Library | ESG issues
Deforestation
Deforestation involves the removal of natural forests, often for agriculture or urban development, leading to carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, and habitat destruction. Sustainable forestry practices, such as replanting and conservation, are crucial for mitigating its environmental and social impacts. Key drivers include agriculture, timber production, mining, urban expansion, energy development, and textile manufacturing, all of which contribute to forest loss through land clearing and resource extraction.
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Financial crimes and land conversion: Uncovering risk for financial institutions
This report outlines the risks financial institutions face due to land conversion and related financial crimes. It emphasises the convergence of land conversion with crimes like money laundering and corruption, highlighting the need for robust due diligence and risk assessment. It introduces an Environmental Crimes Financial Toolkit to aid institutions in mitigating these risks.
Respecting Indigenous rights: An actionable due diligence toolkit for institutional investors
This toolkit offers practical guidance for investors to respect Indigenous rights. It covers understanding and incorporating these rights into investment policies, assessing and addressing impacts, and ensuring Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. This toolkit aims to mitigate risks and uphold international human rights standards.
ForestMapper
ForestMapper is an interactive tool designed by Canopy to visually map ancient and endangered forests globally. It helps companies identify sustainable fibre sources and assess risks in their supply chains, featuring data layers on forests, species, carbon, and landscapes across various global regions.
Bankrolling ecosystem destruction: The EU must stop the cash flow to businesses destroying nature
The report analysed the financial flows of 135 companies in ecosystem risk sectors and found that 22.1% (US$278b) of credit and 9.4% (US$65b) of investment came from EU-based financial institutions from 2015 to 2023. The report recommends that EU regulation should align finance with global environmental targets to prevent financial flows from contributing to ecosystem destruction.
Amazon Watch
Amazon Watch is a non-profit organisation that advocates for the protection of the Amazon rainforest and Indigenous rights. Their work focuses on environmental justice, corporate accountability, and sustainable solutions. By supporting Indigenous communities and exposing harmful corporate practices, Amazon Watch aims to preserve biodiversity and combat climate change.
Greenpeace
Greenpeace International is an environmental NGO advocating for global environmental protection and sustainability. With a focus on climate change, deforestation, overfishing, and other ecological issues, it engages in activism, research, and lobbying to drive positive change. Greenpeace campaigns for renewable energy, biodiversity preservation, and the mitigation of environmental damage worldwide.
The rising tide of greenwashing: Navigating ‘greenwashing’ risks in climate change targets and sustainability credentials
The report highlights the risks and challenges associated with businesses misrepresenting their sustainability credentials or strategies. The document elaborates on the subject with the help of multiple examples and practical guidelines to reduce legal and reputational exposure to businesses and corporations.
Biodiversity in the balance: Hedging portfolio risks
The report illustrates increased NGO reporting, land use, and biodiversity incidents linked to industrial firms. With 31% of companies having no official management initiatives, investors are eager to address portfolio risks from biodiversity loss and deforestation. The report connects land use and biodiversity controversies with various risks, including operational, credit, market, physical, and systemic.
Sustainable banking in ASEAN
This 2019 report analyses the sustainability strategies of 35 ASEAN banks based on environmental, social and governance indicators. This year's update highlights the increasing recognition of ESG integration into mainstream finance, although progress must be made, particularly in climate-related risk management.
Investing for the common good: A sustainable finance framework
This essay provides a framework for sustainable finance. The author argues that sustainable finance considers financial, social, and environmental returns in combination and develops guidelines for governing sustainable finance. Major obstacles are short-termism and insufficient private efforts.
Collaborative investor engagement with policymakers: Changing the rules of the game?
This report explores why and how institutional investors engage with governments and the challenges they face in the process. The authors analyse 11 case studies and identify drivers such as managing investment risks and fulfilling fiduciary duties, as well as challenges like limited influence on governments. The findings contribute to the sustainable finance and public policy literature.
Looking for something that isn’t there: A case study of an early attempt at ESG integration in investment decision making
This report explores the challenges of incorporating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues into investment analysis and decision-making. Through a case study of an early attempt at ESG integration in an equity investment team, the authors highlight fundamental discontinuities between financial and ESG accounting inscriptions, and question the adequacy of current regulatory efforts.
Raising the bar: A baseline review of finance sector action on deforestation
The report provides a baseline review of 557 financial institutions' actions on deforestation, revealing that only a few are addressing commodity-driven deforestation and associated human rights abuses. Despite COP26 commitments, most lack comprehensive policies. Financial institutions must take urgent, concrete steps to eliminate deforestation and meet global climate targets.
An enhanced assessment of risks impacting the energy system
This report assesses the risks impacting the energy system. It explores the challenges, uncertainties, and opportunities organizations face in the near-term and long-term. The Dynamic Risk Assessment methodology is designed to incorporate future trends and their potential downstream exposures into risk management processes.
Central banking and supervision in the biosphere: An agenda for action on biodiversity loss, financial risk and system stability
This report explores the role central banks and financial regulators can play to mitigate biodiversity loss risks. The report establishes that biodiversity loss poses a financial risk to the economy and makes recommendations for action.
The good transition plan: Climate action strategy development guidance for banks and lending institutions: COP26-version
This guide is designed for banks and lending institutions to assist in the creation of a climate action strategy. The report analyses the challenges and solutions to financing transitions towards a climate-safe world, outlining a comprehensive seven-element framework, key tools for measuring alignment with Paris Goals, and numerous sector guidelines.
