Jamie Hicks
After years stuck in the margins of EU policymaking, climate change and
environment has in recent months become one of the most crucial issues on the
political agenda. Incoming European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen
proposed the ‘European Green Deal’ as the first of her political priorities.
This report is Boston Common’s fifth annual study of how
global banks are managing climate risks and opportunities. It builds on last year’s report, which shifted emphasis
from bank policies to implementation and action.
The first global insurance industry study on
managing the risks associated with plastic
pollution, marine plastic litter and microplasticsPlastic is an increasingly high-profile threat to our climate, ocean, wildlife and human health. Its production has increased twenty times since 19641 and almost half of plastic produced is used just once before it is discarded.2 The mountains of plastic waste generated by people, businesses, food production and almost every other sector of modern life are, on the whole, poorly collected and managed. As a result, plastic pollution is becoming widespread both in the ocean and on land, where it is impacting our ecosystems and threatening lives and human health.
Over the past two decades, sustainability reporting frameworks have proliferated
around the world, aiming to improve company transparency and comparability
on environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices relevant to investors
and, to a varying extent, other stakeholders. This report focuses on four of the
most commonly cited ESG reporting frameworks: the Climate Disclosure Project
(CDP), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Sustainability Accounting
Standards Board (SASB) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD). The report provides chief investment officers (CIOs) of U.S.
pension funds and investors more generally a basic understanding of the
frameworks and their fundamental differences.
As You Sow successfully negotiated
over half the 93 resolutions, securing substantive
actions or commitments from the companies.
Twenty-one went to a vote and earned on average
27% in support. The votes-in-favor totaled $1.1
trillion in shareholder equity supporting our 2019
engagements.
Impact investors have a long history of practicing frontier finance, or investing to improve the lives of low
to lower-middle income people in emerging and frontier markets. They’re motivated by the significant
potential of frontier finance investments to create deep, lasting impact while tapping into markets with
strong growth potential and an emerging consumer class. Ultimately, many frontier finance investors are
driven by an intention to effect broader systemic change on the financial systems in frontier markets.
There is an urgent need to create more economic opportunities for people around the world. Over the next decade, more than a billion young people will be joining the job market, mostly in Africa and Asia. At the same time, the planet is getting warmer and biodiversity is under stress, threatening the livelihoods of millions. Driving global economic development that is sustainable and inclusive is more important than ever.
Companies can prepare for future business disruptions and market shifts by undertaking scenario analysis on various climate
outcomes, an action encouraged by investors looking for improved disclosure. At most corporations, the concept of climate-related scenario analysis needs to be championed internally in order to allocate the necessary resources. This primer is
intended to aid the process by providing an overview of tangible outcomes and resulting benefits.
This slide set reports on TPI’s latest assessment of the energy sector, comprising 135 companies involved in coal
mining, electricity and oil and gas production. We have expanded coverage from 105 companies last year, and we
include a comprehensive assessment of the Carbon Performance of oil and gas producers for the first time.
Each year for the last decade, the UN Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap Report has compared where greenhouse gas emissions are headed, against where they should be to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Each year, the report has found that the world is not doing enough.