A selection of the major stories impacting ESG investors, in five easy pieces.  This week academics offered a helping hand to policymakers, who continued to prove how much they need it. In their hands – Scientists this week gave policymakers the clearest roadmap yet for reducing carbon emissions, having just told them they had all-but-certainly failed to limit climate change…

Laith Cahill, Senior Net Zero Stewardship Specialist at the IIGCC, says the UK’s streamlined Stewardship Code must preserve its ambition. The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) announced a set of interim changes to its Stewardship Code last month and highlighted key themes for further revisions ahead of a full public consultation. When the FRC announced its public consultation on revisions to the Stewardship…

Independent deep-sea mining expert Bobbi-Jo Dobush runs through the E, S and G-related risks posed by the nascent industry.  Deep-sea mining (DSM) is a speculative commercial industry with ambitions to extract mineral deposits from the ocean floor. The primary targets are four key minerals: manganese, copper, cobalt, and nickel. Aside from scientific exploration, DSM is theoretical, but proponents are aggressively…

Investors must pay attention to the mining sector’s negative social and environmental impacts, argues Julio Castor Achmadi, Communities Associate at Accountability Counsel.  As efforts to address climate change move forward at breakneck speed, there’s no denying it’s a profitable time to be in the critical minerals business. Yet ironically, critical mineral mines have continuously brought destruction to both people and…

Ex-PRI innovation lead Mikael Homanen explains how the Upright Project’s methodology for analysing company data can help quantify net impact through analysis of positive and negative factors. Mikael Homanen, Head of Scientific Research, Innovation and Partnerships at impact data company the Upright Project, started his career in academia, working on ESG finance at the business schools of several prestigious universities,…

Soaring power demand from data centres offers diverse opportunities for energy transition funds, says Pictet Asset Management. The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is driving a wave of investment in low-carbon technology, as investors rush to meet rocketing energy demand from data centres. That’s according to Jennifer Boscardin-Ching, a Client Portfolio Manager with Pictet Asset Management, who has seen…

CCLA highlights high and persistent systemic risks of forced labour across the sector in an engagement initiative. The construction sector is failing to sufficiently address its exposures to forced labour and modern slavery, industry experts have determined, with greater leadership and collaboration with stakeholders needed to tackle rising risks.   An ongoing lack of awareness and disclosure around forced labour-related risks…

Following its first year of direct climate engagement, UK scheme also emphasises partnership as helping asset owners act at scale. UK-based local government pension scheme (LGPS) pool Border to Coast has stressed stewardship’s role in its efforts to reach net zero, following the recent publication of two reports outlining activities over the past year. Earlier this month, Border to Coast…