COVID-19 brings social investment to the fore

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a renewed emphasis on the ‘social’ aspect of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing.

Companies that place a high priority on the wellbeing of staff are likely to be those that succeed in the …

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Shell Logo

Energy giant Shell has committed to taking new action on climate change, including achieving net zero emissions within the next 30 years.

The commitment follows engagement with investors as part of Climate Action 100+, the initiative led by the Church …

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Australian energy giant rocked by shareholder rebellion

Santos, one of the largest oil and gas producers in Australia, has suffered a huge revolt by shareholders over its strategy on climate change.

At last week’s annual investor meeting, over 43% of Santos shareholders defied the board and …

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TCFD Climate Disclosures

UK Listing Rules push for TCFD compliance

ESG data quality will get a much-needed boost after the UK’s securities regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published proposals for improved climate-related disclosures for UK listed companies. If adopted, all premium-listed commercial …

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EU Flags European Commission CSRD CSDDD

Have regulators been deceived on green benchmarks?

New European regulations on green benchmarks have been thrown into the spotlight this week, amid allegations they favour the interests of a handful of ESG data providers rather than supporting “genuine sustainability”.

The …

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UK pensions sector gets closer to adopting stronger ESG rules

Investors to fund firms: “No ESG, no money”

A group of major pension funds has written a no-ifs-and-buts letter to asset managers and companies warning that firms who fail to consider the impact of ESG risks are no longer “attractive”

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ESG factors emerging markets

Whilst, in broad terms, ESG factor disclosures by companies in Emerging Markets is not yet at the level of Developed Markets, it continues to improve, and indeed what we now think of as ESG factor considerations have been present in …

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Accountants bodies, signed urgent call to agree standards on climate change.

Accountants commit to improve corporate climate disclosure

A group of prominent accounting bodies, representing over 2.5 million accountants globally, have signed an “urgent” call to action pushing the profession to agree standards on climate change.

The 14 bodies and 13 …

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ESG-aligned remuneration

Business leaders agree ESG-aligned remuneration pledge

A new manifesto aiming to align executive pay to ESG-related criteria has been welcomed by company CEOs.

Gathering at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) International Business Council meeting, held in Davos this week, the …

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Environmental factors top list of investor priorities

One of the largest fund managers in Europe is pressing all companies in which it invests to employ the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework to help boost their climate risk efforts.

The move is being seen as a …

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