Eurosif December 2015 Newsletter
Eurosif December 2015 Newsletter
In this issue:
Eurosif Update New Eurosif Executive Director Eurosif is very pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Flavia Micilotta as its new Executive Director as of December 1st 2015. Ms Micilotta joins from the Brussels based Foreign Trade Association (FTA), the umbrella organisation that promotes social compliance (BSCI) and environmental performance management (BEPI), where she worked as Sustainability Consultant. In her role at the FTA, Ms Micilotta developed a supply chain program by fostering partnerships across Europe and South East Asia for international retail companies and was responsible for co-ordinating stakeholder management and engaging with policy makers. Over the years, Ms Micilotta has accumulated a wealth of experience on Corporate Social Responsibility and SRI, with a particular focus on valuing intangibles through ESG performance, across sectors. She worked on SRI for Vigeo group and KBC group and as sustainability consultant for Deloitte and EY. She is one of the founding members of the UN Global Compact in Belgium and a former board director of the Belgian Sustainable Investment Forum, BELSIF.
Eurosif at Greens/EFA European Parliament Conference On November 19th, Thierry Philipponnat, Frenchsif President and Eurosif board member represented Eurosif in a panel focusing on legislation promoting sustainable investment practices in different EU member states. As part of the event “Promoting environmentally and socially sustainable investment” organised by the Greens/EFA group MEPs Sven Giegold, Karima Delli and Bas Eickhout, the panel was also complemented by Eurosif's Dutch member VBDO, represented by Frank Wagemans who gave an overview of the Dutch market.
Eurosif at Novetic annual event On 24 November, less than one week before the COP21, Eurosif attended Novethic's Annual Event in Paris. This year’s edition was dedicated to institutional investors, and gathered over 150 asset owners from around 10 countries. Key topics included: European asset owners’ climate change commitments and low-carbon investment strategies and tools, broader ESG matters such as data security, gender diversity on boards and ESG challenges for supply chains, and approaches to rethinking financial business models to deliver a sustainable financial system. A key discussion point was the dilemma of implementing a comprehensive climate policy for investors with a major presence in countries with carbon-intensive economies and less ambitious climate policies. Wider ESG aspects were also discussed, notably the need to improve corporate practices on data security, the direct link between harnessing ‘pink capital’ and financial value creation, ESG risks stemming from supply chains, as well as investor strategies to measure and manage these risks. The event ended with reflections on ways in which the financial system can contribute to building a greener and more sustainable economy, and the related UNEP Inquiry.
Eurosif Policy Occupational Retirement Provision (IORPs) Directive (2003/41/EC)
The European Commission’s revision proposal (2014/0091(COD)) included a requirement for all IORPs to consider ‘new or emerging risks relating to climate change, resource use and the environment.’ Regrettably, both the European Parliament and Council have removed these requirements from the initial draft. Ahead of the vote in ECON Committee on 1 December, Eurosif joined a coalition of stakeholders led by ShareAction, pushing for transparency and management of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in the revision of IORPs Directive. A joint letter was sent to all MEPs from the ECON Committee urging them to mandate all IORPs to consider ESG risks in their decision-making process and to require transparency around investment policies and practices, by adopting a series of amendments made by MEPs.
Revision of the Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD) (2007/36/EC)
The Commission's proposal aimed at tackling corporate governance shortcomings relating to listed companies and their boards, shareholders (institutional investors and asset managers), intermediaries and proxy advisors, has since early autumn entered negotiations at the Council based on the mandate it adopted in March. The Parliament (Committee on Legal Affairs - JURI) adopted a draft report on the proposal on May 7, which was voted at the plenary session on July 8. Currently the draft texts are subject to trialogue negotiations. While the Council removed any reference to environmental, social and governance issues from the Commission’s proposed text, the Parliament's voted text keeps these elements and goes beyond the Commission’s proposal. Eurosif has been actively engaging with the revision process since before its publication (April 2014) and is now following negotiations at the Council with a view to mobilize its national members to make this revision a success for the SRI community.
Commission Work Programme 2016 The Commission has recently published its Work Programme 2016: ‘No time for business as usual’. The plan is based on the ten political priorities set out in President Juncker’s Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change. This aims to address the key challenges faced by the EU today, including the gap in jobs, growth and investment, and the threats of climate change and migration. The Programme sets out the legislative agenda and framework for programmes and measures amongst which key pillars are a resilient energy union with a strong climate policy and a deeper and fairer internal market with a strengthened industrial base, which includes the Capital Markets Union (CMU) Initiative. 23 key policy initiatives are foreseen for meeting the 10 priorities while 68 pieces of new legislation will apply in 2016. Eurosif will be monitoring the evolution of the SRI-related priorities and provide you with analysis as they pass through the legislative process. Watch this space! Capital Markets Union (CMU) Action Plan released on 30 September. The European Commission has back in September released its Capital Markets Union (CMU) Action Plan defining the building blocks of an effective and integrated CMU to be put in place by 2019. The CMU aims to enable European companies to access capital markets in a more integrated and effective manner in order to drive economic growth, create jobs and meet investment needs in the EU. Eurosif is currently preparing a position on the CMU Action Plan, to be published by the end of 2015.
SIF News FFS - Publicly available the first benchmark on responsible investment by pension plans in Italy Using VBDO’s methodology, FFS has launched the first edition of the benchmark on sustainable and responsible investments by the 50 biggest pension plans in Italy. Although the results show a limited adoption of SRI strategies, FFS hopes that the benchmark will contribute to foster a greater development of ESG investments in the Italian pension industry.
“We are pleased to announce the publication of the first benchmark on SRI and pension plans in Italy, a market with a lot of potential in our country. We thank VBDO for the excellent cooperation, that could serve as a pilot for a further international roll-out as well.”
Francesco Bicciato, FFS Secretary General
FNG – The FNG Label 2016 will be awarded on 8 December
FNG is very pleased to officially award its new FNG Label for sustainable mutual funds. The awarding event takes place on 8 December in Berlin and is dedicated to all interested parties. For this event, FNG provides several presentations about the topic ‘quality insurance and sustainable investment’. Discussion and networking will bring the event down to a round figure. For more information please visit the FNG website or register directly for the event here.
Major progress for French SIF on ESG disclosure
Spainsif - Nordea SRI Breakfast
Spainsif organised together with Nordea a breakfast meeting on SRI on November 25th. Sasja Beslik, Head of Responsible Investment at Nordea Asset Managers elaborated on the firm's ESG practice added value for investors. More
Nicole Notat, Vigeo President
COP 21 - Sustainable Innovation Forum 2015 The Sustainable Innovation Forum (SIF15) is the largest business focused event held during the annual Conference of Parties (COP), taking place this year on the 7th-8th December at COP21 in Paris.
- More Information here
For details of current career opportunities in SRI, have a look at our jobs section here
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