PRI’s new guidance for engagement on corporate climate denial and lobbying: nvestors are increasingly scrutinising corporate engagement on climate policy as it plays a critical role in helping governments create practical climate policy solutions. However, corporate engagement on climate policy is a double-edged sword. Negative and resistant corporate interest, often represented by third-party organisations, can…
Tag: environment
UC to dump fossil fuels holdings in pension and endowment funds worth $83 billion – The San Diego Union-Tribune
Generally, we support engagement over divestment. But we believe that the trustees can justify this decision in terms of financial risk and return. Top financial officials with the University of California announced Tuesday morning in an opinion article in the Los Angeles Times that the school system plans to undertake a major divestment from fossil…
Investment Giants BlackRock and Vanguard Fail to Live Up to Climate Commitments by Voting Against Shareholder Resolutions — As You Sow
Corporate governance nonprofit Majority Action released today its report analyzing asset managers’ 2019 voting records on climate-related shareholder proposals and CEO pay at energy and utility companies. The report finds that influential firms like BlackRock and Vanguard repeatedly voted with corporate management in opposing climate risk mitigation proposals. In fact, BlackRock and Vanguard voted against…
So who in sustainable finance is going on climate strike this Friday? RI looks at who is downing tools for the environment. – Responsible Investor
Starting this week from September 20-27 students around the world are taking to the streets to demand more effective climate action – and they want the adults to join them. Unions and NGOs are pledging to bolster the numbers. But there’s one sector that’s notably absent: finance….What’s behind the reluctance? Preventable Surprises’ Raj Thamotheram says…
Big US sustainable funds fail to support ESG shareholder proposals | Financial Times
Big US fund managers that have promoted their credentials in tackling sustainability issues have done little to support environmental and social shareholder proposals, their voting records reveal. During the 2019 shareholder voting season, funds labelled by BlackRock, JPMorgan Asset Management and Vanguard as sustainable frequently sided with a company’s management and against shareholder proposals on…
Fashion Companies Reach Landmark Sustainability Accord Ahead of G7 Summit – Fortune
The fashion industry is perhaps second only to the automotive industry in terms of its contributions to climate change, so this is a very significant step forward. This afternoon at the Élysée Palace, French President Emmanuel Macron and Kering chairman and chief executive François-Henri Pinault unveiled a new plan to reduce the environmental impact of…
Major automakers strike climate deal with California, rebuffing Trump on proposed mileage freeze – The Washington Post
What is most interesting about this story is the questions it raises: If it wasn’t the auto industry pushing for the regulatory rollback, when who was it? If they pushed for it, why did they cooperate with this? Four automakers from three continents have struck a deal with California to produce fleets that are more…
UK: FRC Statement on Green Investing
From the UK: The Government has announced its Green Finance Strategy which recognises the role of the financial sector in delivering global and domestic climate and environmental objectives. In response, the FRC has issued a joint statement with other financial regulators, including the PRA, FCA and the TPR which can be viewed here, while the…
Financial Services Committee Hearing on Sustainability and Competitiveness
The Congressional Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets held a hearing on”Building a Sustainable and Competitive Economy: An Examination of Proposals to Improve Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosures.” Note at 55:45 Representative Vargas asks former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins if he believes climate change is real and Atkins dissembles, despite the fact that…
Can Blue Bonds Save the Oceans?
Can we financially engineer our way out of climate change and polluted oceans? Maybe not, but financial innovation is emerging as a popular tool to help in the race to protect the planet. Last year, the market for “green bonds,” a decade-old asset class that funds environmentally friendly projects, reached a record $163.7 billion, up…
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