Impact investing is increasingly a buzzword in the City as millennial investors take over June 24, 2021 Impact investing, the strategy to make financial profits but create a long-standing, positive impact on our world, in the process, is becoming increasingly ‘a thing’ in the City and other financial hubs around the world. Many investors are hyper-aware of what is happening around them, with factors such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) making a [...]
Exclusive: Businesses call on govt to set global standards on environmental impacts June 1, 2021 Businesses are calling on the government to set clear global standards for recording their impact on the environment. A host of CEOs from across the business world, including James Timpson and Schroders’ Peter Harrison, have said that making it cheaper and easier for firms to record their environmental impact would make it easier not just [...]
Fee-earning opportunities from sustainability: Is your firm leaving cash on the table? May 27, 2021 | City Talk The ever-evolving topic of sustainability can create ways to grow your business and further serve your clients. Sustainability comprises the many elements of environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics, that are evolving over time; vary across company, industry and country; and involve such a huge range of different stakeholders, concepts, frameworks and rules. Parking semantics [...]
Over half of financial services professionals claim ‘greenwashing’ is rife in the industry, study says May 25, 2021 More than half of financial services professionals believe ‘greenwashing’ is rife within the industry, according to a study released today, as employees fear competitors intentionally inflate their sustainable practices. The study by data agency iResearch Services, which polled 550 decision-makers at financial institutions, also found that 38 per cent believe every business is operating ‘unethically’ [...]
Exclusive: UK banks jump on the tech bandwagon to give their operations a green boost May 24, 2021 Almost three quarters of all UK banks are embracing digital technology to make their business operations greener. In fact, two in five banks are using intelligent automation and digitising all paper processes in a bid to be more sustainable, according to new research by Censuswide, and shared with City A.M. today. This was followed by [...]
Wincanton supply chains to be net zero by 2040, as profits slip May 20, 2021 Supply chain partner Wincanton is set to be net-zero by 2040, the group said today, but has been knocked slightly by a slip in profitability. With environment, social and governance (ESG) factors climbing increasingly higher on the investor agenda, the group’s shares were up 3.95 per cent to 447p per share this afternoon. The group [...]
Mining sector needs $1.7 trillion investment for decarbonisation May 10, 2021 Mining companies need to invest an eyewatering $1.7 trillion over the next 15 years to stick to Paris Agreement commitments, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie. The decarbonisation investment figure comes as UK mining group Weir released a report today which found that the mining industry uses around 3.5 per cent of global energy. “Mining needs [...]
Former MP Luciana Berger joins Cazoo’s ESG board May 4, 2021 Online used-car retailer Cazoo has appointed former MP Luciana Berger to its board, once its $7bn merger with AJAX has been completed. Joining as a non-executive director, Berger’s political career last saw her as the Liberal Democrat shadow spokesperson for health, social care and wellbeing in 2019. Currently managing director of advocacy and public affairs [...]
Blackstone asks CEOs to take ESG matters to their boards for the first time May 4, 2021 Investment group Blackstone has asked its top private equity staff to report environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters to their boards for the first time ever. Executives in companies controlled by the group’s private equity arm will up Blackstone’s sustainability, as investors are increasingly wary of the impacts companies have on the environment and workers, according [...]
The Evening Read: City veteran Gavin Rochussen on closing deals remotely April 29, 2021 In an exclusive interview, City A.M. sits down with Gavin Rochussen, the CEO of St. James’s-based Polar Capital, to talk all things asset management, how the pandemic has changed working practices, navigating acquisitions in lockdown and how culture is so important to success. You told me that Polar Capital is a boutique asset manager, but [...]