The Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI) has started the development phase of the Australian sustainable finance taxonomy with the appointment of the Taxonomy Technical Expert Group (TTEG). The TTEG is made up of 25 senior leaders, endorsed by the Australian Council of Financial Regulators’ Climate Working Group. It collectively represents a mix of skills and … Read more
The small town of Hoddesdon, most famous for an alleged conspiracy in 1683 to assassinate King Charles II, lies just five miles southeast of the county town of Hertford. Despite the short distance, the two towns have different water suppliers: Hoddesdon is supplied by Thames Water, while Hertford residents are reliant on Affinity Water when … Read more
In this new summer series for ESG Clarity, members of the sustainable investment industry tell us how their thinking on this fast-moving industry has adapted over the years and what changes that has led to. Here, Andrew Parry, head of Investment at J O Hambro and Regnan, discusses systems change thinking and illusions of progress What has ESG … Read more
Inflows into global sustainable funds continued to slow in the second quarter of 2023, but this compared to marked outflows in the conventional universe amid a challenging market backdrop, according to Morningstar. In the Global Sustainable Fund Flows: Q2 2023 in Review, Morningstar said global sustainable funds attracted $18bn in net new money during the … Read more
In 2021, a proxy contest at ExxonMobil led by activist investor Engine No. 1 resulted in the appointment of three directors selected by shareholders rather than management to Exxon’s board. But two years on from that iconic moment, has the nature of engagement with companies on climate and other environmental themes delivered meaningful results? It … Read more
Franklin Templeton is slowly but surely upping its focus on sustainable investing – no small feat for a global asset manager made up of so many component parts. But global head of sustainability Anne Simpson, who joined the firm at the start of last year, is no stranger to moving the dial at big companies. … Read more
While the US waits for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) sustainability disclosure proposals to emerge, asset managers in the country should not rest on their laurels, commentators tell ESG Clarity US. With many US companies coming within the scope of EU directives, how are asset managers preparing? The European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive … Read more
Sustainability firm Ceres has released a framework for investors and companies to be able to assess the value of their water-related activities across their portfolios and operations. The company-level cost-benefit analysis framework has been created with consultancy Bluerisk and applies publicly available information to different scenarios at companies. For example, at an apparel company the … Read more
Several asset managers who co-signed a letter urging governments to protect the ocean and not proceed with deep-sea mining have welcomed a temporary moratorium on the practice. Robeco, Aviva Investors and Rathbone Greenbank all told ESG Clarity they supported the outcome of an international meeting in Jamaica on July 29, which ended with no green … Read more
Fidelity International has appointed Jenn-Hui Tan (pictured) as its chief sustainability officer – a new role for the business. Tan, who was previously global head of stewardship and sustainable investing, will be responsible for the firm’s overarching sustainability approach. He will continue to manage the sustainable investing team, but will now also have the corporate … Read more