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Climate, strategy and performance: finance put to the test by the energy transition
Article published on « Voix d’entrepreneurs » in partnership with Le Figaro on 29 October 2025
As ESG criteria and the climate emergency are redefining the rules of the economic game, investors and businesses are looking for new ways to combine performance and impact. An encounter between Isabelle Kocher, former CEO of ENGIE and co-founder of advisory firm Blunomy, and Sophie Chardon, Head of Sustainable Investment at Lombard Odier, explores how finance can accelerate the energy transition and shape a more resilient, low-carbon economy – through the eyes of two leaders working at the heart of the economic transformation, each bringing their vision of finance in service of the transition.
Key takeaways:
Businesses need to reposition their activity portfolios to remain competitive in a net-zero world
Investors should move beyond short-term metrics (such as annual EBITDA), but actively channel capital towards viable science-based economic models capable of generating measurable impact
A dynamic analysis of transition pathways, including emissions avoided, clean energy added, and input circularity, is vital to identifying future-proof businesses and marking out the real leaders of the transition.
How is the energy transition redefining the strategy of businesses today?
Isabelle Kocher:The transition is not just a moral imperative, it is a strategic necessity. In a world where the carbon footprint is set to become a decisive factor, every business must ask itself a simple question: How well-positioned is my activity portfolio for a net-zero future? My aim here is to get across my belief that the transition is above all a question of strategy rather than a "non-financial" issue that is discussed on the margins through obligatory reporting.
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We are looking at a fundamental reorientation of activity portfolios towards what will be relevant and necessary in the future. In this sense the transition goes right to the heart of business strategy: resource allocation. And this allocation must be thought out in a way that renders the business truly future-proof, in other words capable of prospering in tomorrow's world. It is therefore essential to get away from this reductive vision of the "non-financial" and understand that we are in fact talking about strategy, about competitiveness and about survival
The transition goes right to the heart of business strategy: resource allocation. And this allocation must be thought out in a way that renders the business truly future-proof, in other words capable of prospering in tomorrow's world
How can finance support this paradigm shift?
Sophie Chardon: Sustainable finance must be a true lever for transformation. Its role is to actively reorientate capital flows towards the great systemic transitions: energy, industry, consumption, healthcare, driven by disruptive technologies, notably AI. This requires a focus on robust, science-based economic models capable of leading the transition towards a net zero world.
The aim is to invest in businesses and projects that deliver concrete, long-term viable solutions. Finance plays a key role in the deployment of infrastructure investments with impact through green and social bonds, or through private investments in sustainable infrastructure. We have a double objective: to reconcile financial performance and measurable environmental and social impact with clear indicators such as emissions avoided or clean energy capacity added.
Green bonds, a sustainable lever of finance
The market for green bonds is experiencing remarkable growth, reaching a global volume over USD 3,023 billion by the end of 2024, according to the Banque de France. These securities differ from traditional bonds in that the funds raised are allocated exclusively to environmental projects such as renewable energy, sustainable transport or biodiversity protection.
France played a pioneering role with the issue of the first significant green sovereign bond by Agence France Trésor in 2017. Over a 22 year period, EUR 7 bn has been allocated to initiatives aimed at fighting and adapting to climate change, on biodiversity, and on combating pollution. The success has been immediate, and since then several issuances have followed, including a new EUR 8 bn issue in January 2024. The total volume of green OAT reached EUR 76 bn at the end of 2024, up from EUR 42 bn three years earlier. The European Union has also integrated this instrument, financing part of the Next Generation EU programme with green bond issues totalling EUR 73 bn since 2021.
Today, green bonds have become a cornerstone of sustainable finance. They not only allow savings to be channelled towards impact projects but also measure CO₂ emissions avoided, reinforcing their role as a bridge between investors and the low-carbon economy.
In light of the environmental challenges, what role must businesses play today?
Isabelle Kocher:I believe it is businesses, rather than the State, which bring innovation. The role of the State is to point the way forward, to set a vision. But it is businesses that invent, experiment and scale up. Their responsibility is clear: to prepare the ground for new methods of production and deploy them as quickly as possible.
It is businesses that invent, experiment and scale up. Their responsibility is clear: to prepare the ground for new methods of production and deploy them as quickly as possible
At Engie, the company I managed from 2016 to 2020, we made this radical choice. In the space of four years we stopped virtually all carbon-based electricity production while at the same time developing renewables on a large scale1. During the 18 months we spent preparing for this turnaround, I met shareholders and told them that we were going to close down activities, that our top line would go down, that we would generate less cash, and that our share price would probably fall. But in the long term, I said, you will have helped create real value. And that is exactly what happened.
Sophie Chardon: Over the past few months, I have observed with great interest that the baton of leadership in the climate transition has passed from governments to businesses, because the risks and opportunities associated with the climate transition will need to be integrated in the private sector.
How do you think this transition can be accelerated?
Isabelle Kocher: At Blunomy we help financial institutions, banks and investors shift their perspective when they set about evaluating a business or analysing their existing portfolio. The challenge is to understand which part of the top line of the businesses they are financing are exposed to transition-linked risks, in other words activities that are likely to decline in a changing world, and which part will, by contrast, benefit from this transition.
It is striking that businesses, which at first glance, appear similar – same size, same geographical footprint – can have radically different risk or opportunity profiles once you look closely at their composition, sometimes by a ratio of one to three, even within the same sector. Yet, their stock market valuations, or the valuation methods used, which often focus on the company's annual EBITDA, are frequently comparable, as if these major differences were not taken into account.
This is starting to change, and it gives me great pleasure to see players such as Lombard Odier form part of this pioneering minority that has chosen to go further, to take a closer look. To transform the rules of the financial game over the long term, we need to change the way success is presented and how we look at business performance.
What are the analysis tools that allow us to identify businesses truly capable of mastering the great systemic transitions?
Sophie Chardon: I completely agree with your interpretation: at a time of such profound transformation, scrutinising a snapshot of a business is no longer enough. Financial analysis needs to evolve towards a dynamic approach that is capable of following the progress made, evaluating the economic viability of decisions taken, and measuring the trajectory toward a net-zero economy.
This evolution spans five key systems: energy, through decarbonised production and network flexibility; industry, through for example input circularity and the carbon intensity of processes; consumption, by analysing the carbon footprint of logistics chains; healthcare, by integrating access to preventative care and personalised medicine; and finally, technology and artificial intelligence, which permeate all these sectors.
At a time of such profound transformation, scrutinising a snapshot of a business is no longer enough. Financial analysis needs to evolve towards a dynamic approach that is capable of following the progress made, evaluating the economic viability of decisions taken, and measuring the trajectory toward a net-zero economy
Faced with these challenges, the economic models being studied must be compatible with a net-zero world, viable on an economic level and rooted in science and technology. We also need to be able to evaluate them in terms of their real and measurable impact. This is a fascinating field that requires us to mobilise new expertise so we can provide our clients with a clear picture of businesses' capacity to navigate these transitions and demonstrate, with evidence, that they are truly future-proof.
Isabelle Kocher: You are right, the challenge is to integrate these transition criteria directly into the heart of financial analysis, rather than treating them as non-financial indicators. We are talking about measuring the risks and opportunities linked to the transition in euros, and not just in tonnes of carbon, as most players are still doing. All too often, an artificial distinction is made between traditional finance – with its historical indicators that were once useful but now insufficient – and non-financial metrics that struggle to have any real impact on decision-making. What we are demonstrating is that it is possible to combine these approaches.
At Blunomy, we are developing methodologies for large global banks which, on the basis of public data, offer a refined view of the risks and opportunities associated with thousands of businesses in portfolios. This capacity to price these elements, to give them a monetary value, radically changes the situation. Progress is rapid, which is excellent news. We now have tools capable of making performance dimensions visible and comparable, something which until recently was beyond the traditional financial models.
Specifically, how are your clients integrating this new impact requirement into their investment decisions?
Sophie Chardon: I am convinced that financial communications will need to integrate these new indicators going forward. Our clients are clearly calling for it. When they are considering an investment, they want us to be able to demonstrate over time what the real impact is beyond the mere financial performance, which of course remains at the heart of our profession. This information has become key in our relationships with clients because it allows them to reconcile returns with a meaningful decision, figures with concrete evidence.
This is a marketing communication issued by Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd (hereinafter “Lombard Odier”).
It is not intended for distribution, publication, or use in any jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, or use would be unlawful, nor is it aimed at any person or entity to whom it would be unlawful to address such a marketing communication.
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