Sustainable investing innovation is something the whole industry is working on – to varying degrees of success. But this year's investment innovation award goes to Morgan Stanley Investment Management's (MSIM) 1GT platform, which has been particularly noteworthy in its approach.

Unlike many, the 1GT platform has set itself clear and ambitious targets to fulfil – at the top, this focuses on scaling companies whose products will avoid or remove 1 gigaton (1,000 tons) of CO2e from the atmosphere between platform inception and 2050. It does so by investing in companies at a growth inflexion point and where the climate solution is intrinsic to the company's business.

These include across mobility, power, sustainable food & agriculture, and circular economy.

The 1GT team is led by Vikram Raju, the former Climate Fund Lead at the International Finance Corporation, with climate experience reaching back to the early 2000s.

As well as investing, the other branch of the work involves engaging with management of businesses and private equity partners to develop high quality measurement, reporting and storytelling of sustainability, and the reduction or avoidance of CO2e emissions.

The platform has also been set up to be measurable via third-party auditing and will be underwritten by a third-party carbon specialist.

These concrete proposals distinguished MSIM's 1GT platform and won it the year's innovation award.