to align their capital allocation and shareholder engagement with these challenges, but face a central difficulty: defining local action, at the level of the investor or the investee company, that remains consistent with complex, uncertain and interdependent transitions. Building on an in-depth case study of Mirova, complemented by other cases, the thesis highlights these tensions and the means used to connect local and global levels, notably new metrics and new governance mechanisms.

It shows that investors need to account for the multiple and evolving interdependencies between investee companies (industrial, commercial, financial and ultimately ecological) to build portfolios that are coherent and resilient. When measurement tools freeze or conceal these links, some transition pathways may be hindered. Governance mechanisms combining engagement, continuous monitoring and revision of impact trajectories therefore appear essential to sustain the effort over time.