Eurosif Update
Eurosif's Advisory Council Meeting
It was a pleasure to see over 70 member affiliates (highest ever) at our annual meeting in Paris on October 16th. The presentations and roundtable summaries can be downloaded from our affiliate members' only page on the Eurosif website. Among the roundtables dedicated to areas such as EU Policy with representatives from the EC, the event also enlisted member affiliates' feedback on potential project ideas for 2010; Eurosif will now consult with National SIFs to share input and determine appropriate allocation of resources. Thank you to all of those who attended for your time, input and ideas. For further details, questions or feedback please contact us
Eurosif Investment Consultants & Responsible Investment study
The first-ever Investment Consultant ESG Survey will be launched exclusively to Eurosif member affiliates in late November 2009, and then on a rolling basis across Europe with a series of events planned with our sponsors AXA Investment Managers, Bank Sarasin, SAM and Robeco. The study examines the investment consultants' role in shaping investors' strategies, investment practices and asset manager selections. It will report on what extent investment consultancies integrate ESG issues into their offerings with clients. A series of high profile events across Europe will follow in partnership with our four sponsors:
- AXA Investment Managers: December 1, London, UK, with support of UKSIF
- Bank Sarasin: December 4th, Frankfurt, Germany
- SAM: January 25th, 2010, Zurich, Switzerland
- Robeco: February 2010, the Netherlands (exact date to be decided)
For further details, please contact us
Article published with Le Monde / La Stampa / El Pais / ZEIT online / Le Temps Partnership The most recent Le Monde article was published on October 6th. The article covers car makers and their CO2 emissions. Data was sourced from Ernst & Young while the French Social Investment Forum assisted with the analysis. Stay tuned for a series of articles in the beginning of December in Le Monde Economie covering key topics in the build up to the Copenhagen conference.
For further details, please contact us
European SRI Transparency Guidelines: Recent Signatories
The following institutions have recently submitted their responses to the European SRI Transparency Guidelines and received permission to use the Transparency logo: Bank Vontobel AG Group, Suntrup & Rinke Portfolio Management and White Investment GmbH. The logo can be used by signatories effective immediately once their responses to the European SRI Transparency Guidelines have been updated and reviewed by their respective national Sustainable Investment Forum, with the exception of the French market. As announced in the Advisory Council Meeting, the Eurosif Board has decided that for 2010, a Request for Proposal will be launched to seek an external partner to perform the audit/control of the Transparency Guidelines. More information will be provided on this in the first Quarter, 2010.
Read more about the Transparency Guidelines & See list of Signatories
Recent Eurosif speeches &events
Wealth Management & Family Office Summit 2009, October 7 - 8, 2009 - London
Eurosif addressed the issues of sustainable investment at this wealth management conference.
Eurosif SIF Exchange, October 15, 2009 - Paris
Eurosif facilitated a day of meetings between the European National SIFs. Goals of the meeting included building scale in local projects and determining which initiatives should be done on a pan-European basis.
Eurosif Advisory Council Meeting, October 16, 2009 - Paris
Please see above, first section
Eurosif/oekom Biodiversity report event, with UKSIF, hosted by KBC Asset Management
October 22, 2009, London
With the participation of: Rolf D. Häßler, Director Business Development, oekom research AG, Annelisa Grigg, Project Director, Natural Value Initiative, Fauna & Flora International and Sarah Cary, Sustainable Developments Executive, British Land Company PLC
Upcoming Eurosif speeches & events
"Protect, Respect, Remedy", November 10-11, 2009 - Stockholm, Sweden
Eurosif to speak on "The State as a Regulator": the role of the state in holding business to account, at this high-level conference based on the framework of the report "Protect, Respect, Remedy" by Professor John Ruggie, who will participate throughout the conference. It is organised in cooperation with the European Commission and the Swedish Ministry of Employment.
Read more
The Future of ESG Integration, November 11, 2009 - Amsterdam, NL
Eurosif to moderate a panel on the future of corporate ESG data/information in developed and emerging markets.
World Forum Lille: Sustainable Finance, November 19, 20, 21, 2009 - Lille, France
The 3rd edition of World Forum Lille will take place on the 19th, 20th and 21st of November 2009 and will be dedicated to "Sustainable finance" What are the good practices in the field of finance? member affiliates may attend free of charge.
We will be available to meet with you in Lille on Friday November 20th. Please contact us to set up a meeting time and to receive your free pass.
Environmental Investments Forum, November 30 & December 1, 2009 - London, UK
Eurosif will lead a roundtable on water investments at this event is being organised by Environmental Finance in partnership with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.
Sponsor events for Eurosif Investment Consultants & Responsible Investment study
AXA Investment Managers: December 1, London, UK, with support of UKSIF
Bank Sarasin: December 4th, Frankfurt, Germany
SAM: January 25th, 2010, Zurich, Switzerland
Robeco: February 2010, the Netherlands (exact date to be decided)
EU Update
Eurosif provided opening speech for Investors' European Workshop on Disclosure of ESG Information: October 30, Brussels
The investors' meeting was the most recent gathering at the EC in the series of 5 workshops organised to identify the most efficient ways to promote better disclosure of ESG information. This second workshop concentrated on investors, financial analysts, accountants and rating agencies. Eurosif and a number of member affiliates were present to share their viewpoints. A summary of the workshops will be presented in Spain during their EU Presidency in March 2010.
View Eurosif's recommendations on our lobbying page.
Member Affiliates' News
Bank Sarasin rewarded for innovation and portfolio management
Bank Sarasin has been named "Best Private Bank for Portfolio Management" and "Best Private Bank for Innovation" by The Banker and Professional Wealth Management - two premier industry magazines published by the Financial Times Group. The prestigious awards recognize Sarasin's leading approach to asset management and are a testament to the success of the bank's integrated sustainability model. Both the awards - for innovation and portfolio management - reflect the bank's unique approach to sustainability and its commitment to integrating environmental, social and governance principles into its investment strategy and management culture. All of these awards give credit for the bank's decision taken last year to switch all portfolio management mandates of private clients in Switzerland to a sustainable investment style.
Read more
Carbon Disclosure Project releases Europe 300 report
The Carbon Disclosure Project's first report detailing the climate change actions of the largest 300 European companies, produced by CA Cheuvreux, has revealed that European companies outperform other world regions on setting emissions reduction plans, with 84% of the companies that responded to CDP reporting emissions or energy reduction targets. The two main levers for emissions reduction cited by companies are cuts in energy consumption and increased use of low-carbon fuels. Solar energy is the most frequently cited renewable technology investment. However, whilst progress is being made by European companies, the average annual 2.2% emissions intensity reduction that their current targets will achieve is not high enough to hit the EU goal of cutting absolute emissions 20% by 2020. More aggressive targets need to be set.
Read report
Centre Info Ltd. And INrate Ltd. announce merger
Sustainability Rating Agencies INrate Ltd. and Centre Info Ltd. join forces to accelerate the development of next generation ESG research. The merger will bring under one roof 25 years of experience and allow faster time-to-market of next generation ESG analysis. The new entity will ensure coverage of a broad investment universe of global stocks both in developed and emerging markets, and will maintain a full range of ESG research services. Backed by committed shareholders, clients and partners, the merger transaction is expected to be legally completed by the first quarter of 2010.
For more information: philippe.spicher@centreinfo.ch & michael.diaz@inrate.ch
Crédit Agricole S.A. and Société Générale reveal combined asset management arm: Amundi
With almost EUR 650 billion under management (as of 9/2009), Amundi will rank number three in Europe and among the top ten global players. Drawing on the support of two powerful banking groups, it will pursue a two-pronged strategy: supply savings solutions to the retail banking networks of the Crédit Agricole and Société Générale groups and provide a high performance asset management offering to institutional clients. Subject to the approval of the European competition authority, Amundi will come into being on 1 January 2010.
Read more
EIRIS finds North American companies catching up on climate change
As the United Nations Copenhagen Climate Change Conference draws nearer, latest research from sustainable investment specialists EIRIS finds that the vast majority of North American companies operating in sectors with a high carbon footprint now have a corporate-wide policy on climate change (91% compared to 93% at the global level). However, when it comes to implementing concrete measures to deliver on corporate climate change policies and commitments, businesses in North American still fall behind companies in other countries.
Read the report
Henderson publishes autumn SRI newsletter
The SRI team at Henderson Global Investors has publishes its autumn newsletter. This edition features articles about National Ethical Investment Week 2009, how SRI can make money and make a difference, and how the team sees the Copenhagen climate change conference unfolding.
Read the newsletter at http://www.henderson.com/content/sri/newsletters/autumn2009.pdf
INrate first sustainability rating agency to be climate neutral
INrate is the first sustainability rating agency which has achieved greenhouse gas neutrality for all its operations. The agency is compensating its entire greenhouse gas emissions resulting out of business and commute travel, paper consumption, energy consumption (electricity and heat), disposal of waste, the use of water and other commodities through firstclimate. In 2008, for each employee 2.5 tons of CO2 are being compensated. The compensation amount is based on calculations by INFRAS.
www.inrate.ch
Insight RI team heading in new directions
Following the sale of Insight Investment to BNY Mellon, Insight's Responsible Investment team is being disbanded. From 30 November, the team can be reached at:
Rory Sullivan rory@rorysullivan.org / Rachel Crossley rachelacrossley@hotmail.com / Jennifer Kozak jennifer_kozak@hotmail.com
Limestone publishes SRI Yearbook
Following its first anniversary, Limestone New Europe SRI Fund has published an SRI Yearbook as the first attempt in Emerging Europe to give a hands-on overview of the investment landscape from the perspective of socially responsible investor. The focus of this publication is to show that the newest part of the European Union is uniquely positioned to be at the forefront of necessary transformation thanks to the almost complete collapse of the "old" and a subsequent fast track built up of the "new" over the last twenty years. The investment team gives an overview of how sustainability considerations are integrated into traditional financial valuation to gain insights that facilitate the selection of stocks with an attractive long term return potential. The remodeling of the traditional analytical framework for SRI and ESG factors' integration, especially in the still-emerging markets' environment of New Europe, is a formidable challenge.
Download the yearbook
responsAbility & BlueOrchard sponsor pension fund study on microfinance
"Ends Meet: Current state and future prospects of European pension funds' investments in microfinance" by World Microfinance Forum Geneva and onValues Investment Strategies and Research
Pension funds are only recently starting to invest in microfinance. Through a series of structured interviews with European pension fund representatives, this study sets out to better understand their current microfinance investments, their motivations and concerns, their use of and need for information, as well as the desirable attributes of a microfinance investment offer. The study also aims to understand if the current financial crisis has in any way changed the pension funds' assessment of microfinance investments and their prospects for future growth.
Read study
SAM launches new Sustainable Water Evolution Strategy
SAM has launched its SAM Sustainable Water Evolution Strategy. The new strategy invests in small and micro-cap companies in emerging markets that operate with new, water-related technologies. The pure focus of the strategy provides exposure to business opportunities generated by global water challenges.
Read more
SEIU work highlighted in "Public Pensions and Saving Souls"
A recent article in The Nation magazine highlights the work of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to find an alternative to the high fee, private equity model of infrastructure investment. Article excerpt: "Many public pension funds are now taking the lead on exploring this new avenue for investment. In August a consultant called Pension Consulting Alliance (PCA) issued a Request for Information (RFI) for infrastructure investment management services on behalf of its public pension fund clients. In response, PCA received over 60 proposals from infrastructure managers. Next steps include selecting the firms to work with, committing assets to a common fund, and then looking for projects to invest in. SEIU has been stimulating discussions about this with financial professionals for the past two years and this progress is a good sign."
Read full article
Triodos Sustainability Research publishes first company engagement report and e-zine
Dialogue with companies is an important part of the Triodos Investment Strategy and one way we seek to enhance sustainable business performance of stock-listed companies. Engagement with companies occurs during selection and monitoring of companies, responsible share ownership activities, and maintenance and development of our minimum standards. The Company Engagement Report demonstrates our engagement efforts and the impact those efforts make.
Download the report.
We have also produced our first e-zine highlighting the results of our research and the dilemmas we face. This quarter we discuss weapons and the financial sector, remuneration and Novartis, animal testing, and the automobile sector. View the e-zine
Trucost European Carbon Investing Symposium Roadshow: Carbon Efficient Investment with Financial Performance?
Trucost is holding a series of events around Europe to discuss and present new insights for carbon-efficient equity investing in London (November 4), Paris (November 5), Stockholm (November 6), Zürich(November 9), Cologne (November 10). Entry to these free events is limited to 50 people.
To register contact Katie T: +44 (0) 20 7160 9800 or katie.everard@trucost.com
www.trucost.com
Vigeo to present Green Social and Ethical Funds in Europe - 2009 review
Vigeo, in cooperation with Morningstar, invites you to a presentation of the report: Green Social and Ethical Funds in Europe - 2009 review on November 9th, 2009 from 10.30 to 12.30 am at the London Rebuilding Society, 9 Bonhill St., London, UK. This research, now in its 9th year, tracks the trends of the European SRI funds market in terms of number of funds and assets under management, while also providing comprehensive information on product innovation, investment styles, asset classes and much more. After a presentation from Davide Dal Maso, Head of SRI, Vigeo Italia, comments will be provided by experts and professionals from the SRI community.
To register and/or request more information please contact Elisabeth Le Loir:
elisabeth.leloir@vigeo.com or +33 1 55 82 32 85
WestLB publishes "German power utilities - caught in the CO2 trap?" - a joint research project with the 'Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research'
With the current conditions in the German electricity market, the incentives to conduct replacement investments in new power plants appear very limited. Particularly when CO2 prices are low, new fossil-fuel powered plants have significant profitability issues. Using a model of the German electricity market, the study aims to estimate the profitability of the companies' power plant portfolios depending on different investment strategies and under various price trend scenarios for CO2 emissions and fuel costs. The surprising finding of the study is that an ambitious climate protection policy with high CO2 prices in many cases is the best scenario for companies and investors from a financial perspective. The SuperSmart Grid approach could prove to offer an opportunity of avoiding the investment pitfalls outlined in this study.
More information: hendrik.garz@westlb.de
SIF News
National Ethical Investment Week, 8-14 November
UKSIF members and others supporters are mobilising for National Ethical Investment Week 2009, to ensure that as many people as possible know that they can make money and make a difference. Our members are planning more than 30 events in 14 towns and cities across the UK, which include training events for financial advisers, seminars, public debates, and roadshows. The number of organisations supporting NEIW has more than doubled from last year and include financial organisations, trade bodies and NGOs. The Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury will speak at our Westminster reception and John Swinney MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth will speak at the first NEIW reception at the Scottish Parliament. www.neiw.org
SRI Initiatives
Webinar on ESG risks associated with cotton production: November 19th, 2009
Each autumn, upwards of two million children are forced to labor in Uzbekistan's cotton fields, under direct order of the Uzbek government. A network of NGOs, investors, companies, trade unions and trade associations has been working together over the past 2 years to end this egregious practice. On 19 November 2009, As You Sow and partner organisations will host a webinar highlighting environmental and social risks associated with cotton production in Uzbekistan. The webinar will discuss steps that socially responsible and faith-based investors, retailers and brands can take to help eliminate the mass-mobilisation of forced child labour in Uzbekistan's cotton sector. It will introduce new stakeholders to the issue while seeking to foster dialogue between European stakeholders and their US-based counterparts.
If you are interested in attending, please email Dan Fibiger at dan@asyousow.org or call +1 (415) 391 3212 x 45
Faith institutions: call to action on survey to better understand your investment practices
This research study is being carried out by the International Interfaith Investment Group 3IG, ESADE Business School (Spain) and Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School (Belgium). All responses will be treated confidentially and will be used for research purposes only. This survey should not take more than 12 minutes of your time.
For any questions about this survey or any technical issues, please contact the research coordinator Jordi Vives at jordi.vives@alumni.esade.edu
Complete the 12 minute survey
Events
Trucost events: Carbon Efficient Investment with Financial Performance?
London: Wednesday, November 4th, Andaz Liverpool Street
Paris: Thursday November 5th, Hilton Arc de Triomphe
Stockholm: Friday November 6th, Grand Hôtel Stockholm
Zürich: Monday November 9th, Marriot Hotel Neumuehlequai 42
Cologne: Tuesday November 10th, Park Inn Cologne, Belfortstraße
www.trucost.com
National Ethical Investment Week (NEIW) 2009
November 8-14, 2009, UK
www.neiw.org
Les Rencontres du Mont-Blanc: "Comment nourrir la planète? Quel rôle pour l'économie sociale?"
November 9 - 10, 2009, Chamonix, France
Read more
Swedish Presidency Conference "Protect, Respect, Remedy"
November 10-11, 2009, Stockholm, Sweden
Read more
Boosting investments in Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BES), supported by Eurosif
November 11-12, 2009, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
http://www.nyenrode.nl/facultyandresearch/workingconference_CFS/Pages/Default.aspx
The Future of ESG Integration, a Responsible Investor conference supported by Eurosif
November 11, 2009, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
http://www.environmental-finance.com/conferences/2009/EIF09/intro.htm
TBLI CONFERENCETM EUROPE 2009
November 12-13, 2009, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
http://tbliconference.com
EIRIS event: Beyond Copenhagen - what next for the City?
November 17, 2009, London, UK
http://www.eiris.org/news/events.html#novclimatechangeevent
Carbon Smart & Reed Smith Event: The Road to Copenhagen - Increasing the Credibility of Sustainability Reporting
November 17, 2009, London, UK
View afternoon workshop invitation
View evening event invitation
Sustainable Finance: World Forum Lille: Eurosif member affiliates may attend free of charge
November 19-21, 2009, Lille, France
www.worldforum-lille.org
Contact us to receive your pass.
ESG Strategies for Responsible Investors (Novethic event for Asset owners only)
November 27, 2009 - Paris, France
Read more about 2008 edition
Environmental Investments Forum 2009, supported by Eurosif
November 30 & December 1, 2009, London, UK
http://www.environmental-finance.com/conferences/2009/EIF09/intro.htm
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
December 7 - 18 2009, Copenhagen, Denmark
http://en.cop15.dk
ALFI SRI Conference, supported by Eurosif
February 9, 2010, Luxembourg
www.alfi.lu
Clear Profit '9/10
February 25, 2010, London, UK
www.clear-profit.com
The Third Annual Sustainability Summit: After Copenhagen: How can business face the climate change challenge?
February 25, 2010, Raddison Blu Portman Hotel, London, UK
www.thesustainabilitysummit.com
CleanEquity Monaco 2010
March 4-5, 2010, Monaco
http://www.cleanequitymonaco.com/
One Planet One Leader: Spring 2010
Workshop I – Business Dependencies, March 3-5, 2009
Workshop II – Business Transformation, April 14-16, 2009
Workshop III – Business Change, May 19-21, 2009
Closing date for Spring applications is January 31st 2010.
SAVE 10% by applying before 30 November 2009.
Contact: Carolina Moeller (+41 22 364 9035) or Melissa Whybrow (+44 1444 811 273)
opleaders@wwfint.org
www.panda.org/business/training
Jobs
To post a vacancy please follow the instructions here. |
