In November, the UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). The summit will bring together climate experts, campaigners, and the 197 Parties who form the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). The conference, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was to mark 5 years after the Paris Climate Agreement.
Environmental and social governance (ESG) is a set of criteria used in the evaluation of how a company functions, concerning both its people and planet. Incorporating ESG factors in company strategy and objectives is becoming commonplace, particularly with the increasing threat of the climate crisis prompting socially and environmentally conscious behaviour by all.
ESG reporting is now a global trend. China’s ambition to reach peak carbon before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 will require Chinese companies to start transitioning to a lower-carbon business now. Corporate reporting of a complete set of environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics, including making emission data visible and comparable, will be a key ingredient to help regulators make timely policy decisions, guide capital flows, and enable customers to make informed decisions.
Gone are the days where companies solely focused on making profits for their shareholders. Companies are progressively shifting their attention to all of the stakeholders from their owners, customers and suppliers to society as a whole.
Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta’s masterful analysis of how an economic value could be ascribed to nature will surely earn him this year’s Nobel prize for Economics. In the meantime, even if you haven’t the energy to read all 610 pages, Gov.UK has helpfully provided a synopsis here, of the main headlines.
The rising attention given to Environmental, Social Impact and Governance (ESG) criteria within the corporate world is proving to investors that sustainable trends may in fact be profitable. Due in large part to a more ethically-driven generation coming of age, millennial investors want to put their money where their values are and companies are having to (finally) prove their worth through ESG reports.
The US investment regulator, the Security and Exchange Commission has added a new page to its website to provide up-to-date ESG-related information and agency action. ESG reporting is finally working towards a consistent set of metrics.
As ESG investments continue to grow rapidly across sectors in advanced economies, it is important to consider what the implications of this might be for low-income countries. In order to achieve the sustainable development goals on a global scale, development finance must play a role in ensuring these countries also benefit from this newfound focus on ESG.
How much of ESG is merely marketing? Avoiding Greenwashing is not as simple as you may think. The increasing expectations of responsible, equitable and environmental business practice has catalysed the growth in ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) investment. With allocation of green funds rising six-fold since 2015, according to Bloomberg, investing sustainably has become not only fashionable but the norm.
In a shifting and increasingly complex world, connectedness is key. If there is one group least likely to attract public sympathy for the challenges of the last 12 months it’s probably corporate leaders. But it has been a tough pandemic for those at the top. Many have had to make and implement very difficult decisions, as well as displaying extraordinary versatility in responding to changing circumstances at rapid pace.
