Library | ESG issues
Targets & Accountability
Targets and accountability are essential for ensuring organisations and governments follow through on commitments to sustainability, climate action, and social responsibility. Setting measurable and transparent targets such as net-zero goals, emissions reductions, diversity benchmarks, and human rights protections allows for tracking progress and holding entities accountable. Clear, data-driven targets strengthen stakeholder trust and help align financial and business strategies with long-term sustainability objectives.
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Impact at work: An examination of corporate impact investing strategies and their durability
The report examines the durability of corporate impact investing strategies in advancing positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes while remaining financially sound. It explores impact themes, capital sources and risk-return strategies of corporates. The report concludes with recommendations to build and maintain impact investing programs over the long term.
Rethinking climate change: How humanity can choose to reduce emissions 90% by 2035 through the disruption of energy, transportation, and food with existing technologies
This report examines how existing technologies in energy, transportation, and food could lead to a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. Using the Seba Technology Disruption Framework, they forecast disruptive changes and identify how markets could drive emissions mitigation.
Renewable energy and human rights benchmark: Key findings from the wind and solar sectors
The 2023 benchmark report assesses the world’s most influential companies in the wind and solar sectors. It aims to encourage greater respect for human rights through recommendations on transparency, anti-corruption, and worker protections. The report reveals progress and areas of concern and offers guidance for companies, investors, and policy-makers.
Do socially responsible firms walk the talk?
This study evaluates U.S. firms that signed the Business Roundtable's stakeholder capitalism pledge. Despite claims of social responsibility, signatories performed worse on environmental, labor, and governance metrics than peers, both before and after signing. The results suggest these public commitments lacked substance and may have been strategic signaling.
Net zero integrity: Assessment of the net zero pledges of Australian companies
This report assesses the net zero pledges of ten Australian companies, highlighting a gap between current voluntary commitments and the requirements of global standards. None of the firms have a comprehensive, quantified, and independently verified plan for reducing emissions in line with a science-based pathway.
Navigating energy transitions: Mapping the road to 1.5°C
This report maps the road to 1.5°C in energy transitions, discussing pathways and policies to achieve this goal. It highlights the role of investors in driving the energy transition, and the need for mandatory disclosure requirements and robust reporting frameworks to achieve material impact.
Guiding principles for responsible investment stewardship in Aotearoa New Zealand
The Stewardship Code is a voluntary guideline crafted by New Zealand industry experts, aiding financial market participants in responsible investment stewardship. Comprising nine principles, it supplements regulatory mandates, allowing voluntary adoption and reporting on a 'comply or explain' basis.
Transparency, traceability and deforestation in the Ivorian cocoa supply chain
This report quantifies cocoa-driven deforestation in Côte d'Ivoire and assesses the traceability of the cocoa supply chain. Findings reveal that 46% of deforestation and forest degradation in the region over 2000-2019 was due to cocoa production. Only 43.6% of exports can be traced back to specific cooperatives and departments.
Finance and climate change: A comprehensive climate assessment of the world’s largest financial institutions
An analysis of the top 30 global financial institutions exposes a notable absence of immediate action on climate change. While pledging net-zero targets by 2050, their plans lack focus and lack measurable short-term actions. Urgent reshaping of activities is imperative for these institutions to effectively transition to a net-zero future.
Breaking the plastic wave: A comprehensive assessment of pathways towards stopping ocean plastic pollution
This report highlights innovative solutions and strategies that can reduce plastic pollution by 80% by transforming how plastic is produced, used, and managed. The report uses thorough analysis to identify specific opportunities for various stakeholders - from policymakers to businesses and consumers - to curb plastic waste and achieve measurable results.
Failure by design: Is the net zero asset managers initiative broken?
This initiative was designed to align asset managers' portfolios with net-zero targets. However, their methodology lacks standardisation and rigour, leading to ambiguous targets and little progress towards net zero. An overhaul of the initiative is needed to ensure asset managers are held accountable.
Sustainable voting behaviour of asset managers: Do they walk the walk?
This paper analyses a decade of voting data with more than 20 million observations to investigate asset manager characteristics that influence environmental, social and governance (ESG) voting patterns. Asset managers mostly vote against social and environmental proposals. Despite increased attention to sustainability, asset managers hardly voted in favour of these proposals.
Superannuation fund trustee duties and climate change risk
This report analyses the duties of trustee directors in relation to climate change risk under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993. It concludes that climate change risk should be considered by trustee directors to the extent that risks intersect with beneficiaries' financial interests. Trustees should weigh relevant information and keep records documenting the decision-making process.
Women's empowerment principles: Global trends report 2018
This report provides an analysis of data submitted by businesses using the Women's Empowerment Principles Tool, which measures companies' commitments to gender equality. Results indicate that while companies are making efforts to advance gender equality in their leadership and workplace, improvement is still needed in marketplace and community categories.
Who pays for sustainability? An analysis of sustainability-linked bonds
This paper analyses sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs), which tie bond coupons to sustainability performance targets. They find issuing an SLB yields an average premium of -9 basis points on the yield at issue compared to a conventional bond, and the savings for an issuer exceed the maximum penalty for failure to meet the target.
UN Environment Programme's adaptation gap report series
The Adaptation Gap Report series provides yearly updates on global progress in climate change adaptation. It assesses the status of adaptation planning, implementation, and finance, highlighting the increasing gap between the need for adaptation and the actions taken.
