Indice Tracker
Finance
BlackRock expects 75% of corporate & sovereign investments to be net zero-aligned by 2030 (Source: ESG TODAY)
At least three quarters of BlackRock’s managed assets invested in corporate and sovereign issuers are expected to be invested in issuers with science-based net zero-aligned climate targets by 2030, a remarkable rise from the current 25%, the investment giant estimates in its “2021 TCFD report”.
BlackRock fails to win support for iShares ETF switch to ESG index (Source: The Financial Times)
BlackRock will not switch the index for its EUR1.4bn iShares corporate bond ETF to the Bloomberg MSCI Euro Corporate ex Financials Sustainable SRI index, after a shareholder meeting to approve the change failed to reach quorum.
The fund currently tracks the Bloomberg Barclays Euro Corporate ex-Financials Bond Index. When proposing the index change, BlackRock said it was in response to “increased investor demand for evolving the existing sub-fund to adopt ESG characteristics while maintaining its broad market exposure”.
World Bank condemned by watchdog for helping finance Philippines coal boom (Source: Eco-Business)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group’s private lending arm, violated its own environmental and social protection policies by helping to bankroll a coal boom in the Philippines, an independent investigation has found.
The IFC’s internal watchdog, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), called on the IFC to provide remedy for the “significant adverse social, environmental and climate impacts of its investments, and to reform its financial intermediary lending practices to prevent future harm.”
Investment banking faces wide labour shortages (Source: The Economist)
The investment banks have witnessed a talent squeeze in the past earning season of 2021. Deutsche Bank’s Christian Sewing was “very concerned” about a war for talent; Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon said it caused “wage inflation everywhere”.
A survey of 267 financial-services employers, conducted in November by Hays, a London-based recruitment firm, found that 83% had suffered from a skills shortage in the past year. More than half attributed that to competition from rivals.
Corporate
Deloitte to invest USD1bn in sustainability and climate practice (Source: Edie)
Professional services giant Deloitte is set to invest USD1bn in its Sustainability & Climate practice, amid increased corporate demands for sustainability consultants.
The funding will be used to help Deloitte expand its teams of staff who are able to carry out projects like designing sustainability strategies for businesses; helping business clients meet climate and environment-related disclosure requirements; ensuring businesses comply with environmental tax requirements and assisting clients in engaging with supply chains on sustainability.
Apple suppliers double use of clean energy, avoiding 14 million tons of emissions (Source: ESG Today)
Apple revealed that over 200 of the company’s major manufacturing partners have made commitments to power all Apple production with renewable electricity across 25 countries. Additionally, the company stated that suppliers have more than doubled their use of clean power over the past year, and that these projects avoided nearly 14 million metric tons of carbon emissions in 2021.
Panasonic looks to reduce its dependence on Tesla with next-generation EV battery (Source: The Financial Times)
Panasonic expects the rollout of its next-generation electric vehicle battery to help the company diversify its business from Tesla, as the Japanese electronics conglomerate refocuses after a period of aggressive restructuring.
Its CEO Yuki Kusumi said in an interview with the Financial Times that the company would invest JPY600bn (USD4.8bn) in new growth areas over the next three years. Two-thirds of the spending will focus on EV batteries, supply chain software and air conditioners and the remainder has been earmarked to develop other new technologies, including hydrogen energy.
CATL invests in USD 6bn battery project in Indonesia (Source: electrek)
CATL is expanding further as part of a new USD 6bn dollar battery chain project in Indonesia. Through its subsidiary and an agreement with Indonesia PT AnekaTambang (ANTAM) and PT Industri Baterai Indonesia (IBI).
The projects will be constructed in the FHT Industrial Park in East Hamahela County, North Maluku, as well as other industrial parks in Indonesia. CATL noted that the Indonesian power battery industry chain project is an important milestone for CATL’s global strategic layout.
Intel targets net-zero emissions by 2040 through USD 300m energy savings drive (Source: Edie)
Technology giant Intel has pledged to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its global operations by 2040 covering scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Intel will meet this target through achieving 100% renewable electricity usage and investing $300m at its facilities to achieve 4 billion cumulative kilowatt-hours of energy savings.
Connecting Workplace
Salesforce hires Tim Christophersen as VP of Climate Action (Source: ESG TODAY)
CRM solutions provider Salesforce announced the appointment of Tim Christophersen as incoming Vice President of Climate Action, responsible for driving the company’s strategy around nature-based solutions to climate challenges, and accelerating Salesforce’s international sustainability efforts. Before joining Salesforce, Christophersen spent 15 years at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), most recently serving as the Head of Nature for the Climate Branch.
Along with the new appointment, Salesforce also announced the launch of a new ‘blue carbon’ markets initiative, aimed at helping to scale sustainable ocean-based carbon markets through the development of consistent standards for assessing projects and credits.
KKR Hires Pamela Alexander to lead Philanthropy and Corporate Citizenship (Source: ESG TODAY)
Global alternative asset and private equity investor KKR announced the appointment of Pamela Alexander as Managing Director and Head of Corporate Citizenship.
Alexander will be responsible for overseeing KKR’s corporate citizenship and strategic philanthropy programs globally and she will also serve as a resource on citizenship to KKR’s portfolio companies. KKR launched its citizenship platform in 2016, aimed at helping the firm and its employees and portfolio companies create healthier and more resilient communities.
Prior to joining KKR, Alexander served at Ford for over 20 years, most recently as Director of Community Development for the Ford Motor Company Fund, and in other senior community development and government relations roles.
Wells Fargo names first-ever Chief Sustainability Officer (Source: American Banker)
Wells Fargo has tapped Robyn Luhning, its head of environmental and social risk management, as the bank's first-ever chief sustainability officer.
In her new role Luhning leads the bank’s climate plans and oversees its sustainable financing institute, which includes environmental philanthropy and advocacy efforts, the company said. She also oversees Wells Fargo’s environmental, social and governance disclosures.
General Atlantic appoints Cornelia Gomez as Global Head of ESG (Source: General Atlantic)
Growth equity firm General Atlantic announced that Cornelia Gomez has joined the firm as its Global Head of ESG. Based in London, Gomez will oversee General Atlantic’s strategy to advance environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts at the firm and across its portfolio.
Prior to joining General Atlantic, Gomez was Head of ESG and Sustainability at PAI Partners, where she established its ESG practice and was a key intermediary between investors, investment teams and portfolio companies, helping to integrate ESG factors from due diligence to exit.