About | Mentor | Paul Millar
Paul Millar
Australian lawyer with a background in international human rights, interested in how investors can consider human rights based on international law and, for which, I devised a model in a PhD.
PROFILE
I am an Australian lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in refugee status determination. This involves deciding whether an asylum seeker will suffer violations of international human rights laws. It requires knowledge of those laws and human rights practices around the world. I did this work for UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, in Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Africa and Romania. I also did this work on appellate tribunals in New Zealand and Australia. I hold a Master of International and Comparative Law degree from Georgetown University Law Centre, Washington DC.
Some years ago, I discovered that investors were advocating responsible, ethical or sustainable investment, all of which encompassed human rights to varying degrees. This led me to undertake a PhD and devise a model for how investors could have corporations do business that does not harm people. The model is based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and investors who use it will be assisted by the resources available through Altiorem.
RECENTLY REVIEWED BY PAUL MILLAR
Artificial intelligence solutions to support environmental, social, and governance integration in emerging markets
This report examines the use of artificial intelligence technologies to analyse environmental, social and governance ("ESG") data for investments in emerging markets. It gives a detailed account of an experiment conducted to determine the effectiveness of such technologies in analysing the ESG performance of emerging markets issuers.
Amundi
Amundi is a European asset management company headquartered in France that is committed to responsible investment and offering savings and investment solutions for retail, institutional and corporate investors. It was founded in 2010 and has a strong focus on environmental, societal and governance ("ESG") investing.
Global ESG disclosure standards for investment products
This report presents the “Global ESG disclosure standards for investment products” developed by the CFA Institute to facilitate fair representation and full disclosure by investment managers in relation to how environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues are considered in an investment product’s objectives, investment process or stewardship activities.
ESG 2.0: Measuring and managing investor risks beyond the enterprise-level
This paper discusses how current institutional investing practices and asset allocation strategies conflict with ESG objectives. It encourages institutional investors to review their systematic risk-management practices and recommends the diversification of asset allocation to more regenerative investment structures and asset classes.
Global microscope 2020: The role of financial inclusion in the COVID-19 response
This report is a study of the enabling environment for financial inclusion in 55 low to middle income countries. It focuses on the role of financial inclusion in terms of how governments in those countries responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Predistribution Initiative
The Predistribution Initiative is a non-profit multi-stakeholder effort to co-create improved investment practices and structures which share more wealth and influence with workers and communities. It has the ultimate aim of addressing systemic and systematic risks in markets and investors’ portfolios, such as inequality, climate change and biodiversity loss.
Mental health and employers: Refreshing the case for investment
This report analyses the impact of mental health in the workplace. It examines the increasing prevalence and costs to employers of poor mental health among their employees, the actual mental health issues arising and their causes, as well as interventions employers can take and which provide financial return.
Investor toolkit: An investor focus on Indigenous Peoples' rights and cultural heritage protection
This toolkit guides investors on how to assess a company’s relationship with Indigenous stakeholders and its respect for their cultural heritage. The toolkit explains the impact of those issues on long-term financial value before providing detailed guidance on what investors should look for in a company's disclosure and engagement practices.
The carbon boomerang: Litigation risk as a driver and consequence of the energy transition
This report discusses and identifies climate change related litigation risks as drivers and consequences of an energy transition. It presents a taxonomy of those risks and analyses them in the broader context of the financial risk associated with them.
Sustainable Finance Observatory
Sustainable Finance Observatory (formerly 2 Degrees Investing Initiative) is an independent, non-profit think tank working to align financial markets and regulations with international climate goals. It does this through research, devising tools and methodologies and collaborating with other stakeholders to progress finance towards low carbon emissions.
Macroeconomic and financial policies for climate change mitigation: A review of the literature
This research is a review of literature on the use of macroeconomic and financial policy tools for mitigating the impact of climate change. The paper explores the effectiveness of fiscal, financial and monetary policy instruments for such mitigation which it considers to be the transition to a low carbon economy.
MinterEllison
MinterEllison is an Australian law firm, providing legal and consulting services through a global network of branches and affiliated entities. This includes advising on climate risk governance and the expectations of regulators and the community on environment, social and governance issues. It participates in climate change related initiatives.
Inclusive business: What it is and why it matters
This report examines the concept of inclusive business as a means of enabling disadvantaged populations to participate in economic activity and share economic value. The report provides a comprehensive discussion of what an inclusive business initiative comprises and contains examples showing how they address social challenges.
HEC Paris Society and Organizations Institute
HEC Paris Society and Organizations Institute is an interdisciplinary body that undertakes research, teaching and implementation of ideas to help business meet challenges primarily posed by social inequality and climatic constraints. It seeks to reinvent business through promoting sustainability and unleashing human potential.
How ESG issues become financially material to corporations and their investors
This working paper advances a framework that illustrates how environment, social and governance (‘ESG’) issues become financially material and impact on company and industry valuation. The framework comprises five stages of the pathways to materiality.
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is an academic institution dedicated to postgraduate scholarship, research and publishing in the field of business management, including environmental, social and governance issues. The institution seeks to shape business management and leadership that will make a difference in the world.
RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY PAUL MILLAR
Global progress report of the Sustainable Banking Network: Innovations in policy and industry actions in emerging markets - October 2019
This report discusses progress made by emerging market financial sector regulatory agencies and the financial institutions they supervise, with respect to the advancement of sustainable finance in those markets. The report identifies key components for a national sustainable financial framework and the steps needed to implement it in emerging markets.
International Finance Corporation
The International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group, focuses on achieving development outcomes through support for the private sector in developing countries. It has a sustainability framework and works with financial institutions, regulators and stock exchanges to introduce environmental, social and governance standards.
