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 [...]
Will ESG turn Bitcoin into a digital ‘stranded asset’ or monetary MySpace? (Part II) April 13, 2021 | City Talk In this second instalment of a two-part piece, Ben Ashby, Derek Usher and Gerard Fox explain why environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors will undermine Bitcoin’s eye-catching rise, here focusing on the ‘S’ and ‘G’. We at Good Governance Capital (GGC) are enormously enthusiastic and supportive of innovation and competition in finance. As former mainstream [...]
Exclusive: The City will emerge strong from Brexit, says impact investment whizz April 8, 2021 One of the hottest trends within the City’s investment community lately has been impact investing; capital flowing into companies, entities and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact. To many institutional investors and pension funds, impact investments are increasingly becoming the standard so this type of investments is more [...]
Will ESG turn Bitcoin into a digital ‘stranded asset’ or monetary MySpace? (Part I) April 6, 2021 | City Talk In this first instalment of a two-part piece, Ben Ashby, Derek Usher and Gerard Fox explain why environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors will undermine Bitcoin’s eye-catching rise, here focusing on the ‘E’. We have many economic reasons for believing that ‘first-generation’ crypto assets will fail to displace either ‘conventional’ money or traditional safe assets [...]
Retail investors back Rio Tinto climate accountable proposals April 6, 2021 Retail investors have backed climate accountable proposals from Rio Tinto, which the miner will vote on this Friday, as accountability is pushed higher on this year’s agenda. 71.5 per cent of retail investors have called for chairs and CEOs of the mining giant to be held to account on Environments, Social and Governance (ESG) standards, [...]