By Anthony Hughes With the SEC issuing a new draft proposal to add standardised climate reporting to required disclosures by public companies and TCFD reporting requirements coming into force in the UK last week (6 April), ‘ESG’, in all its glory, looks like it is finally starting to materialise into something more concrete that will see more…
Category: Green Investment
Sustainable Investing needs to keep its reputation clean along with the planet
By Emily Church Anyone in financial services who hasn’t been living under a rock for the past few years will no doubt have the buzzword du jour – sustainability – etched onto their minds. ESG and sustainable investing as a concept is seemingly everywhere at the moment, which can surely only be a good thing…
Purpose on Payday
By Andrew Adie July was a month of extreme weather: From regional flooding in Northern Europe, flash floods in parts of the UK, extreme heat in the US to landslides in India. Lives lost, businesses and homes destroyed and widespread concern about what this tells us about our future. Analysis from the Royal Meteorological Society…
No quick fix: tackling our draughty, inefficient homes will take a long-term mindset
By Will McMyn Heating our homes and other buildings (mainly with natural gas) accounts for around a fifth of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. We won’t achieve the target of net zero by 2050 (2045 in Scotland) without eliminating these emissions and, broadly speaking, there are two approaches to take. Firstly, change the sources of…
‘Green’ shoots of recovery: Will the Government act now to fuel new sustainable jobs?
By Beth Park In November of last year, the Government launched its Green Jobs Taskforce – a consortium of leaders from the worlds of business, trade unions, and further education, entrusted with setting the direction for the job market in the UK’s transition to net zero. Today, ahead of perhaps the most important Budget in…
Is this the dawn of a green arms race?
By Charlotte Coulson 2020 will not just go down in history as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was also the second hottest year in history. With countries around the world suffering droughts, wildfires or other forms of severe weather, climate has become a top priority, and in doing so has ushered in a…
Why net neutral can be a net negative for brand and reputation
By Andrew Adie Committing to net-zero by 2050 (or before) and ensuring there is a clear social as well as commercial purpose for your organisation has become de-rigueur for business. Pre-Covid there was a risk that this had, in some cases, taken on a slightly tokenistic slant. Bumper-sticker slogans that aimed to set ‘purpose’ for…
Good COP/Bad COP: How can international trade advance the UK’s net zero agenda?
Account Executive Ciaran Gill explores how the UK’s international trade strategy can make next year’s COP26 conference a success 2021 is set to be a big year for the UK. New Year’s Day will mark the end of the EU transition period, as well as the start of a year that will see the UK take on…
Section 172 – and why even unlisted businesses face new scrutiny
By Zoë Sibree, Associate Partner Greenwashing is not a new phenomenon, it was a phrase coined in the 1980s by environmentalists writing about the ubiquitous signs in hotel bathrooms, inviting you to keep towels for more than one use. The accusation at the time was that hotels only introduced the measures because it saved them…
Morality vs money – the USA’s ESG dilemma
By Henry Adefope, Associate Partner Earlier in June, the US Department of Labor (DoL) set out plans for a rule that would require private pension administrators to prove that they were not sacrificing financial returns by putting money into ESG-focused investments. Under the proposals, defined contribution pension plans would also be restricted from offering ESG funds as…