Private funds expect incoming ESG regulations to boost sector – but UK will trail US and EU May 30, 2023 Private investment firms in the UK think incoming ESG regulations will boost sector but funds worry divergence from global norms could harm progress. According to research from PwC, 59.1 per cent of Limited Partners (LPs) and 58.0 per cent of General Partners (GPs) surveyed believed incoming regulations in the UK targeting ESG would have a [...]
Appetite for ESG investing falls – but could tighter regulation improve its performance? May 19, 2023 ESG is sliding down the list of investment priorities as investors refocus on maximising returns amid ESG’s poor performance and wider market volatility. According to the latest research by Charles Schwab UK, in two years the number of investors who believe companies with strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) credentials are attractive investment options has [...]
‘I knew I wouldn’t be loved’: The FCA’s ESG chief talks ruffling feathers in the fight against greenwashing April 27, 2023 ESG has become the City’s favourite acronym over the past three years and almost every boss and investment manager has scrambled to plant their flag on the standards as closely as they possibly can. But those claims and labels don’t always stand up to scrutiny. Greenwashing is running rampant. Clean and green claims are being [...]
UK’s major listed companies given ESG scorecards – and it doesn’t look good April 3, 2023 ‘Management of emissions’ and ‘air pollution’ are the biggest ESG risk factors for the UK’s largest listed companies, according to new research by reinsurance firm Chaucer. On average the UK’s largest listed companies scored just 13.7 and 14.3 out of 100 for ‘management of emissions’ and ‘air pollution’, respectively. On the positive side, listed companies [...]
Starbucks faces pressure from German giant Allianz to overhaul approach to unions March 6, 2023 Starbucks today faced mounting pressure over its approach towards unions after German financial services giant Allianz vowed to back a push to force the coffee seller to overhaul its labour policies. Allianz GI today vowed to support an investor resolution calling on Starbucks to overhaul its approach to workers’ unions, following concerns about the coffee [...]
Law firms help drive record demand for London office space February 23, 2023 Law firms, accounting firms and consultancies acquired a record 2.5m sq ft of central London office space in 2022, following a boom in the professional services sector’s revenues. London’s top services firms took up 50 per cent more office space last year than in 2021, as the sector capitalised on an “unprecedented” surge in demand, [...]
Mercedes Benz makes first UK court appearance as ‘dieselgate’ class-action lawsuit begins February 9, 2023 German carmaker Mercedes Benz today appeared in a UK court over its alleged part in the ‘dieselgate’ scandal. Lawyers acting on behalf Mercedes Benz drivers asked a London court to let them launch a class-action type lawsuit against the German firm over claims it cheated on emissions tests. Class-action specialists Leigh Day and Pogust [...]
London’s litigation financiers primed to profit on global downturn, Therium chief says February 3, 2023 London’s litigation funders are in a prime position to capitalise on the global economic downturn, the founder of one the UK’s top lawsuit financiers told City A.M. The economic slump threatens to stretch in-house legal budgets and drive an uptick in legal battles, Therium founder Neil Purslow said, which could force companies and litigants turn [...]
Do You Have The Other ‘E’ of ESG? January 18, 2023 | Sponsored I believe that intrapreneurship is a huge catalyst for helping you achieve sustainable ESG outcomes. Developing intrapreneurship as part of your ESG strategy will enable your businesses to not only keep up or even surpass your own competitors, but to do so, across diverse customer markets that demand both social and commercial results. Unlocking the [...]
To ESG or not to ESG, why bother? January 11, 2023 | Sponsored There’s no denying the bombshell declaration of $9.5bn of “socially conscious funds” from ESG investments being tied up in Russian oil companies has come as a predictable shock. Or when ESG ratings company Truvalue Labs gave Sam Bank-Friedman’s FTX crypto enterprise a higher score on ‘leadership and governance’ than Exxon/Mobil. Being neither environmentally nor socially responsible, [...]