The FT's Moral Money column noted this yesterday:
For years, US investment managers have been talking about huge demand building for ESG funds – but until recently the flow of money into sustainable products had failed to live up to the hype. Now, however, it appears the dam has burst. After a record-setting 2019, Deloitte is predicting that ESG funds will account for half of all professionally managed assets in the US within just five years.
As they add:
Yes, you read that correctly. Half. That would mean growth from about $12tn in assets right now to $34.5tn by 2025.
I think there will be a market for sustainable cost accounting.
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What are ESG funds? Is there an agreed set of criteria, like Fairtrade or Organic certification, and a body that determines whether or not the criteria are met?
The closest definition is that provided by the UN Principles for Responsible Investing
And they are too loose in my opinion
This: https://www.unpri.org/pri/an-introduction-to-responsible-investment/what-are-the-principles-for-responsible-investment ?
“â—¾Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG [that is, environmental, social, and corporate governance] issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.
â—¾Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices.
â—¾Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest.
â—¾Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry.
â—¾Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles.
â—¾Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles.”
Is this self-certified, then?
Yes
And it covers a multitude of sins
This is why I want sustainable cost accounting
“And they are too loose in my opinion…”
Encouraging ‘Greenwash’…?
They could
Ethical investment? If we’d had that in the 1930s nobody would have invested in Vickers-Armstrong — arms company, you know. Therefore no Spitfire. Similar argument, no Hurricane. That would have altered history — not necessarily to Britain’s advantage.
The trouble with Ethical Investment isn’t that some people — perfectly reasonably — don’t want to invest in, say, cigarette manufacturers. It’s that you are invited to buy a package deal of lame-brained prejudices dressed in the false garments of reason.
Wow…..
Let’s go and kill the world for profit?
You do know what fascism is, I presume?
Fascism?? Think Vickers-Armstrong helped us prevent that..
Any other context your aiming at, god knows..try thinking it is “one’s opinion” instead
You clearly have no idea…
Yep you’re dead right I have no idea..this fascism stuff your throwing around, I doubt anyone knows what your rambling on about
Go and research what the technical definition of fascism is and think about it
Interesting argument I heard today regarding the ‘greening’ of Heathrow. Heathrow undertakes to make its operations entirely carbon neutral….except for the aeroplanes ….. and presumably the transit of freight and passengers to and from their airport.
It put me in mind of the BP greenwash proposition we considered the other day. BP operations will be perfectly carbon neutral except for the oil….
Precisely
It’s a variation of St Augustine’s prayer for celibacy (Lord, make me celibate, but just not quite yet’)
Lord make me carving neutral, but let me ignore the emissions I facilitate
I’m not in favour of fascism and don’t want the world being killed for profit but couldn’t help but be struck by this stat in a recent Forbes article
https://www.forbes.com/sites/judeclemente/2020/02/23/the-obvious-reality-of-more-us-oil-and-natural-gas/#78f8cf3f5a48
” The average Tesla buyer makes $400,000 a year – seven times the national average. ”
You could say that being rich leads people to care a lot about the environment.
You could also say that the only the rich could be dumb enough to buy a car which is such rank bad value, but I wouldn’t say that to their faces, especially if I was a cyclist and one of their cars has stopped automatically to let me across its path even if I’m the one breaking the highway code.
Those who understand the climate crisis know Teslas are not the answer
Next?
I’m not in favour of fascism and don’t want the world being killed for profit but I wasn’t claiming that expensive or even cheap electric cars are the answer. I wasn’t even claiming that there is a climate crisis. The interesting point was that it is the wealthy who are spending their money on the EVs.
Did you know that the EEA has published research that take up of EVs in China could increase CO2 emissions? Probably, as you are full of knowledge about what isn’t the answer. The Green New Deal of 2008 isn’t the answer any more either apparently because it advocated CO2 taxation.
You don’t improve a football team by looking at Opta statistics on strikers with most shots off target and hiring the best one on the list. You might improve the team by wondering how he gets such good service, and thinking about what can be usefully done with that information, and not accusing the person who has identified this of knowing nothing about football.
This will be my last post on here.
I do not propose personal EVs as a solution
If you read what I wrote here you will know I have loving moved on from carbon taxation
While governments fiddle and humans head for self-immolation we need to have an open mind as to what individuals can do towards,in a small way, help mitigate the disaster. Ev,s can help (even Top Gear says so) reduce mileage cycle walk etc
The vast majority of my miles are now on public transport
+1 here for cycling.
I’d also selfishly like more people to cycle so that they understand just how vulnerable a cyclist is on the road, and why radging up behind a bike on a narrow road is about the least helpful thing they can do.