ESG Round-up October
Our ESG newsletter exists to update you on all things ESG and the built environment.??
As ever, ESG and sustainability have been making headlines and there’s plenty to catch up on. Don’t forget, if you know someone who could benefit from getting this monthly ESG round-up direct to their inbox, then why not send them this sign-up link ???
Best regards,?
The Social Invest Team??
Good Money Week: Jargon, gender, generation – breaking down the barriers to sustainable investing?
Social was pleased to support Good Money Week again this year, hosting our own podcast webinar on breaking down barriers to sustainable investing. Good Money Week - run by the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) - focused on ways that the financial services industry can help the public better understand the positive impact their pensions, savings and investment can have on the environment and for wider society.
Our panel included:?
Key talking points included:? ?
You can listen back by following the link here .??
As part of Good Money Week, we also updated our ‘A-Z of ESG’ - our jargon buster breaking down the terminology of ESG, sustainability and impact.?
Click here to read, download and share our jargon buster.?
Social out and about
November is set to be a busy month for the team.
Social’s Impact Chat?
In our latest Impact Chat, Social Invest Account Manager, Nishall Garala, speaks to Kate Sandle , Director of Sustainability at Newcore Capital. In her role Kate is responsible for driving the business’ sustainability efforts including assessing impact of its investments.?
Some of the key talking points discussed include:?
To listen to the session, click here .??
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ESG: built environment focus?
October was the season for grandiose statements and stirring speeches – this newsletter follows the excitement of party conference season. Unfortunately, it’s what came before party conference that made the biggest bang for those in net zero and sustainability.?
Prime minister Rishi Sunak sent shockwaves through the built environment sector after he announced his government would soften a range of net zero targets and milestones – including scrapping a commitment for new private rental properties to need an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of ‘C’ or higher by 2025. Elsewhere in Sunak’s announcement there were commitments to delay the ban on the sale of new diesel cars, from 2030 to 2035. Sunak also announced a 50% increase in grant funding through the government’s boiler upgrade scheme. Despite the changes, Mr Sunak said the government remains committed to the target of reaching net zero by 2050.?
The announcement was deemed “hugely disappointing” by Kate Henderson , chief executive of the National Housing Federation, whose housing association members remain committed to improving energy efficiency of their homes. There was also backlash from private landlords, 80% of which had already spent money on preparing for the old deadline of 2025.??
In response, Labour said it would use net zero to 'give Britain its hope and optimism back' , putting climate at the heart of its economy strategy if elected.?
A string of trade bodies and groups have since warned the PM of the dangers of putting off net zero targets for the economy, industry and households – including the investment community , the International Energy Agency (IEA) to the government’s own Climate Change Committee , the car industry and of course, naturalist Chris Packham .?
Ironically, before the government’s shock announcement, CBRE UK published an ESG survey which found that 47% of UK tenants and occupiers stated that they want to achieve net zero by 2030 or earlier.? However, new research by Climate Emergency UK found that only a handful of UK councils were prepared to meet the target of all properties to EPC ‘C’ and above by 2028. According to the data, there were only five councils whose stock was 100% EPC ‘C’ and above, and those tended to be smaller councils with fewer homes.??
As the former chief executive of the Impact Investing Institute pointed out – there is a role for responsible private capital and specifically, blended finance, in helping the country towards net zero objectives, along with boosting investment in places across the country.??
This argument was further supported by a new report authored by Sarah Gordon providing a 6-point plan and set of practical solutions for government to mobilise private investment for economic, environmental and social policy priorities – as also set out in the FT. ? ?
That came as Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) set out how it is committed to place-based investing, and is now reporting on the impact of its investments in its own backyard. This is alongside GMPF’s commitment to invest ￡1.36bn in local places – and forms part of the ongoing place-based impact investing (PBII) initiative and newly formed network.?
ESG: the bigger picture?
How can investors actually decarbonise the world? This excellent TED Talk from Nili Gilbert challenges current approaches at a portfolio level and dives into what really needs to happen to make decarbonisation a reality.?
The importance of disclosure and reporting has become very real for one pension fund. The UK’s Pension Regulator (TPR) has for the first time fined a scheme for failing to disclose its climate change report in time, under Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has also warned financial advisers they will be asked to step up on sustainable investing, with details on its plans under the new Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) to be published in the coming months .?
In the meantime, ESG continues to be intensely scrutinised – with a recent FT article stating it is ‘beyond redemption’ and another claiming ESG has become a ‘petri dish for groupthink’, - albeit one might argue that jumping on the ESG bashing bandwagon might also fall into that category.?
And some city bosses are still speaking the language of ESG – including in the context of humanitarian disasters that are unfolding in front of us.?
Elsewhere, the UN Sustainable development Goals came into the spotlight in time for a meeting of the UN general assembly in New York. UN General Secretary António Guterres warned that the SDGs “need a global rescue plan” as countries are expected to miss some of the 169 specific targets which are included in the 17 SDGs. In line with these concerns, the UN Global Compact-Accenture Global Private Sector Stocktake , which surveyed 2,900 business leaders around the world found that only 15% of SDG targets are on track. The report found that progress on 48% of the targets is weak and insufficient and has actually reversed on 37% of the targets. Despite this, 94% of business leaders still view the SDGs as a unifying global vision.??
No matter what sector you’re looking at, these days, there always seems to be a conversation around AI, and now AI is being used to help measure solar, air quality and pollen information. Google has launched new technology which is expected to help businesses and cities map environmental information.???
Thank you for reading!??
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