President Moon Jae-in urged business circles to embrace environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) values, Wednesday, saying the corporate role is crucial in redefining the business environment.Speaking at a ceremony hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) to mark the 48th Commerce Day, the President also said the time has come for an economic rebound and asked for support from businesses to "take a leap toward a leading nation" in the post-pandemic era.Korean society faces inequality, polarization, labor issues, environmental issues and other problems that need corporate support.Accordingly, Moon lauded businesses for setting up strategies that stress ESG for the past couple of years. The strategies range from Renewable Energy 100 (RE100) to carbon-neutral in...
COVID-19 has put its thumb on the top 1% side of the wealth scale, undoing decades of progress toward greater equality. Engaging with individual companies might not be enough to move the needle back. In 2021, we see investors taking steps toward more creative, systemic approaches, with those in the vanguard willing to risk a few failures in pursuit of solutions.USD Value of Social, Sustainability and Green Bond Issuances 2015-2020Social bond issuances have grown in 2020, many have been focused on mitigating the negative impacts of the pandemic. The interactive chart below details their rise compared to the historically more popular green bonds. Hover over the different bars to see some examples of the different bonds that have been issued throughout the year.
MOSCOW, July 19 (Reuters) - Russia's central bank has advised domestic companies to disclose their environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda and evaluate related risks, it said on Monday, adding that failure to timely identify ESG issues could trigger losses. Demand for ESG assets is growing worldwide as companies that perform well on a range of issues from climate change to boardroom diversity are seen as better long-term investments than peers lagging in these areas. read more The central bank said it has "recommended" Russian companies to disclose their ESG compliance and evaluate risks related to the global ESG agenda, either in their annual reports or in any other way, once a year.
In response to demand and regulatory drivers, the quality and quantity of ESG data will continue improving. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the new Biden administration will reinvigorate ESG policies and climate urgency.With this growing global urgency around climate, conversations about energy transition will become increasingly nuanced and the nature of transition conversations will shift from climate mitigation to climate resilience.While threats to nature and biodiversity will take centerstage in ‘E’ discussions, social issues will gain traction with investors and in global policy discussions.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Tuesday that Turkey was ready to finally ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change. Erdogan's announcement at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly followed a year of violent weather events in Turkey -- including wildfires and flash floods -- that have claimed some 100 lives.Turkey in April 2016 signed the landmark agreement on limiting the dangerous emissions that contribute to global warming, which scientists blame for increasingly extreme and more frequent weather events.But it has yet to formally ratify the accord by a vote in parliament.Erdogan told the UN General Assembly that Turkey now intends to complete the ratification process in time for the November UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow."I wou...