While some are busy taking the opportunity offered by Earth Day to get the world to gear up for action against climate change, such as at the online event ‘Financing the Race to Zero – Exponential Climate Action Summit II‘, the European Commission finally announced the adoption of the first official delegated act for the EU Taxonomy, many stakeholders took issue with the inclusion of bioenergy and certain practices in the forestry sector. The WWF, Birdlife and the European Consumer Association accused the EU executive of greenwashing and left the Platform on Sustainable Finance in protest. At the same time, the EC also proposed the creation of a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), extending sustainability reporting requirements to all large companies and all listed companies.
Back in the Nordics, the Council on Ethics of the Swedish buffer funds AP 1 to 4 published its engagement report, highlighting its role in pushing stronger standards around trailing dams and calling for increased transparency and integrity in the tech sector. Meanwhile, a recent analysis by Arabesque suggests that less than a quarter of the world’s biggest companies are on course to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C by 2050.
To increase ESG-oriented investment options for savers, Danske Bank added to its platform a new water & waste strategy which will be managed by Fidelity. Susanne Bolin Gärtner commented on the rationale behind the choice while Fidelity’s Richard Bentefour and Martin Friis explained the strategy’s appeal. In Stockholm, the Länsförsäkringar Global Klimatindex fund won the second edition of Länsförsäkringar’s “Sustainable fund performance of the year” competition. Also in Sweden, agricultural cooperative Lantmännen issued an inaugural SEK1 billion green bond maturing in 2026.
Last but not least, if you missed last week’s discussion on Sustainable Private Debt, here is an opportunity to catch up: read a summary of the main points or watch the 1-hour insightful virtual round table which brought together M&G Investments‘ Thomas Lane, Federated Hermes‘ Laura Vaughan, Skandia Life Insurance‘s Cecilia Sköld and Nordea‘s Lea Vaisalo.
Image: Envato Elements / NordSIP ©
