Launching at London Climate Action Week, the second edition of the Oxford Martin Principles for Climate-Conscious Investment offers a framework for evaluating whether corporate transition plans are credible and likely to be delivered.

Since their introduction in 2018, the Principles have influenced the investment strategies of asset managers and institutional investors overseeing more than £62.5 billion, while also informing investment stewardship and net-zero target setting across the University of Oxford and beyond.  

In 2019 they were used in a review of 132 of the world’s largest energy companies by the Transition Pathway Initiative, a global campaign supported by asset managers with $15 trillion of combined assets.

BP and Shell have engaged directly with the research team, using the Principles as a basis for discussions around the credibility of their transition strategies.

"In an increasingly complex landscape of standards and disclosures, these updated Oxford Martin Principles remind us of the simple requirements for credible strategies and measurable action."

The update reflects how the climate and investment landscape has evolved since the Principles were first published. As the landscape of climate-related standards becomes increasingly complex, investors face a growing challenge: determining whether corporate transition plans are genuinely credible and likely to be delivered in practice.  

The second edition is intended to help answer that question. Built around three core tests: commitment to net zero, a viable net-zero business model and quantitative medium-term targets, it helps investors identify whether companies are translating climate ambition into real-world action. The Principles are designed to complement existing standards and reporting frameworks, rather than replace them.

Dr Alice Evatt, lead author and Research Fellow on Net Zero for the Fossil Fuel Sector at Oxford Net Zero, comments: “The transition-planning landscape can be overwhelming. We hope the Principles provide a simple place to start: a practical first test of whether a transition plan has the basic ingredients of credibility.”

Cameron Hepburn, co-author and Battcock Professor of Environmental Economics at the Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, comments: "The transition now depends less on ambition and more on execution. In an increasingly complex landscape of standards and disclosures, these updated Oxford Martin Principles remind us of the simple requirements for credible strategies and measurable action."

The launch took place during London Climate Action Week at an event hosted by the Oxford Martin School and Oxford Net Zero on 23 June. Bringing together leaders from investment, industry, standards-setting organisations and academia, the discussion explored how investors and companies could assess transition-plan credibility in today’s policy and reporting landscape.