When the dust settles from the coronavirus pandemic, what environmental, social and governance lessons will shine through? A recent blog post by Fiona Reynolds, chief executive officer of the Principles for Responsible Investment, pointed to differences between this crisis and the crisis of 2008. “While there are certainly parallels with the global financial crisis just […]
If climate change represents one of the largest systemic risks the global economy has ever faced, dealing with its ramifications is going to move a lot of money. The world’s youth have taken to the streets calling on their governments for massive, co-ordinated policy change, but it hasn’t yet manifested. Any piecemeal regulatory shifts suffer […]
There is nothing like a deadline to focus the mind. Asset owners and managers who are signatories of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investments have just five weeks left to complete their annual report on their environmental, social and governance metrics, with the filing deadline being March 31. The challenge in the 2020 report […]
With the task force on climate-related financial disclosures becoming increasingly common in institutional investor circles, how can Canadian pension plans start to use its guidance effectively? During a webinar hosted by the Association of Canadian Pension Management on Tuesday, Maria Montero, climate change program head at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, said her organization […]
When the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan started to zero in on environmental, social and governance issues, it began by asking why these subjects were worth pursuing in the first place. “We started this journey 10 years ago,” said Barbara Zvan, chief risk and strategy officer at the Ontario Teachers’, during a session at the Canadian Investment […]
A majority (59 per cent) of global institutional investors said they’re dissatisfied with publicly traded companies’ climate-related disclosures, according to a new survey by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. The survey, which polled investors in Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, the United Kingdom and United States, found 40 per cent of respondents described themselves as somewhat […]
While many investors say they apply environmental, social, and governance considerations in their investment processes, few actually include them in formalized product documents. According to a report from Cerulli, most signatories of the Principles for Responsible Investment demonstrate ESG capabilities in public materials, like their websites. However, just 4.5 per cent of assets controlled by […]
Concordia University’s Foundation is divesting from coal, oil and gas within five years and will become the first university foundation in Quebec to target 100 per cent sustainable investments by 2025. The foundation is also doubling its target of impact investments by 2025, from five to 10 per cent. This long-term pool of capital is […]
BMO Global Asset Management is appointing Nalini Feuilloley as director of its responsible investment team for North America. Nalini was previously head of Canada for the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, where she managed the Canadian institutional investor clients and educated the broader investment community on environmental, social and governance issues and integration strategies. […]
A plethora of overlapping terms can make a conversation about responsible investing something of a minefield. While there are many terms that are used interchangeably, there are slight differences to them, said Liza McDonald, head of responsible investment at First State Super, in a video series hosted by Willis Towers Watson’s Thinking Ahead Institute. For […]