ESG and Sustainable Investing Digest (week ending 3 August 2019)
A weekly round-up on developments and news in ESG and sustainable investing.
Themes tend to have greater resonance when they're closer to home and the exceptionally hot European summer has been no exception; producing a plethora of articles and views regarding the heating European climate.
In this week's digest we look at:
- Rome's rubbish crisis (Roma fa schifo!")
- Madrid's low emissions zone reinstated
- The hidden threat of Ghost Nets
- Green bonds lacking authenticity
- The impact-weighted investing initiative
Rome's rubbish crisis gets political
Rome's rubbish crisis appears to be reaching touchpaper point where the Eternal City seems to have an eternal waste problem.
Rome's mayor, Virginia Raggi, has committed to clean the problem up in short shrift with a 24-hour opening of Rome's main waste management plant.
This summer's intense heat has also led to health concerns as garbage rots in the heat and has increased the ever-present rodent population.
After the authorities said there was no rubbish emergency social media erupted in plethora of images of rubbish-filled streets proving the truth.
The new social media tag lane has become "Roma fa schifo!" (Rome is disgusting).
Madrid's pollution low-emissions zone challenge
A change of mayor in Madrid saw a potential retrograde step in the management of pollution in Spain's Capital. The new mayor (Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida) had closed the new low-emissions zone intended to improve air quality in central Madrid. Only low-emissions vehicles were allowed on the zone; a policy that was generally well-supported by residents.
Environmental groups challenged the decision in court where the judge found that the mayor must reinstate the low-pollution zone; citing thst the health of residents was more importsnt than the right to travel by car
Access via link below (BBC)
The hidden threat of Ghost Nets
Ghost Nets are fishing nets that have been lost or thrown away in the oceans. They trap sealife where it dies and decay causing the dispersion of vast amounts of micro-plastics which enters the food change.
10% of plastic ocean waste comes from Ghost Nets. Ghost Nets are notoriusly difficult to remove as thet are often intertwined around submarine objects.
Sweden has now instigated a Ghost Net reclamation research and recycling facility. It has been mooted that nets should be tagged in future so that their source can be tagged.
Access via link below (Mission Blue)
Green bonds often lacking authenticity
The burgeoning green bond market is open to a lack of clear metrics; having raised more than US$100 billion this year according to the Financial Times. Opaque and inconsistent standards means the buyer must beware.
For example, green bonds may be used as collateral for other bonds with no green or sustainable characteristics or to pay off existing debt. Reporting is also often patchy and inconsistent and it is difficult to see how proceeds are used.
There are fledgling efforts by the European Union to bring in a set of unified standards but the market is still a long way off a consistency framework. Find out more about this minefield from Environmental Finance.
Access via link below (Environmental Finance)
Impact-weighted investing initiative
With a greater recognition of the impact of intangibles in investing and valuation; the Global Group for Impact Investing is looking to develop a framework to measure the impact of intangibles on investing.
This interview with the Chairman, Ronald Cohen, explains how demands from pension funds and investors will drive change in the reporting landscape and move away from purely financial metrics towards a more sustainable and holistic approach.
Access via link below (Devex)