Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor says that despite the current political divisions, ESG will be a standard part of risk assessment in the future. Kapoor spoke with ESG Clarity late last year about demands for ESG data, how it is used and how companies work to address low sustainability ratings. This is the third and final piece in … Read more
A timber investment firm owned by JP Morgan recently bought more than 250,000 acres of forest land on behalf of institutional investors, the company announced this week. The land, which Campbell Global values at more than $500m, will be used for timber harvesting but also carbon capture, the firms said. The forest land is “high-quality, … Read more
Whereas ESG issues are often up for debate, human rights are black and white, and companies in countries that don’t meet international standards should be disinvested from, according to Paul Jourdan, CEO of Amati Global Investors. Jourdan co-founded Edinburgh-based Amati in 2010 following the management buyout of Noble Fund Managers from Noble Group at the … Read more
abrdn has recommended mining companies expand their health and safety mechanisms to protect the wellbeing of employees following incidents of sexual harassment and assault. In April last year, the investment manager joined Sarasin & Partners in abstaining from approving Rio Tinto’s reports and accounts in light of the Broderick Report, which found systemic issues of … Read more
US investment manager T. Rowe Price has announced its Global Impact Equity Fund is recognised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as an ESG fund under the central bank’s new disclosure and reporting guidelines for retail investors. Under MAS’s new guidelines for retail ESG funds that took effect on 1 January, ESG-labelled funds sold … Read more
The Responsible Ratings Index (RRI) was launched in 2020 to provide a one-stop shop for readers looking for the top-rated ESG funds. Using research from our in-house team at Bonhill Intelligence, ESG Clarity has collated the sustainable ratings from houses such as Morningstar, MSCI and Square Mile to find the best-rated sustainable funds. The RRI … Read more
Republicans in the House and Senate are seeking to overturn the Department of Labor (DOL)’s ESG rule for retirement plans, after announcing plans on Wednesday to file joint bills that would invalidate it. That effort is likely more about showing support for an anti-ESG agenda than an expectation of defeating the Department of Labor’s new … Read more
Most investors are interested in ESG and responsible investing, and they want their advisers to guide them, results of a recent survey from Nuveen show. More than three-quarters, 76%, said they agreed that factoring in risks and opportunities associated with responsible investing, or RI, should always be part of the investment process, the company found. … Read more
Biodiversity has historically failed to garner the same attention as climate change, although there are signs that it is beginning to rise up the policy agenda, especially on the heels of COP15, the centrepiece of which was the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its so-called ‘30×30’ target to protect 30% of nature by 2030. Against … Read more
The renewable energy market in Asia has a positive outlook with significant capital injection expected into the sector, according to a report from Willis Towers Watson (WTW). Floating solar has gained traction in particular, WTW’s Renewable Energy Market Review 2023 found, and will play an important role in the energy transition of countries such as … Read more