Erik Alhøj: ESG forbedrer bundlinjen og løser alvorlige samfundsproblemer

ESG-begrebet er den seneste tid blevet udsat for kritik fra flere sider, hvor fællesnævneren er, at ESG gør mere skade end gavn. Som beskrevet i sidste uges tema af ØU Samfundsansvar betragter dele af den amerikanske højrefløj erhvervslivets arbejde med ESG som udtryk for venstresnoet woke-kapitalisme. Modsat konkluderer det anerkendte tidsskrift The Economist, at ESG ikke for alvor rykker noget, men nærmere er udtryk for greenwashing. Erik Alhøj, direktør for Engagement International, byder generelt kritik af ESG velkommen, men han betragter størstedelen af den nuværende kritik som ekstrem politisk og specifik amerikansk.

Read More

Investors create sustainability through active ownership

Engagement International works for many institutional investors and ensures that the companies in which they invest comply with international standards for sustainability and accountability. The controversial companies are being influenced in a more sustainable direction through active ownership. Read more in the Nordic Business article by Flemming Østergaard, covering the interview with Erik Alhøj, CEO of Engagement International.

Investors create sustainability through active ownership – Nordic Business


Backing utilities’ net-zero ambition with intermediary targets

Electric utilities are among the main contributors to the global GHG emissions due to their reliance on heavy use of fossil fuels. Consequently, the strength of their commitment to achieving net-zero in accordance with the Paris Agreement, as well as credibility of their decarbonisation strategies are of vital interest to the global community and investors. However, in general the last five years brought no significant change in emissions from the top contributors to the climate change in this sector. Out of 30 biggest emitters, 12 (40%) have increased their scope 1 and 2 emissions since signing of the Paris Agreement.

Read More

Long road ahead to net zero for oil and gas majors

The world’s largest oil and gas companies have a main role to play in transition to a net zero emissions economy. Our bi-annual engagement dialogues with 16 of them shows some positive steps forward in terms of climate commitments, target setting and implementation of strategies. However, during the last five years the total direct emissions from the most emitting oil and gas companies increased by 12%.

Read More

10 key points in the new Net Zero Investor Frameworks

Climate change has become the most important ESG issue for institutional investors, corporations, cities, and nations. And “Net Zero” is the new narrative to describe the ambition of being aligned with the Paris Agreement or 1.5-degree goal. All around the world, thousands of organizations are committing themselves to achieve the state of “Net Zero in 2050 or sooner”, where they achieve an overall balance between emissions produced and emissions taken out of the atmosphere.

Read More

Time for Responsible Corporate Tax

The COVID-19 crisis may become the “tipping point” that makes tax havens and aggressive tax avoidance as controversial as bribery and corruption.


Read More

Climate Series: Oil and gas preparing for a carbon-constrained world – leaders and laggards

The investor pressure on oil and gas companies to address climate change as seen in the latest proxy voting season has mounted like never before. In May, BP shareholders, representing over 99% of the votes, passed a resolution asking the company to align its business strategy and investments with the Paris Agreement. When a similar resolution was blocked by Exxon, who had asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to reject it, investors urged a vote to split the chief executive officer and board chairman roles as protest.

Read More

Climate Series: Decarbonisation of Cement and Steel Sectors

With their widespread use across multiple sectors, from construction and infrastructure to energy and transportation, cement and steel are central to modern economy. They are also inherently energy and carbon-intensive. Taken together, those two sectors account for up to 15% of global CO2 emissions, and as the world’s population grows, emissions are only projected to increase.

Read More

Climate Series: Facing the Dilemma with Coal Divestments

Still more institutional investors are divesting from coal companies to protect their investments against stranded assets. It is understandable, because most coal companies are not aligned with the well below two-degree goal. However, it raises a dilemma, because the reduced investor owners’ pressure on the coal majors due to divestment can make it more difficult to reach the Paris Agreement. This third blog in our climate series presents the results of Engagement International’s engagement with coal companies over the past three years, which can further inform investors’ strategies to the controversial industry.

Read More

Climate Series: Engaging with the Top 100 Climate Change Contributors

On behalf of institutional investor clients, Engagement International has evaluated and engaged with the 100 listed companies that contribute the most to climate change since the Paris Agreement was adopted in December 2015. Through in-person meetings and conference calls every six months over the past three years, we seek to encourage the companies to align their business with the well-below two-degree goal. This blog is the first of a climate series, in which we will discuss the premise and results of the engagement project “Top 100 Climate Change Contributors” (Top100CCC).

Read More

Is sustainable corporate governance going to dominate the investor engagement landscape?

Last week the EU conference gathered together experts representing various fields, including policy-makers, investors, academia, trade unions and environmentalists, with the aim to reflect on how to foster more sustainable governance in line with the Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth. The key message emerging from the event points out that if we want sustainable finance, we need sustainable corporate governance.

Read More

Strengthening of investor’s fiduciary duty by the new EU Action Plan at the forefront of sustainable finance

European institutional investors can expect a stronger focus on fulfilling their fiduciary duties and there will be more demand of transparency in relation to exercising these duties as part of investment decisions. This direction is now clear from the EU Action Plan and the last week’s high-profile conference on how to move the strategy on sustainable finance going forward. While some of the key outcomes will be already seen in about a year.

Read More

New Danish guideline on Responsible Investments

Early March, the governmental entity Danish Business Authority, launched its long-awaited publication Recommendations on Responsible Investments. It closely refers to the OECD’s Responsible Business Conduct for Institutional Investors which is an integrated part of the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises. The Danish guidelines also refer to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP), the Paris Accord on Climate Change and UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Read More

Eight sustainable investing trends for 2018

Active ownership and sustainable investing continue to flourish with growing number of institutional investors integrating ESG risks and opportunities into their investment practices and new sustainable investment products appearing across all asset classes. As the 2018 begins, we are looking at the key trends that are going to shape the industry moving forward.

Read More

The cost of ESG exclusion

Exclusion of more than a handful of companies due to ESG incidents has a negative impact on the risk-adjusted financial return, according to the analysis from MSCI ESG Research. Read the article about the main results in Økonomisk Ugebrev (in Danish).


Privacy Settings
We use cookies to enhance your experience while using our website. If you are using our Services via a browser you can restrict, block or remove cookies through your web browser settings. We also use content and scripts from third parties that may use tracking technologies. You can selectively provide your consent below to allow such third party embeds. For complete information about the cookies we use, data we collect and how we process them, please check our Privacy Policy
Youtube
Consent to display content from - Youtube
Vimeo
Consent to display content from - Vimeo
Google Maps
Consent to display content from - Google