The young activists leading school strikes and mass protests around the world have been highly effective in sounding the alarm about climate change. But if the movement is going to be anything more than a flash in the pan, it must adopt realistic policy objectives that the broader public can support.
When the US Business Roundtable recently renounced shareholder primacy, the shift – by an organization representing companies with combined annual revenue of more than $7 trillion – prompted a wide range of reactions, from welcoming to dismissive. But the move is primarily an attempt to keep activist shareholders and populist politicians at bay.
A recent survey conducted by Vontobel found that many investors are still in the dark about sustainable investment practices. The following papers attempt to shine some light on the subject, working to close the knowledge gap on ESG investing. Several papers provide overviews of ESG investment practices, reviewing the UN's SDGs, ESG integration, climate risk within portfolios, ESG's…
Today's youth are the victims of the worst – and the worst imaginable – instance of intergenerational injustice in human history. The worldwide climate strikes make it clear that adults must involve young people in critical decisions affecting the future of the planet.
PepsiCo Inc. has priced its first-ever green bond, earmarking the proceeds from the $1 billion offering to help the food and beverage giant cut virgin-plastic use and replenish the water it consumes in making sodas and snacks.
Wide variations in the way oil companies report their efforts to reduce carbon emissions make it difficult to assess the risk of holding their shares as the world shifts away from fossil fuels, senior fund managers say.
The world’s premiere authority on global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (or IPCC for short), announced in an alarming report at the end of last year that the world is running out of time to curb carbon dioxide emissions. In fact, the data they collected found that in order to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees centigrade over pre-industrial…
After surveying the landscape of environmental, social and governance papers that have recently been released, here is a selection of the top recent ESG content we've uncovered. Wellington Management describes five of the inefficiencies that make ESG investments an attractive market segment for the active investor and Style Analytics delves into disparities between ESG scores. A…
The latest tool in the global push toward environmental sustainability may be an enhanced financial statement. Researchers at Harvard Business School suggest that business leaders need a quantifiable way to assess the impact that their companies have on the planet to make informed decisions. Their solution: Adding line items called impact-weighted accounts to financial statements. […]…
Assets managed in environmental, social and governance (ESG) mandates rose by almost a quarter last year, despite overall assets under management falling.
A report from CREATE in collaboration with BNY Mellon looks at two related megatrends in investing—climate change and artificial intelligence. It asks in each case: how is this trend perceived in terms of opportunities and risks? What are the specific investment issues involved or solutions likely to be adopted? And how are the asset allocation approaches changing?
Not too long ago, ushering in a societal shift toward clean, renewable energy seemed impossible, given the costs and level of government intervention required. But that has all changed: far from being boondoggles, green-energy options are beating out the fossil-fuel competition where it counts: the bottom line.
However ESG adoption slowed in 2019 after two years of rapid growth.
The post ESG Principles Guide 70% of Institutional Investors appeared first on Chief Investment Officer.
Impact investing is becoming of increased importance to investors and fund managers alike, as they seek out investment opportunities in companies that are committed to making the world a better place. From clean technology and sustainable energy to healthcare innovation, electric vehicle advances and decarbonisation projects, there is a huge potential for VC and PE investors.
The 2008 financial crisis, together with failed efforts to combat climate change and sharply rising inequality, has frayed the neoliberal consensus that has prevailed in the United States and much of the West for more than two generations. Three issues must be considered in weighing what comes next.
The premise of impact investing is simple: Investors can deploy capital in ways that return a profit, and simultaneously make the world a healthier place. Put that way, it’s hard to see why impact investing isn’t part of everyone’s portfolio. But it’s not, and NN Investment Partners’ recent survey of 290 professional investors from several […] The post Impact Investing Has Opportunity,…
With the UN Climate Action Summit taking place in New York, Simon Webber explains why climate change is such an important factor when choosing an investment.
The latest tool in the global push toward environmental sustainability may be an enhanced financial statement. Researchers at Harvard Business School suggest that business leaders need a quantifiable way to assess the impact that their companies have on the planet to make informed decisions. Their solution: Adding line items called impact-weighted accounts to financial statements. […]
More than 100 climate-themed funds listed on global exchanges have approximately the same level of thermal coal exposure as the World MSCI Index of large cap equities, according to research from InfluenceMap.
The finance industry can not end modern slavery and human trafficking but it will not end without the finance industry. Head of ESG at NZ Super, Anne-Maree O'Connor, says investors can engage in a new report ‘Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking,’ to learn more about the specific role that they can play in making slavery a thing of the past and help achieve the SDGs.
The post Investors unite…