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Investing in vaccines today will better position the world of tomorrow

Investing in vaccines today will better position the world of tomorrow

Investment managers have highlighted the areas of opportunities within vaccines, specifically the advance in technology and opportunity to improve health equity as key areas of investment in 2024. As ESG Clarity’s global outlook for 2024 recent highlighted, healthcare has been earmarked as an area of focus by fund managers this year. This coincided with an overriding agreement that the climate…

When the ESG tourists leave

When the ESG tourists leave

At a the New York Times conference in late 2018, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink proclaimed that “demand for ESG [environmental, social, and governance] is going to transform all investing.”  Less than five-years later, at the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival, Fink was referring to the “weaponisation of ESG….by the far left and … the far right”.  The increased politicisation of the ESG to which…

LAWSUIT CHALLENGES RECENT CALIFORNIA CLIMATE DISCLOSURE LAWS

A new lawsuit filed by several business interest groups seeks to overturn two recent California laws relating to emissions disclosures (SB253) and climate-related financial risk disclosures (SB261), which would require thousands of covered companies to begin making disclosures as early as 2026. This Legal Update addresses the main arguments of the lawsuit, the initial reaction of the lead author of…

Investor ‘disappointment’ as JPMAM and State Street exit CA100+

Investor ‘disappointment’ as JPMAM and State Street exit CA100+

The announcements that asset manager giants have left the Climate Action 100+ (CA100+) initiative has caused responsible investors to review positions in their funds, while others have said the move is “not surprising” for passive players. On Thursday (16 February), Reuters reported JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) and State Street Global Advisors will not be renewing membership of the investor-led…

Child Labour “Alive and Well” in the US

Investors urged to renew engagement after failed shareholder proposal seeking greater transparency of child labour risks at Tyson Foods.    US-based investors are having to face up to the reality that examples of child labour lie close to home, with evidence and scrutiny mounting in the food sector.   A proposal on child labour filed at Arkansas-based processing giant Tyson…

AXA IM to Vote Against Companies Lobbying Against Climate Goals

AXA IM to Vote Against Companies Lobbying Against Climate Goals

Global asset manager AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) announced today that it has updated its corporate governance & voting policy with more stringent ESG expectations for companies, including a pledge to target high emissions companies lobbying against the goals of the Paris Agreement. According to AXA IM, the new policy comes amidst an intensifying political backlash against climate-related regulation, contrasting…

Caught in the Crossfire

US fund managers are caught between a fierce anti-ESG campaign by Republicans and mounting efforts to curb greenwashing, explains John Kostyack, Adviser to Sierra Club’s Fossil-Free Finance campaign. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has gone to great lengths in recent years to tackle the issue of rogue US fund managers making dubious claims on their sustainability commitments. Yet, there…

Take Five: Wheels in Motion

A selection of the week’s major stories impacting ESG investors, in five easy pieces. This week felt as if everyone was on the move – although not necessarily in the same direction. Moving out – The decision by State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) and JP Morgan Asset Management to quit Climate Action 100+ (CA100+), a coalition of investors engaging with…

Industrial Decarbonization Startup Celadyne Raises $4.5 Million to Accelerate Production, Use of Hydrogen

Industrial Decarbonization Startup Celadyne Raises $4.5 Million to Accelerate Production, Use of Hydrogen

Hydrogen technology startup Celadyne announced today that it has raised $4.5 million in seed capital, with proceeds supporting the company’s solutions aimed at enabling industrial and transport decarbonization. Founded in 2018 by Gary Ong, Chicago-based Celadyne provides hydrogen solutions to the energy industry, working with fuel cell and utility companies to provide materials and technologies to convert hydrogen into usable…

The B in ESG – Part 2: Regulatory Drivers

Dr Anthony Kirby, Head of Regulation and Risk for Asset Management and Capital Markets in Europe at EY, places the TNFD framework in context of regulatory and political developments. The UK is one of 12 jurisdictions around the world that already include or plan to include nature-related aspects in their environmental taxonomies. This broadly commits them to regulatory approaches which incorporate nature-relevant environmental objectives…