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September 2020 marks the fifth anniversary of the Sustainable Development Goals which have become a roadmap for investors to engage in the bold ambition of transforming the world while leaving no one behind. This session looked at the ambition of the SDGs and spurs investors into action.[vc_quotes layout=”accordion” quotes=”%5B%7B%22name%22%3A%22Gilbert%20van%20Hassel%22%2C%22job_role%22%3A%22Chief%20executive%2C%20Robeco%20(The%20Netherlands)%22%2C%22content%22%3A%22Gilbert%20Van%20Hassel%20has%20been%20chief%20executive%20and%20chair%20of%20the%20executive%20committee%20of%20Robeco%20since%20September%202016.%5CnHe%20has%20over%2030%20years%E2%80%99%20experience%20in%20the%20financial%20services%20industry%2C%20mainly%20in%20asset%20and%20wealth%20management%2C%20with%20broad%20experience%20in%20Europe%2C%20Asia%20and%20the%20US.%20Until%202013%20he%20was%20global%20CEO%20ING%20Investment%20Management%20and%20member%20of%20the%20board%20Insurance%20and%20Asset%20Management%20of%20ING.%20Before%20joining%20ING%20in%202007%2C%20he%20worked%20for%20JP%20Morgan%20where%20he%20held%20various%20executive%20positions%20in%20Europe%2C%20Asia%20and%20the%20US.%5CnVan%20Hassel%20has%20a%20Bachelor%E2%80%99s%20degree%20in%20Applied%20Economics%20from%20the%20University%20of%20Antwerp%20St%20Ignatius%20(Belgium)%2C%20an%20MBA%2C%20with%20a%20major%20in%20International%20Finance%20from%20the%20Catholic%20University%20of%20Louvain%20(Belgium)%20and%20a%20Master%20of%20Science%20in%20Finance%20from%20Purdue%20University%20(US).%22%2C%22image%22%3A%2233530%22%2C%22linkedin%22%3A%22%22%7D%5D” title=”Speaker” el_class=””][vc_quotes layout=”accordion” quotes=”%5B%7B%22name%22%3A%22Amanda%20White%22%2C%22job_role%22%3A%22director%2C%20institutional%20content%2C%20Conexus%20Financial%20(Australia)%22%2C%22content%22%3A%22White%20is%20responsible%20for%20the%20content%20across%20all%20Conexus%20Financial%E2%80%99s%20institutional%20media%20and%20events.%20She%20is%20responsible%20for%20directing%20the%20bi-annual%20Fiduciary%20Investors%20Symposium%20which%20challenges%20global%20investors%20on%20investment%20best%20practice%20and%20aims%20to%20place%20the%20responsibilities%20of%20investors%20in%20wider%20societal%2C%20and%20political%20contexts%2C%20as%20well%20as%20promote%20the%20long-term%20stability%20of%20markets%20and%20sustainable%20retirement%20incomes.%20She%20is%20the%20editor%20of%20conexust1f.flywheelstaging.com%2C%20the%20online%20news%20and%20analysis%20site%20for%20the%20world%E2%80%99s%20largest%20institutional%20investors.%20White%20has%20been%20an%20investment%20journalist%20for%20more%20than%2020%20years%20and%20has%20edited%20industry%20journals%20including%20Investment%20%26%20Technology%2C%20Investor%20Weekly%20and%20MasterFunds%20Quarterly.%20She%20was%20previously%20editorial%20director%20of%20InvestorInfo%20and%20has%20worked%20as%20a%20freelance%20journalist%20for%20the%20Australian%20Financial%20Review%2C%20CFO%2C%20Asset%20and%20Asia%20Asset%20Management.%20She%20has%20a%20Bachelor%20of%20Economics%20from%20Sydney%20University%20and%20a%20Master%20of%20Arts%20in%20Journalism%20from%20the%20University%20of%20Technology%2C%20Sydney.%20She%20was%20previously%20a%20columnist%20for%20the%20Canadian%20publication%2C%20Corporate%20Knights%2C%20which%20is%20distributed%20by%20the%20Globe%20and%20Mail%20and%20The%20Washington%20Post.%20White%20is%20currently%20a%20fellow%20in%20the%20Finance%20Leaders%20Fellowship%20at%20the%20Aspen%20Institute.%20The%20two-year%20program%20consists%20of%2022%20fellows%20and%20seeks%20to%20develop%20the%20next%20generation%20of%20responsible%2C%20community-spirited%20leaders%20in%20the%20global%20finance%20industry.%22%2C%22image%22%3A%2233531%22%2C%22linkedin%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Famanda-white-101a7515%2F%3ForiginalSubdomain%3Dau%22%7D%5D” title=”Moderator” el_class=””][vc_empty_space height=”10px”]
We need to take bigger and bolder actions towards a more sustainable future.
The SDGs provide the perfect all-encompassing blueprint for economic development.
The SDGs do not discriminate. They apply to all countries equally regardless of wealth.
USD$2.5 trillion need to be invested into the SDGs each year if they are to be achieved.
Urgent action is required – 1 million species are currently threatened by extinction.
Let us not be pessimistic. There are many silver linings, for example 20 per cent of all the world’s energy production comes from renewables, 70 per cent of the world’s ocean is now protected and 70 per cent of corporations have now placed SDGs into their goals and communications. I am optimistic about the potential for a sustainable recovery and a sustainable future.
We need more legislation, not less.
ESG and SDGs are complex, so therefore we need to ensure we understand them and their interconnectivity better, not least because solving one could negatively impact another.
As investors, we need to make our money speak through active engagement to ensure companies exhibit the right behaviours. Engagement requires care, consideration and collaboration.
The biggest challenge for investors is the requirement for a material shift in mindset – wellbeing maximisation must be considered alongside wealth maximisation.
We don’t have the luxury of picking and choosing which SDGs to tackle. We must solve them all.
Over the past 5 years we have made a lot of progress but we need a lot more action. We have to walk the talk. Each individual investor needs to set their own goals and contribute to a better world.
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Poll results
Do you think the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the need to address the SDGs?[vc_line_chart x_values=”” values=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Yes%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%2274%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22blue%22%7D%2C%7B%22title%22%3A%22No%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%2213%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22pink%22%7D%2C%7B%22title%22%3A%22Not%20sure%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%2213%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22chino%22%2C%22custom_color%22%3A%22%2300c1cf%22%7D%5D”]
One of the most important, upcoming challenges at CalSTRS is how the fund should evaluate Chinese investments from a human capital and environmental standpoint, says Chris Ailman, chief investment officer at the giant pension fund.
What policies for greening
the crisis response
and economic recovery?
Lessons learned from past
green stimulus measures
and implications for the
COVID-19 crisis
The Harvard endowment is about half way through its transition to external investment management and will work with its service providers to implement the university’s new directive, to position the portfolio in line with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The COVID-19 crisis is likely to have dramatic consequences for progress on climate change. Imminent fiscal recovery packages could entrench or partly displace the current fossil-fuel-intensive economic system.
Asset allocation plays such a fundamental role to determining long-term returns that ignoring these sustainability issues – where the impacts affect economies, businesses and society over decades – just does not make sense.
How can investors be a catalyst for change and have an active voice in a sustainable recovery? This episode explores the role of investors and how they can collaborate for effective collective action. It includes the work of one of the leaders in sustainable investing and the biggest pension fund in Europe, APG. It invites investors to have an active voice in a sustainable recovery.
There is a lack of understanding in investment decision-making about how big the climate crisis is which could lead to investments and risks being mis-directed, according to Professor Cameron Hepburn, Professor of Environmental Economics at Oxford University.
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