To paraphrase the old saw: if you only understand the financial implications of ESG factors, then you don’t understand the financial implications of ESG factors. Only once this is recognized can a firm begin to develop an effective ESG program.
ESG policy Archives
The implications for investors of not-zero
The implications of failing to achieve net zero emissions reach far beyond typical investment analysis. It’s a scenario that fundamentally disrupts everything around us.
The implications for investors of net zero and the energy transition
Since the Paris Agreement came into force in 2016, more than 100 governments have set net zero emissions policies, and the corporate sector has responded with policies of its own. The implications of this reach every part of the investment portfolio.
Response to the DOL’s proposed rule on prudence and loyalty in selecting plan investments and exercising shareholder rights
This post links to comments submitted to the US Department of Labor regarding their proposed rule on prudence and loyalty in selecting plan investments and exercising shareholder rights
Six questions to ask about your ESG policy
“Hold on a moment”, you may be thinking. “Didn’t you just write a post about the five tests of an ESG policy?”
Well, yes I did. But sometimes we need to revisit things. And it turns out there are not just five tests, but six.
The UK pension community’s big roll out of climate scenario analysis: what will it achieve?
Scenario analysis is a valuable risk tool, but unfamiliar to many investors. It’s about the particular, not the general; qualitative as well as quantitative; and it’s about the journey not the destination.
Preparing for SFDR: seven keys to getting to “yes, that’s what we’re doing”
With SFDR starting to take effect from March 2021, ESG policy is top of mind for many investment firms. Collie ESG provides review and development services to help firms get ready.
Closing the doing-impact gap: reporting ESG outcomes
This post links to an article in the latest edition of IPE, in which I set out some the key challenges around ESG reporting.
Pillars of ESG policy #3: authentic connection to the investment proposition
If an ESG program is to be more than a bolt-on, there has to be a genuine connection to the investment proposition of the firm. An asset management firm must ask itself: how does ESG relate to how we invest?
Pillars of ESG policy #2: materiality
Investment firms cannot chase after every potentially interesting ESG idea. Judgment is needed about where to focus.