Shareholders argue the company’s aggressive legal action undermines shareholder rights and the US SEC’s authority.   Tensions are rising between oil and gas major ExxonMobil and its climate-focused shareholders, as investors push back against the company’s intimidation tactics.  Exxon filed a lawsuit in January against investment manager Arjuna Capital and activist group Follow This in response to their shareholder proposal, which requested medium-term emissions reduction targets for Scopes 1-3 emissions.  Despite the shareholder proposal having since been dropped, Exxon ha ..read more

A selection of the major stories impacting ESG investors, in five easy pieces.  People and planet have been put on an equal footing by standards setters. Capital investments – The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) finally confirmed its next move, having completed much of the heavy lifting on its standards for climate and general sustainability disclosures. Following an extensive consultation period, the ISSB decided it could not keep the world waiting for a global baseline to guide investments in natural or human capital, and so decided to press ahead on both fronts. Man ..read more

Storebrand Head of Climate and Environment Emine Isciel stresses the need for governments to take effective measures to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework, specifically on the alignment of financial flows. As countries begin the countdown to the 16th UN Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Colombia later this year, the pressure is mounting on governments to develop ambitious – and credible – plans to halt or reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Each country will need to submit National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs) – akin to nationally determined cont ..read more

Nature-focused scenario mapping and valuation are deemed pivotal to managing water stress as global warming worsens.   Most companies globally are still failing to account for water-related risks in their business operations and supply chains, industry experts warned during Rathbones Greenbank’s 27th Investor Day.  “Last year, we saw the first year of 1.5°C warming, and that is having a flywheel effect on the hydrological cycle,” said Claire Elsdon, Head of Capital Markets at environmental disclosure platform CDP. “We have seen parts of the Rhine closed to shipping due to heavy ..read more

Dame Sara Thornton, Consultant on Modern Slavery at CCLA IM and former Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, says investors can help to protect workers. Over the last year there has been growing evidence of exploitation in the UK care sector. Unscrupulous opportunists here and overseas have exploited the desire of workers to obtain social care visas and have either abandoned them in the UK or subjected them to awful working conditions. What is happening and why? And can investors use their influence to end this exploitation? The Migration Advisory Committee estimated that 2% of the working po ..read more

Jessye Waxman, Senior Campaign Strategist at Sierra Club, argues that investors are failing to adapt to a new era of risk ahead of the 2024 AGM season. April marks the start of AGM season, the time of year when global investors are preparing to vote on critical matters at companies in their portfolios that have a significant impact on the climate. Despite climate goals, years of engagement, and considerable risk exposure, the majority of institutional investors are coming to AGM season ill-prepared to weigh in on these risks in order to protect their clients’ investments. The emissions pa ..read more

Elizabeth Coleman, Partner at Eversheds Sutherland, says investors should take note of the ESG-related class actions being heard at the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal. As the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) increases its focus on ESG, and the number of US-style ‘class actions’ being brought in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) surges, it is time that investors became aware that these suits now have a home to be heard in. Recently, the CMA has been taking a clear interest in ESG. It has explored how competition law applies to arrangements under which competitors collaborate i ..read more

New benchmark provides insight into actions taken in systemically important sectors on reversing nature and biodiversity loss by 2030. Global investor-led nature and biodiversity initiative Nature Action 100 has published a set of benchmark indicators to assess companies’ nature-related ambition, and measure their progress towards fixed targets. Based on the initiative’s Investor Expectations for Companies and developed in consultation with investors, the Nature Action 100 Company Benchmark comprises six high-level indicators – ambition, assessment, targets, implementation, governance, and eng ..read more

Environmental costs and deforestation have been flagged as central risks if the industry continues to operate as it currently does. The food sector is misaligned on emissions reduction targets and sector producers are not on the pathway to limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, recent research has shown. Analysis conducted by the Transition Pathway Initiative Global Climate Transition Centre (TPI Centre) assessed the world’s 26 largest publicly listed food producers against its new carbon performance methodology. “The food sector is responsible for an estimated one-third ..read more

Industry pundits make the case for why Australia is on its way to becoming a climate leader. If one thing is clear by now when it comes to the climate crisis, it’s that investors cannot solve it on their own. Policies, regulations and wider laws are among the many elements that set the path and guide them on their journey to net zero.  As Udo Riese, ESG Lead at Allianz Investment Management, said last week as part of a call from the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA) for governments to align with climate science: “Whenever countries introduce and implement a positive environment for tr ..read more