By Jan Anton van Zanten, PhD, Head of Sustainable Investing
The sustainable transition is reshaping markets. Amidst this transition, traditional investment tools are no longer sufficient to pursue financial and sustainability objectives. Our proprietary Transition Investment Framework was designed to close this gap. By integrating sustainability science, proprietary data, and forward-looking financial analysis, we have created a system that enables us to evaluate companies with exceptional depth – and to construct portfolios that reflect both real-world impact and alpha.
Below are five ways our research and intellectual property can benefit clients in shaping new sustainable investing solutions.
1. Benefit from new sustainability metrics rooted in innovation
Our Transition Investment Framework is an innovative tool that allows us to analyse a company’s role in the sustainability transition with unprecedented depth. We estimate a company’s current impact, proxy its expected future impact, and determine how its financial health is influenced by sustainability transitions. Millions of datapoints – ranging from product revenues to controversies, patents, and green investments – are assessed to produce clear, forward‑looking scores.
This enables us to evaluate how companies contribute to different sustainability transitions and how strongly they align with global goals such as the SDGs. The result for you: we can make your portfolio as sustainable as you want, and tailor it to the topics you care about most, whether climate, biodiversity, wellbeing, or economic development.
2. Break free from opaque and politically influenced sustainability assessments
Many standard sustainability ratings have become black boxes: they offer high‑level scores but rarely explain the underlying reasoning. Even more concerning, we increasingly see sustainability data providers caving to political pressure: softening assessments, removing controversial incidents, and reframing methodologies to avoid pushback. The risk is clear: investors can unknowingly include unsustainable companies in sustainability‑labelled portfolios.
We take a different path. Through our Baobab software engine – which we are now building – we gather and structure our own data, making our solutions independent, transparent, and rooted in facts and scientific evidence. Headquartered in the Netherlands, sustainability is in our DNA, and we ensure that our research remains insulated from political influence. This independence helps ensure your portfolio reflects genuine sustainability performance, not shifting narratives or external pressure.
3. Know what you own — with full transparency and plain‑language insights
We believe that transparency is essential for credible sustainable investing. For each company in your portfolio, we share our sustainability assessment in plain language, explaining how it scores within our Transition Investment Framework and why. You can see a company’s sustainability performance in real time, understand what drives the score, and engage with us to refine the approach based on your feedback. This helps ensure your portfolio aligns with your priorities.
4. Invest using metrics built on global scientific research
Our Transition Investment Framework is grounded in sustainability science. We analysed hundreds of academic papers to understand how economic activities contribute to different Sustainable Development Goals, and we integrated this evidence directly into our scoring system. This means we not only classify whether a company’s activities are positive or negative for sustainable development, but we also distinguish how positive – or how harmful – they are.
For example, to identify whether companies generate green revenues that help drive the energy decarbonization transition – thus helping tackle climate change, we draw on IPCC research to differentiate between:
- Highly positive contributions such as solar and wind energy
- Medium positive contributions such as biomass
- Lower‑but‑still‑positive contributions such as electricity grid expansion
These distinctions matter. They enable us to direct capital toward the companies delivering the strongest sustainability benefits, and to separate genuine impact from overstatement.
5. Ensure that sustainability drives alpha
We take a pragmatic view on sustainable investing: we look for companies that not only have a positive impact, but also those that can drive alpha. Not every sustainable company will outperform, and our framework acknowledges this.
That is why our Financial Health Impact assessment integrates sustainability factors directly into cash‑flow modelling, credit analysis, and capital‑structure evaluation. By analysing how the transition affects a company’s financial resilience – whether transition costs create risks, or whether green investments unlock long‑term value – we identify which firms are positioned to benefit from the transition and which may face headwinds. In this way, sustainability becomes a genuine driver of performance rather than a marketing label.
Conclusion
The sustainable transition is accelerating, and investors need tools that combine scientific rigour, transparency, and financial insight. Our Transition Investment Framework gives a deeper understanding of how companies impact the world—and how the transition will impact them. By combining sustainability science, proprietary data, and investment expertise, we build portfolios for clients that are credible, tailored, and performance‑driven.
We would be delighted to explore how these insights can strengthen your investment strategy.
Important Information
Osmosis Investment Management NL B.V. (Osmosis NL) is licensed as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) and the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht, Wft) and authorized to provide discretionary portfolio management services. Osmosis NL is subject to supervision by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). Osmosis NL is an affiliate of UK-based Osmosis Investment Management UK Limited (“Osmosis UK”) and a member of the Osmosis Group of Companies (”Osmosis”).
This document and any marketing communication are intended solely for Professional Clients as defined in the Wft. It is not directed at, nor intended for distribution to, any person in any jurisdiction where such distribution would be unlawful. The information provided is for general information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, research or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument. It is not tailored to individual circumstances or investment objectives.
The views expressed are as of the date of publication of this document and may change without notice. Although this information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, no representation or warranty is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Osmosis NL accepts no liability for any direct or indirect loss arising from use of this information. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. No representation or warranty is made that any account or investment will achieve results similar to those shown. Actual results may differ substantially due to factors such as market conditions, timing and pricing of trades, portfolio composition, fees, and client circumstances. Investments can fall as well as rise in value and may result in the loss of capital. Forecasts, projections, or targets are for illustrative purposes only and are not guaranteed in any way. Any investment examples included herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any specific security. There is no assurance that such investments will remain in the strategy or have ever been held.
Case studies have been selected on a non-performance basis as indicative of the investment approach and process. Benchmark information is provided for comparison purposes only. Indices are unmanaged, not available for direct investment, and do not reflect the deduction of fees or expenses, which would reduce returns. Past benchmark performance is not a reliable indicator of future results, and the referenced benchmarks may not be appropriate for all investors. If reference is made to an investment fund, please refer to the relevant fund’s prospectus or offering documents with more details on investment objectives, costs, and risks before making any final investment decisions. Scenarios and performance presented are estimates based on past data and current market conditions and are not exact indicators of future results. Actual outcomes will vary depending on market performance and the duration of investment.
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