Displaying items by tag: sustainability

They’re watching

Meaning mediablog.com, which reported a few ways it picked up on the radar on companies tweaking their ESG messaging in various publicity pieces this month. 

There’s a focus on the “E” in ESG; namely, increasingly, Americans are fretting over and more engaged with global warming

The “S”? No less important, especially if you have a soft spot for “great” community outreach programs and the money set aside toward it. 

Meantime, 94% of people didn’t believe enough had been done to advance the cause of sustainability and social issues, according to a recent global study from Oracle.

Now, in the landscape of success breeds success, the second edition of the “ESG and Green Finance Opportunities Forum” by The Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies will take place on Oct.  27, according to finance.yahoo.com.

That comes in the aftermath of last year’s inaugural event. The theme for this year’s is Navigating Climate Risk and Financing Climate Actions.

Confirmed to deliver the opening address is Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po. A luncheon speech will be given by Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan. 

According to a Bloomberg News survey of terminal and Bloomberg.com readers, sixty-five percent of the respondents expect ESG funds to trail the broader market in 2023. Out of the 691 survey respondents, 264 expect ESG funds to “slightly underperform,” while 184 are predicting they’ll “significantly underperform.” Of those 691 respondents, 235 identified themselves as being directly involved in ESG investing, and of this group, a little more than half said they expect the funds to “slightly” or “significantly” underperform. Fionna Ross of Edinburgh-based fund manager Abrdn Plc told Bloomberg, “Given the challenges of 2022, there will be some recovery next year, but it will remain mixed” because of inflation and other overhanging economic hurdles." While data shows that the average equity fund adhering to ESG factors lost slightly less money this year than products that track traditional broader market indexes such as the S&P 500, ESG funds have outperformed over a longer period. According to researchers at Morningstar, about 56% of U.S. sustainable funds beat rival category groups in the three-year period that ended on Sept. 30th.

Finsum:Based on the results of a recent Bloomberg survey, 65% of respondents believe that ESG funds will underperform the broader market in 2023. 

It seems that during the past couple of years, ESG news has downright owned news cycles, according to mediablog.prnewswire.com.

In the course of that period, certain trends have reared their heads. With that in mind, as Q3 grinds to a conclusion, it appears that companies are fine tuning their messaging in a trio of ways as reflected In press releases PR Newswire received this month.

1. Avoiding the Appearance of Greenwashing

2. More Frequent, Detailed Progress Updates

3. Simplifying ESG

In time, it’s anticipated that there will be a further uptick in disclosures associated with the climate, according to indiacsr.in.

It will be associated with commitments internationally to, among other things, the EU’s proposed Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the International Sustainability Standards Board.

From around the globe, top five ESG updates are:

1. Inflation Reduction Act – the most significant investment turned into law in the US

2. Climate-related shock is a severe financial risk

3. Allocation of the largest – ever corporate sustainability bond

4. New renewable energy goals for the city of Chicago

5. The world’s first 100% hydrogen-powered passenger train

JPMorgan Chase has partnered with software firm Datamaran to create a data-analysis tool for clients to gauge the ESG risks facing portfolio companies and the ESG risks that these assets pose to the world around them. This is a concept known as double materiality. While the concept is already built into EU ESG regulations, this would be the first time it is used in the U.S. The new tool is called ESG Discovery. Jean Xavier Hecker, who is the Paris-based co-head of EMEA ESG research at JPMorgan and the designer of the tool, stated, “Double materiality is the only way to think about ESG in a way that is both forward-looking and comprehensive.” The tool, which is now available to JPMorgan clients, will use artificial intelligence to compile data from corporate disclosures, regulations, and online media. It is important to note that it won’t provide an ESG rating or score. Its focus is on unpacking individual ESG drivers.

Finsum:JPMorgan has partnered with software firm Datamaran to create a tool that uses artificial intelligence to evaluate ESG risks.

Based on research published by Mattison Public Relations in London, more than half of the companies in the FTSE 100 now have board-level ESG committees. The data was compiled by reviewing the latest annual reports from all 100 companies. While the overall percentage was 54% of FTSE 100 companies, the research showed that the percentage varied by industry. For instance, 100% of oil, gas, and mining companies had board-level ESG committees, while only 13% of the non-bank financial services sector had these committees. Companies in the non-bank financial services sector include insurers, asset managers, and retail investment platforms. Within the 54%, 56% were made up entirely of non-executive directors. This would allow those companies to add directors with ESG expertise to provide greater oversight of the companies' ESG performance.

Finsum:Based on recent research, 54 companies in the FTSE 100 now have board-level ESG committees to evaluate a company’s ESG performance.