Sustainability Archives

Corporate climate ignorance poses threat to pensions

Nearly half of major companies in the highest polluting sectors worldwide are failing to weigh up how climate change will affect their businesses. The findings come from the State of the Transition report …

Pension funds at forefront of climate change action

UK funds braced for tougher regulatory stance on climate

UK pension funds and listed companies are to be handed a new list of reporting requirements, following publication of the UK government’s Green Finance Strategy at the start of July.

The …

European Commission’s Sustainable Finance Action Plan Welcomed

The European Commission’s Action Plan on Sustainable Finance, launched last week, was broadly welcomed by responsible investment groups and those representing the financial sector. The Commission’s intention is to develop a financial system that supports the EU’s climate and …

UK MPs write to pension funds to investigate management of climate risks

The chair of the UK’s House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee has written to the top 25 pension funds in the UK to ask how they manage climate risks and their potential impact on pension savings as part of its …

Shareholders challenge Rio Tinto over lobby group membership

Institutional investors in Rio Tinto, have filed a resolution calling on the mining group to cease membership of the Minerals Council of Australasia (MCA) which they believe is primarily a lobby group for the coal industry. Rio …

UK government review of workplace progress for ethnic minorities

The UK government has commissioned research into what steps employers have taken to remove barriers to workplace progression for ethnic minorities. The results of this research will be used to assess progress made by employers on recommendations in the…

Investor Agenda for tackling climate change launched

The Investor Agenda, which provides a framework for investors to take action to tackle climate change, has been launched. The plan was developed by seven organisations promoting carbon reduction and responsible investment: Ceres, Asia Investor Group on Climate

EU’s Expert Group makes final sustainable finance recommendations

The EU’s High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Sustainable Finance, set up by the European Commission in December 2016, has produced its final recommendations. The Commission has pledged that these proposals will form part of its sustainable finance action plan …

Stewardship round up: PLSA issues 2018 voting policy guidelines

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s (PLSA) 2018 corporate governance policy and voting guidelines have been published providing its members with examples of good stewardship practice and recommendations for key votes at the Annual General Meetings of their investee companies, …

State of Green Business: Corporate carbon emissions fell in 2016

The 2018 State of Green Business Report – produced by GreenBiz and Trucost – stated that the corporate carbon emissions of the largest 1,200 global companies and the largest 500 US companies fell in 2016 reaching the lowest level in …