Sustainability & people
All about the wider issues that come out of the sustainability transitions including human rights, social factors & human capital
Sunday Brunch: proxy voting should be part of engagement and value creation.
Proxy voting can be made better. This is important for all investors. Two foundations should be, better linking voting outcomes to long term value creation, and making proxy voting an integral part of the corporate engagement process.
Sunday Brunch: the relevance of accounting for sustainability professionals?
Current financial reporting effectively ignores the investments that create the majority of a company's financial value - their intangible assets. This includes many environmental, social and governance factors. We need better disclosure on this, but how?
Sunday Brunch: key thoughts from 2024
Sustainable Investing is changing. Thoughts on the changes we have seen in 2024 and hopes for 2025.
Sunday Brunch: investible diversity
Diversity matters, but not the diversity you might think. It has become an accepted fact that there is a strong link between demographic diversity and financial returns. But it's not actually supported by rigorous analysis.
Sunday Brunch: audit - the risk hiding in plain sight
Audits matter. Much of the time investors don't get the data that underpins a company strategy. It's confidential. And so we rely on the auditor to check it. And this should include sustainability strategy. But, often it doesn't. That needs to change.
Sunday Brunch: clean electricity is possible, but politically tough
A clean, low carbon electricity grid is possible. And while the task of adding all of the renewables, batteries etc is challenging, the big barrier is political will and regulatory frameworks. Lets not pretend the route will be easy.
Sunday Brunch: Might taking Anglo American private be good for sustainability?
Would taking a mining company private help with sustainability? Or could we achieve the same outcome with a material minority holding?
Sunday Brunch: Yes, its true, accounting really does matters
Accounting is the language of business - most investors would be lost without accounting numbers. And generally we need better sustainability related disclosures - a mining case study.
Sunday Brunch: Why investors need companies to have a vision
Companies make strategies, investors just critique them. And to do this well, we need companies to have a clearly set out vision for how their industry will look in the future, and how they will fit in it.
Sunday Brunch: how to talk to asset managers ...
Business 101 - first understand how the people you want to influence actually think. This also applies to those who want to influence companies and asset managers. Start with how they think and tailor your message to focus on what they see as important.
Sunday Brunch: the world is not linear ....
Yes, we need to prepare for the future, but in a resilient way. One that doesn't lock us into 'the future will look like the past'. And that includes mining for critical minerals.
Sunday Brunch: Doing nothing can also create risk
Doing nothing in the face of upcoming risks can be massively value destroying for companies, leading to both shareholders and lenders losing out.