Sustainability & people
All about the wider issues that come out of the sustainability transitions including human rights, social factors & human capital
Supply chains come under even more scrutiny
As public opinion leads, legislation follows, at least in Europe. The most recent legislative move is on deforestation, but it's just one of a wave of new laws and regulations. And behind legislation comes litigation.
Sunday Brunch: investing is not just about generating alpha
At it's heart our financial system is really simple. Money flows from savers to spenders. Where this system struggles is when the actions of the spenders impose costs on the wider society that mean that the net return to savers (financial return minus imposed costs) are reduced.
Sunday Brunch: it's a question of character(istics)
The world of investing and sustainability can challenge our traditional ways of looking at the world and characterising and grouping things. We need to change our perspective, especially if we want to persuade companies and investors to act.
Is this what transition risk looks like?
We often read about transition risk and stranded assets, but what does this really mean, and how does it get reflected in the financial statements and value of companies? The short answer is - much more slowly than you may think.
Sunday Brunch - who decides the topics for engagement?
Unless you have been living off grid, you will know that one of the defining debates around ESG and Sustainability relates to engagement - by which we mean interacting with companies to get them to change their behaviour.
Sunday Brunch - is DEI as important with the investor as with the investment?
We have discussed the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in a number of blogs previously. Have we been looking at DEI all wrong?Embracing diversity with an equitable mindset aimed at creating an inclusive workplace has been held up as a way of improving performance. But is that
Sunday Brunch: more on getting financial people to listen
Without action, sustainability reporting regulations and frameworks are just a data collection process. Part of this is motivating investors to put a lot more resource and expertise into informed engagement. But it's also about how companies acting with purpose create financial value.
Sunday Brunch: the values-behaviour gap
Understanding human behaviour is critical to all aspects of sustainable investing. If we don't know why people do things, we cannot get them to change. And if they are not going to change, we will need to rethink how we make company business model's sustainable and financially viable.
Formalisation - the answer to artisanal mining?
One solution is to formalise the ASM sector, making it possible for the miners to legally earn a living. This is a good solution, but we need to recognise that each location has its own specific challenges - there is not a single catch all solution.
Sunday Brunch: DEI and the importance of the swim leg
We previously discussed some excellent research by Alex Edmans (London Business School), Caroline Flammer (Columbia University) and Simon Glossner (Federal Reserve Board) looking at Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). They sought to identify what the determinants of a DEI environment in the workplace are and then looked at the consequences
Sunday Brunch: getting financial people to listen
Understand who your customer is, what they care about - that is the way to think about innovation - David Robertson, MIT Sloan This might seem a strange way to start a discussion about how sustainability professionals can get finance people to listen. But if you think about it, as a sustainability
Why relying on the 'diversity tick box' doesn't work
The common view on what Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) actually are is challenged by excellent research from Edmans, Flammer and Glossner. That's a good thing. It means we can focus on the right actions.