March 2023
03Mar

US. Congress Moves to Block Investment Rule, Setting Up Veto Fight

Congress on Wednesday cleared a measure to block a Labor Department rule that allows retirement plan managers to incorporate climate and social considerations into their investment decisions, setting up a veto fight with President Biden over an otherwise obscure regulation that has become a flash point in the culture wars. The Senate passed the resolution by a vote of 50 to 46 after two Democrats, Senators Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, joined every Republican....

March 3, 2023
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02Mar

EU publishes standards to fight greenwashing in green bonds

European Union lawmakers agreed a new standard for companies issuing green bonds in an effort to help fixed-income investors avoid greenwashing. The European Parliament and the Swedish presidency, in its role as representative for EU leaders, agreed requirements for companies that issue green and sustainable bonds as part of their transition to a low-carbon economy. The European Green Bonds Standard will help investors and managers to ensure they are investing in sustainable technologies and businesses, the European Parliament said in a...

March 2, 2023
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02Mar

US. How Environmentally Conscious Investing Became a Target of Conservatives

It’s been a widely accepted trend in financial circles for nearly two decades. But suddenly, Republicans have launched an assault on a philosophy that says that companies should be concerned with not just profits but also how their businesses affect the environment and society. More than $18 trillion is held in investment funds that follow the investing principle known as E.S.G. — shorthand for prioritizing environmental, social and governance factors — a strategy that has been adopted by major corporations...

March 2, 2023
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01Mar

Australia’s regulator sues Mercer pension fund in first greenwashing case

Australia's corporate regulator launched legal action against pension fund Mercer Superannuation on Tuesday, accusing it of misleading members about the sustainability of some of its investment options. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission's (ASIC) said this was its first court action alleging "greenwashing", or exaggerated claims of environment-friendly investment and products, which has garnered increased attention as interest rises in sustainable and ethical investment options. ASIC said last year it was stepping up oversight of climate-related reporting and was investigating several...

March 1, 2023
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February 2023
28Feb

US. House Democrats introduce bill to codify DOL ESG rule

As backlash ramps up against the Department of Labor's new rule permitting retirement plan fiduciaries to consider climate change and other environmental, social and governance factors when selecting investments, House Democrats introduced a bill to codify the rule into law. The Freedom to Invest in a Sustainable Future Act, like the Labor Department's Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights rule that took effect Jan. 30, stipulates that plans may consider ESG factors in their investment...

February 28, 2023
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23Feb

U.K. Pensions Regulator tells retirement plan trustees to disclose ESG data or face fines

The U.K. Pensions Regulator warned Wednesday that retirement fund trustees could be fined if they don't report on ESG and climate change investments. TPR said in a news release it will launch a campaign in the spring that will check if trustees are publishing ESG data in their statement of investment principles, which outline how retirement funds invest. Since 2019, retirement funds have been required to publish ESG policies on plan websites to show ESG investments to plan participants. They are...

February 23, 2023
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22Feb

Buenas prácticas en torno a la inversión sostenible

Por Consejo Coordinador Empresarial  La transición hacia una economía sostenible requiere aumentar el financiamiento a través de proyectos e iniciativas que brinden beneficios tanto económicos como no-económicos y que estén direccionados hacia empresas que contribuyan positivamente a la sostenibilidad. La inversión sostenible combina la inversión tradicional con conocimientos relacionados a la sostenibilidad al integrar consideraciones ASG (ambientales, sociales y de gobernanza) en la toma de decisiones de inversión. El financiamiento sostenible permite reorientar los flujos financieros hacia inversiones sostenibles, al incentivar al...

February 22, 2023
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21Feb

ESG: EU Regulatory Change and Its Implications

Despite the sharp change in the financial landscape over the past year and an increasingly challenging macroeconomic climate, investment focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors is set to grow. Global ESG assets may reach $50 trillion by 2025, one-third of the projected total assets under management globally, from $35 trillion in 2020. [1] Climate-related challenges, in particular, have come to the fore given the experience of unprecedented heat waves in parts of Europe, forest fires in the...

February 21, 2023
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16Feb

Denmark’s AkademikerPension takes on the banks financing fossil fuels

Denmark’s AkademikerPension, the member-owned pension fund for 150,000 academics, has just notched up another important milestone in its ambitious sustainability strategy. Pressure from the fund’s CIO and chief financial officer Anders Schelde on Denmark’s Dankse Bank contributed to the lender announcing plans to end new financing to oil and gas E&P companies that don’t have a credible transition plan in line with the Paris Agreement. Last year, Schelde stood up and challenged Dankse executives at the bank’s AGM, the only...

February 16, 2023
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13Feb

US. Attention to ESG grew in 2022 along with headwinds

It is tricky to say which was a more volatile issue in 2022 for public pension funds operating under ESG principles — the politics or the markets. They managed to navigate both, and this year many of them are even ratcheting up their sustainable investing agendas. Some, like the $61.4 billion Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, Baltimore, took a page from the largest U.S. funds that added ESG specialists for their investment divisions. Although Maryland CIO Andrew Palmer first formed...

February 13, 2023
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