Climate Action 100+ illustrates asset owners’ ability to come together to solve the tragedy of the commons, said Anne Simpson, managing investment director, board governance and sustainability at US pension giant CalPERS. She said once investors realise that risk and return comes from managing financial, human and natural capital then ESG became a fundamental part of investing.
Shardul Agrawala, head, environment and economy integration division at the OECD laid out the challenges and opportunities for governments to build back better. He highlighted the industries and that may undergo transformation and the underlying market failures that need fixing.
There is moment driven by the COVID-19 crisis to invest in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, according to chief executive of Robeco, Gilbert van Hassel. But investing in companies of the future, and avoiding risks of the past, requires real expertise and changing mindsets about investment poses one of the biggest challenge for investors.
Nigel Topping, Champion of COP26, says institutional investors should put their fund managers on notice to provide more net zero products. He was speaking at the Top1000funds.com Sustainability conference in a session detailing how asset owners can move towards net zero.
A cohort of ESG risks like climate change, lost biodiversity and poor working conditions have pushed sustainability centre stage, a roundtable of industry-wide experts who connected via video conference recently discussed.
Five years on since the SDGs were launched, an increasing number of investors are putting capital to work to earn returns alongside helping solve global scourges like the climate crisis, poverty and inequality. Sarah Rundell looks at New York Common Fund and Denmark's PKA among others.
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Sustainability Digital – Sept 2020