Taking an effective leadership role in sustainable investment involves innovation, the ability to understand the big picture, and a vision that encompasses the long term. On a preliminary, practical level, sustainable investment can be as simple as a time commitment to learning about and making deliberate investment decisions with a lens of responsibly managing and protecting natural resources.

One of the requirements for Toronto District School Board students to graduate from high school is to complete 40 hours of volunteer work in their community. As a part of this program, students can direct their efforts toward making a physical difference in the environmental landscape of their community by removing invasive species and planting native, sustainable plants. My daughter participates in this program and is proud of her leadership role in environmental stewardship.

Moving beyond hands-on sustainability efforts and into a business perspective, sustainable investment is more complex and nuanced; however, the commitment to leading sustainability practices and protecting what is important to us and future generations remains the same.

In this issue of The Analyst, we learn from sustainability thought leaders. We speak to leaders from Indigenous financial institutions to get their wisdom on meaningfully integrating Indigenous cultural values into their companies while addressing historical and ongoing barriers. Our featured charterholder, Jennifer Vieno, CFA, ESG Research Director, Technology Media and Telecom, Sustainalytics Morningstar, shares her career path in ESG and sustainability and highlights the value of building strong networks and the difference it’s made in her own career trajectory.

We explore the landscape of sustainable multi-family real estate as a Canadian investment option. Our practical application feature on visualizing climate trends explores how to utilize Python to unlock valuable insights.

The Industry Standards Reporting Research Council shares information about their pilot project to assess the feasibility, viability, and next steps required to develop industry-specific standards for alternative performance measures.

The second selection from our Book Review series is Indigenomics: Taking a Seat at the Economics Table, in which author Carol Ann Hilton highlights her framework for understanding and growing the Indigenous economy and the reciprocity of how success in the Indigenous economy benefits Indigenous peoples and Canadian society.

Finally, we bring you the second part of our series on the art of questionology, gaining insight from two fact-finding professionals, an investigative journalist and litigation lawyer, on the mechanics and best practices for asking better questions.

As spring is upon us, I hope this issue provides the seeds necessary to bring sustainable intention to many aspects of your personal and professional life.