Three Ways To Make Financial Services More Human March 22, 2023 Bowler hat. Three-piece pinstripe suit. A classic umbrella with a wooden curved handle. It would be easy to think that the financial lending market still carries an air of old-school attitudes and thinking, based on its formal and traditional roots. Arguably, the financial services sector has had the privilege of operating from a position of [...]
Activist shareholder group slams $68tn climate initiative for ‘lack of ambition and progress’ May 19, 2022 Activist shareholder group ShareAction has slammed the world’s largest climate investor initiative today claiming it has “failed to deliver any meaningful progress” on reducing corporate emissions.
How e-bikes can and should be part of the drive towards better corporate ESG policies December 9, 2022 With environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues now placed at the forefront of many corporate agendas, it is easy to be sceptical about the actual actions taken forward versus publicly voiced sustainable intentions. At times it has felt like many have addressed what is necessary to “tick the ESG box” but without a genuine plan [...]
Lockheed Martin dives into Satellite Vu’s £20m funding round March 2, 2022 Lockheed Martin has dived into a £20m funding round for Seraphim Space-backed Satellite Vu, as the US aerospace giant looks to plant a new space base in the UK. The London-based satellite firm, which uses infrared imaging and data to observe the Earth from space, has caught the eye of Lockheed in hopes of luring [...]
‘Get ESG-ready’ Series: Why does ESG data need to be assured to International Accounting Standards? January 30, 2023 In my last article, ‘What is ESG and why is it relevant now?’ I highlighted that central banks and financial regulators worldwide are coming together with the shared goal to “counter greenwashing” (the practice of claiming ESG performance in excess of actual performance) and to ensure that ESG data is meaningful. As part of this [...]
Standard Chartered pre-tax profits rise 44 per cent November 2, 2021 Standard Chartered pre-tax profits have risen 44 per cent, according to the latest quarterly results announced today. Profit before tax at the British bank rose to $1.08bn, surpassing previous expectations but the bank warned investors to expect an “uneven” economic recovery and its outlook for earnings growth for 2021 remained flat. Chief executive at Standard [...]
EU Sustainability Taxonomy: It’s not easy being green, or is it? January 31, 2022 In the ongoing debate around environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and rising demand for sustainable investments, one major topic of conversation has been taxonomy – defining what does and does not qualify as ‘sustainable’ or ‘green’ investing. Classification to help investor confidenceRegulators in Europe have been at the vanguard for many ESG-related matters and [...]
‘Golden source’ for ESG data will help listed firms decide where they put their cash November 8, 2022 A new ‘golden source’ for environmental and social governance (ESG) data will help listed firms decide where they put their money, and even what their values should be. Nina Spencer saw a gap in the market after more than 15-years sitting on company boards and advising leading fintech firms. Her new analytics and benchmarking database, [...]
‘Get ESG-ready’ series: What is ESG and why is it relevant now? January 13, 2023 Companies are like citizens, they need to act responsibly and try to do more good than harm. Many of us will have heard of ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (CSR) and similar ideas such as the ‘Triple Bottom Line’, ‘Corporate Purpose’ and ‘Shared Value’. In practice, many of these ideas were hijacked by marketeers, which meant that [...]
Is ESG facing an existential crisis? What could be next for sustainable investing… January 11, 2023 It’s been a rough year for ESG – Russian oil companies qualify as sufficiently environmentally and socially responsible to receive ESG funds. Sam Bank-Friedman’s bankrupted FTX crypto enterprise has a higher ESG score on ‘leadership and governance’ than Exxon/Mobil. In light of the discovery of controversial ESG fund allocation, it is vital ESG undergoes a significant [...]