Global asset management firm Robeco has differentiated its ESG assessment methodology to give a more accurate picture of the impact investors have on sustainable development goals (SDGs), according to Rachel Whittaker, the firm’s head of sustainable investment research.
Investors’ approach to ESG has evolved considerably, particularly in the area of engagement with portfolio companies, and encouraging change through active and targeted engagement is “the epitome of what active managers can do”, the Sustainability in Practice conference at Oxford university has heard.
CIOs need to fight back against the politicisation of ESG in the United States by adopting sound governance principles and not allowing their funds to be “pinned down to one side of the [political] spectrum”, the Sustainability in Practice conference at Oxford University has heard.
Investors can de-risk and increase the long-term returns of unlisted infrastructure assets by enacting forward-looking ESG transitions, investors say, but they need to ensure sufficient control at the board level.
Demand for more agricultural land alongside the need for greater biodiversity and zero deforestation will drive investment in responsible land management practices and natural capital says Abi Dean, global head of strategic insights, at Nuveen Real Assets.
The world is shifting from a regime where climate change is viewed as a shared burden or a hot potato, to one where it is a “business opportunity that everyone should be scrambling to make money from,” according to Oxford Professor J. Doyne Farmer, citing probabilistic assessments by his team.
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Sustainability Oxford 2023