We are now publishing ESG links on a monthly basis. You can check out the previous set of links including a look at what Warren Buffett thinks about sustainability.
Quote of the Day
“I think it would be interesting to find an example of a company that had changed its portfolio because of a stewardship code. I would be surprised if you could find one.”
(Mark Kramer, co-founder and managing director at consulting firm FSG)
Chart of the Day
Institutional managers are increasingly voting yes on ESG-related shareholder propositions.
Green bonds
- Green bonds are red hot. (ft.com)
- Why green bonds have such scarcity value. (wsj.com)
- Transition bonds are the dirty cousin of green bonds. (bloomberg.com)
Asset managers
- MSCI is urging investors to integrate ESG considerations into their entire investment process. (investmentnews.com)
- BlackRock has joined Climate Action 100+, an investor network that pushes fossil fuel companies to make new disclosures and carbon emissions commitments. (axios.com)
- State Street ($STT) is upping its ESG proxy game. (ft.com)
- Blackrock ($BLK) is muddying the waters between ESG and SRI. (finance.yahoo.com)
Fund access
- What you can do to get ESG funds in your company's 401(k) plan. (nytimes.com)
- The huge federal Thrift Savings Plan doesn't offer an ESG option. (nytimes.com)
Fund flows
- European investors love ESG funds. (pionline.com)
- There is still a gap between the talk and the success of ESG ETFs. (finance.yahoo.com)
- ESG ETFs are not immune from cost pressures. (insight.factset.com)
- "Of the 153 actively managed U.S. stock funds that have an ESG goal—either environmental, social, or governance—68 didn’t make Barron’s main list of the most sustainable funds because they didn’t have a high enough sustainability rating." (barrons.com)
Fossil fuels
- Half the UK’s universities have pledged to sell their shares in fossil fuel companies. (ft.com)
- Why is Harvard holding out against fossil fuel divestment? (nytimes.com)
- Are fossil fuel stocks going to go the way of the buggy whip? (klementoninvesting.substack.com)
Alternatives
- ESG-related activism is now a hedge fund strategy. (institutionalinvestor.com)
- Oaktree Capital Management is now applying ESG factors in the emerging markets. (institutionalinvestor.com)
- Private equity wants to burnish its ESG bona fides. (ft.com)
- Investors are willing to invest in dual-purpose VC funds despite the lower returns. (papers.ssrn.com)
Opinion
- A panel of ESG pros discuss their biggest concerns, including the rise of 'greenwashing.' (blogs.cfainstitute.org)
- Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak talk all things ESG with Jon Hale head of sustainability research at Morningstar. (morningstar.com)
Carbon pricing
- Why the world needs a 'Libor' for carbon pricing. (ft.com)
- Some of the companies with the highest Scope 3 greenhouse emissions. (finance.yahoo.com)
- It is going to be more difficult to hold companies to account without a standardized environmental reporting system. (ft.com)
ESG
- Natural and environmental disasters have risen to the top of people's list of worries. (visualcapitalist.com)
- Shifting to renewable energy resources will be more difficult if we tank the global economy in the process. (ftalphaville.ft.com)
- It's hard to argue that companies are not better managed today. (wsj.com)
- Sustainability does not come cheap. Just ask Allbirds. (fastcompany.com)
- CEO activism can't come without a cost. (economist.com)
