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    The Week in Green (September 29th edition)

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    Stockholm (NordSIP) – TBLI, the globally touring conference dedicated to building a world community of ESG and Impact investors, kicked off its Nordic event at the Stockholm Nasdaq and is (still) being attended by the – yours truly – NordSIP team. Offering what organiser Robert Rubinstein in his introduction called a “bouillabaisse of different flavours”, the event featured important topics, colourful guests and a delicate balance between optimism, criticism and tangible, real-world warnings. The discussions span across the financial sector from the get-go, including a rousing keynote from Re-Define Managing Director Sony Kapoor and an introspective journey to ESG awareness from ex-AP4 CEO Mats Andersson. Intriguing round tables on whether institutional investors can decarbonise their portfolios through liquid or illiquid assets and on the Montreal Carbon Pledge were held. Panel sessions followed on a wide array of topics, such as: ESG Case Studies, Carbon Footprinting Assets, Decarbonising portfolios through green bonds, blockchain technology, low carbon indices and sustainable alternatives, the latter moderated by NordSIP’s very own Aline Reichenberg Gustafsson. The conference continues today. Look forward to a series of articles on these topics in the coming week, including interviews of investment manager with innovative sustainable strategies.

    Equally important, the PRI in Person conference was held in Berlin earlier in the week, which among many other things saw the launch of the Climate Action 100+, an investor initiative to engage with the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, the PRI News Francophone programme, a new hub in Germany for sustainable finance, and featured, among many other noteworthy participants, Man Group sustainability strategist Jason Mitchell and a keynote from Per Bolund, the Swedish Minister for Financial Markets and Consumer Affairs and Deputy Minister of Finance. Next year’s PRI in Person will be held in San Francisco.

    - Partner Message -

    Keeping with the spirit, the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), a new project created to rank the world’s largest companies on the SDGs conceived by Aviva, the Index Initiative and the UN Foundation, launched its consultation phase at the UNGA last week, which is being financed by the governments of Denmark, Holland and the UK. The WBA will develop and publish free-to-access, publicly available benchmarks ranking the most powerful companies in the world on their sustainability performance and contributions towards the SDGs (NordSIP).

    Closer to home, IKEA finds itself taking action auditing its contract line, launching a management program for its sub-distributors engaged in outsourced transportation, and is in talks with the International Transport Federation to address recent supply chain breaches. It also launched its electric vehicles gambit, outfitting a large number of its retail stores with them in the hope of making the transition absolute (NordSIP).

    Heard on E-Street

    CDP Nordics Project Manager Emma Henningsson joined the sustainability consultancy Global Engagement Services (GES) International as client manager (NordSIP). Deutsche Asset Management appointed Pieter Furnée, currently head of Global Client Group Benelux, as global head of Responsible Investing for the GCG, where he will be leading the group’s global client engagement related to responsible investing and will work closely with Roelfien Kuijpers, head of RI on Deutsche AM’s executive committee (Investment Europe).

    Quote of the Week

     “…(I)f the world is to limit global warming to under 2 degrees as stipulated by the Paris agreement, the rate of CO2 reduction needs to match the historical rate of CO2 increase” – Storebrand/SPP RI Head Matthew Smith, who also participated the TBLI Montreal Carbon Pledge round table, gives a modest indication as to just how much work there is to be done.

    Question of the Week

    Which Swedish global equity fund was recently awarded a five star appraisal from Morningstar?

    Famous Last Words

    “A barren wasteland full of naysayers” – Robert Rubinstein, describing the vast majority of asset managers when he first set up TBLI going on 20 years ago.

    Wishing you a happy weekend,

     

    Your NordSIP team

    Image: (c) NosorogUA – shutterstock

    Glenn W. Leaper, PhD
    Glenn W. Leaper, PhD
    Glenn W. Leaper, Associate Editor and Political Risk Analyst with Nordic Business Media AB, completed his Ph.D. in Political and Critical Theory from Royal Holloway, University of London in 2015. He is involved with a number of initiatives, including political research, communications consulting (speechwriting), journalism and writing his first post-doctoral book. Glenn has an international background spanning the UK, France, Austria, Spain, Belgium and his native Denmark. He holds an MA in English and a BA in International Relations.

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