All ESG/SRI articles
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White papers
Pension Funds Letter 22 - New realities, new searches for returns
Amongst other things, 2024 will be remembered for being the year of elections. More voters than ever before, over half the world’s population, had the opportunity to express their vote this year. While almost all these votes have now been counted, what the different outcomes will mean both domestically and more globally is only likely to become clear next year. We wait especially with bated breath, to see how Trump 2.0 will play out around the world.
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White papers
Renewables and grids: The dynamic duo powering growth for European utilities
Energy transition-related goals and timelines are being recalibrated, but for investors who can take the long view there remains a rich opportunity set.
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White papers
Riding ESG waves across the globe: the US and India in focus
At any surf spot in the world, you can find a cadre of wetsuit-clad wave watchers scanning the horizon of the sea. Surfing, a sport unlike any other, demands an intricate understanding of the water and weather conditions. The interplay between tides and the underwater terrain determines the height, direction and formation of wave patterns.
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White papers
Responsible Investment in Private Equity
In this paper, we aim, as a follow-up of the broader paper we recently published on this topic, to analyze how Private Equity (PE) investors approach responsible investing cross-linking again conclusions from academic research with our experience as a PE investor as well as a survey of PE investors, including both Global Partners (GPs) and Limited Partners (LPs).
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White papers
Responsible investing in private equity
Due to its growing size, and the levers it holds in setting the strategy for portfolio companies, the PE industry has a decisive impact on how the global economy addresses the key challenge of climate change and, more generally, whether companies are managed in a responsible manner.
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White papers
COP29: Temperature Overshoot, Policy Undershoot
As COP29 gets underway, we consider the meeting agenda against the background of both the climate itself and recent progress on climate policy and financing.
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Podcast
ESG Thema - Lessons learned from COP16 and COP29 for Sustainable Finance
The year 2024 marked a significant moment for global environmental discussions, with the convening of three major conferences, with two having already occurred – COP 16 for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in October in Cali, Colombia; and COP29 for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in November in Baku, Azerbaijan – and a last one scheduled to take place December, also called COP16, but for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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White papers
Beyond paper gains: the rising prominence of DPI and its focus on real returns
The private equity industry is undergoing a mindset shift with regards to returns. As traditional exit routes remain gridlocked and liquidity scarce, investors unable to turn portfolio returns into cash are rethinking what successful private equity performance looks like.
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White papers
A new frontier for stewardship
Stewardship has evolved significantly since EOS at Federated Hermes Limited began in 2004, maturing into an industry with many more participants, all seeking to drive real-world outcomes. But this has also brought fresh challenges. Amy D’Eugenio reflects on this changing backdrop and looks ahead to the next 20 years.
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White papers
Outlook 2025-2027: Attention to health care real estate
Attention health care real estate! The asset class is moving up the political agenda and attention to new care facilities is growing. Supply and demand prices are becoming more balanced, while institutional investors’ interest in sustainable real estate continues to grow. In the Outlook 2025-2027, Achmea Real Estate is therefore optimistic about investments in health care real estate.
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Podcast
Outerblue RI – How is Shareholder Stewardship shaping the future of corporate sustainability?
Stewardship activities, like engagement and voting, are increasingly seen as effective tools for promoting corporate accountability, enhancing long-term value, and driving sustainability.
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White papers
Investor Concerns and the Pricing of Physical Climate Risk
We study how global equity markets price the physical climate risk associated with tropical cyclones. To assess firms’ exposure to this risk, we use a bottom-up, forward-looking measure of firms’ expected losses to their geolocalized physical assets based on simulated cyclone tracks under different climate scenarios (RCP 2.6, 4.5, and 6.0).
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White papers
ESG that thinks not just in years, but in decades
Our investment professionals and environmental, social and governance (ESG) specialists take on topics that matter.
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White papers
COP29: Will it deliver on climate finance?
The COP29 climate negotiations will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11-22 November. The headline objective is to agree a new target for the provision of climate finance to developing nations, superseding the goal set in 2009 to deliver $100 billion a year by 2020.
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White papers
Engagement has a crucial role to play in the green transition
The transition to net zero cannot be achieved without directly tackling carbon-intensive industries. Investor engagement can provide a vital platform to facilitate change among high emitters.
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White papers
Mitigating risk with sovereign environmental, social, and governance bonds
Generating compelling investment returns while addressing the issues around climate change can be daunting. How can sovereign bond investors incorporate the growing investment risks? How can they quantify these risks and implement appropriate protections? And what about engaging with sovereign bond issuers?
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White papers
The new nature of business: integrating biodiversity into finance
As the world confronts climate change, the financial sector faces the challenge of preserving biodiversity - an essential factor for fostering a sustainable economy. By integrating biodiversity into decision-making and investment practices, financial institutions can help protect the planet’s natural resources while generating sustainable returns for investors and society. The economy’s dependence on nature makes biodiversity loss a significant risk for companies, especially as regulations tighten.
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White papers
The Challenging Sustainable Investing Landscape
The incorporation of sustainability factors in investment decisions has become increasingly common in the portfolios of institutional investors over the past decade. This has been primarily driven by investors who may be focused on risk management, responding to new regulations, making investments that align with their values, or seeking to enhance long-term performance.
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White papers
Greening the grid: data centres address their footprint
The world’s surging adoption of Artificial Intelligence in our daily lives is accelerating the demand for data centres. It is also drawing attention on the sector’s growing demand for energy resources and the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the wider economy.