Stories About Finance/Insurance/Investment
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Global Climate Finance Falls for Second Year Running
BEHAVIOR CHANGE - Global investment in activities that reduce the threat of climate change fell for the second year in a row from $359 billion in 2012 to $331 billion in 2013, according to a new study by the Climate Policy Initiative.Global Landscape of Climate Finance shows that, while public sources and intermediaries contributed $137 billion—a figure largely unchanged from last year—private investment totaled $193 billion, falling by $31 billion from 2012.
Report: Global Market for Conservation Investing Grows to $23 Billion
NEW METRICS - Conservation impact investing totaled approximately $23 billion in the five-year period from 2009 to 2013, according to a new report by EKO Asset Management Partners and The Nature Conservancy’s NatureVest division.During the same period, private investments accounted for almost $2 billion of this market — an amount that is growing at an average of 26 percent annually, and is expected to reach more than $5.6 billion by 2018.
CDP Identifies 853 Water Risks Threatening Growth For World's Largest Companies
THE NEXT ECONOMY - Two-thirds of the world's largest companies are reporting exposure to water risks, some of which have potential to limit growth, according to a new report by CDP. The news comes amid mounting shareholder concern around the business impacts from water scarcity, accessibility and poor water quality.
When Money Packs a Positive Punch
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Impact investing is the all the rage in billionaire circles. Now as most of us aren’t billionaires, you might ask: ‘why do we care?’ Quite simply because this phenomenon is changing the face of both philanthropy and finance and has the potential to radically impact our communities, the causes we care about and the world at large.
The Clorox Company Reduces GHGs by 12% since 2011
NEW METRICS - The Clorox Company has reduced its greenhouse gases emissions by 12 percent and the amount of waste it sends to landfill per case of product sold by 34 percent since 2011, according to the company’s 2014 integrated annual report. Altogether, these footprint reductions and product sustainability improvements have averaged $15 million in annual cost savings since 2008, helping to offset raw material cost increases and enable investments in innovation and demand creation.
H&M, Unilever Commit to Climate Change Disclosure as Matter of Fiduciary Duty
LEADERSHIP - H&M, Unilever, Nestlé and several other leading companies and investors have committed to reporting climate change through the Climate Change Reporting Framework or other comparable frameworks as a matter of fiduciary duty, whether or not required by current regulation.This represents an unprecedented collective commitment and a practical step capable of enabling positive change in economic and financial market activity at scale.
The Next 5 Challenges to Sustainable Investing
NEW METRICS - Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is a growing force in markets across the world. According to the US SIF Foundation, the responsible investing market in the US increased 486 percent while the broader US market of professionally managed assets grew 376 percent between 1995 and 2012. SRI investments are generally demand-side driven. More and more investors are looking for vehicles that are aligned with their values and priorities. In 2014, the total Assets Under Management (AUM) of the 1,278 signatories of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), which include asset owners, investment managers and professional service partners, totaled $45 trillion. The SRI niche is not going away.
Global Shift to Mass Transit Can Save $100 Trillion by 2050
NEW METRICS - More than $100 trillion in cumulative public and private spending, and 1,700 megatons of annual carbon dioxide (CO2) — a 40 percent reduction of urban passenger transport emissions — could be eliminated by 2050 if the world expands public transportation, walking and cycling in cities, according to a new report released by the University of California, Davis, and the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP).In addition, an estimated 1.4 million early deaths could be avoided annually by 2050 if governments began requiring the strongest vehicle pollution controls and ultralow-sulfur fuels, according to a related analysis of these urban vehicle activity pathways by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) included in the report.
Barclays Pledges £1bn to Rapidly Growing Green Bonds Sector
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - On Monday, Barclays reaffirmed its commitment to the Green Bonds sector by announcing it will invest a minimum of £1bn (US$1.64) by November 2015 to form part of its liquid asset buffer — one of the largest such investments by a bank."Every so often, market innovation and social imperatives come together to create something exciting that has the potential to make a real difference,” said Tushar Morzaria, Group Finance Director at Barclays. “The Green Bond sector is a fast-growing and powerful example of this synthesis."
Institutional Investors Managing $24T Call for Carbon Pricing, Ambitious Global Climate Deal
THE NEXT ECONOMY - Nearly 350 global institutional investors representing over $24 trillion in assets have called on government leaders to provide stable, reliable and economically meaningful carbon pricing that helps redirect investment commensurate with the scale of the climate change challenge, as well as develop plans to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels.
University of California Investing $1 Billion to Fight Climate Change
LEADERSHIP - The University of California has announced it will allocate $1 billion over five years for direct investments in solutions to climate change.In addition, as part of UC President Janet Napolitano’s goal of bringing university operations to carbon neutrality by 2025, the 10-campus university system has signed agreements to secure substantial solar energy for the next 25 years.
Investors Press Palm Oil Producers to Halt Deforestation
SUPPLY CHAIN - Institutional investors representing over half a trillion dollars in assets under management are calling on four major palm oil producers to adopt an immediate moratorium on deforestation and join the growing effort within the industry to establish traceable, deforestation-free palm oil supply chains.Led by Green Century Capital Management, investors called on Sime Darby Plantation, Kuala Lumpour Kepong Berhad, IOI Corporation Berhad, and Asian Agri to cease their efforts to weaken the existing threshold for no-deforestation.
Investors Press Mondelez International to Switch to Recyclable Packaging
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - Last week, shareholder advocacy organization As You Sow (AYS), along with shareholders representing $11.8 billion worth of shares, presented a proposal to Mondelez International asking that the company make the switch to recyclable packaging.The resolution, which received 28.4 percent shareholder support, was presented at the giant food manufacturer’s annual meeting.The world’s largest snack food company, Mondelez International produces brands such as Oreo, Chips Ahoy!, Trident gum, and Philadelphia cream cheese. It comprises the global snack and food brands of the former Kraft Foods, from which it split in 2012.
Creating Sustainable Apparel Value Chains, Part II: Fostering Total Resource Productivity and (Impact) Investing
SUPPLY CHAIN - This post first appeared on CSRwire's TalkBack blog on January 7, 2014.This is part two of the Creating Sustainable Apparel Value Chains series. Read part one: Transforming the Industry.
Umicore: How Sustainability-Driven Innovation Transformed a Failing Mining Company Into a Materials Tech Power Player
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Umicore’s ranking as #1 on the 2013 Global 100 index of most sustainable companies was met with healthy skepticism by social justice advocates and environmental purists. The company’s history as Union Minière du Haut Katanga created devastation that Umicore will need to continue to remedy at a hefty price tag.
Thai Pulp Company Creating High-Quality Paper from Palm Oil Waste
WASTE NOT - Pulp Green Tech Holding (PGT), an R&D-focused company that owns Thai Gorilla Pulp Ltd., announced this week that it has successfully achieved a high-grade paper pulp made from empty palm fruit bunches, which are most often treated as waste material from the palm oil extraction process.The company estimates that roughly 95 percent, or 300 million tons, of this raw material is currently discarded per year.PGT says the process is highly cost-efficient and will enable investors, palm oil producers and paper pulp mills to achieve ROI of over 100% in the first year of operation, assuming the pulp is sold at a price of comparable non-wood materials.
Walmart Launching $10 Million Fund For US Manufacturing Innovation
SUPPLY CHAIN - On Thursday at the US Conference of Mayors Meeting in Washington, D.C., Walmart US President and CEO Bill Simon announced a new fund for innovation in US manufacturing.Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will fund the five-year program and launch it in March in collaboration with the US Conference of Mayors. The fund will provide grants to innovators in the manufacturing sector and seeks to create new processes, ideas and jobs that support the country’s growing manufacturing footprint.
New EY Series Highlights Top Sustainability Concerns for Business in 2014
MARKETING AND COMMS - As companies begin their 2014 planning, it is critical to have a firm understanding of the regulatory and sustainability trends that will impact core business. In a new publication series Let’s talk: sustainability, Ernst & Young’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services group highlights the top concerns facing companies in these areas in 2014.
Mosaic and Mark Ruffalo Make New Year's Resolution to 'Put Solar on It'
MARKETING AND COMMS - Mosaic, the first U.S. company to crowdsource investments for solar projects, is kicking off 2014 with a New Year’s Resolution campaign to “Put Solar on It.” The campaign invites anyone to pledge to put solar on a local home, school, place of worship, business or other property on PutSolarOnIt.com. Throughout 2014, Mosaic says it will provide people with the tools and network they need to make their pledge a reality.Oscar-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo is leading the campaign with his pledge to put solar on his children’s school, Stephen Gaynor Elementary, in Manhattan.
CDP: Many Businesses Still Unaware of Supply Chain Risks Due to Deforestation
SUPPLY CHAIN - In a year of extreme weather events, commodity price spikes and supply chain disasters, the latest data from CDP’s forests program reveals that the business community remains largely unaware of the deforestation risks in their own supply chains, threatening shareholder value.