Fossil fuel battle heats up at the pension fund for British MPs
British politicians are engaged in a heated battle with their own pension scheme over its refusal to disclose how much of the £600 million fund is invested in potentially risky fossil fuel companies. The trustees of the pension scheme have been accused of behaving in an opaque and obstructive manner, after calls for greater transparency of the fund’s exposure to climate change were rejected. A campaign was launched last year to persuade the trustees of the fund, to divest from fossil fuel companies. It obtained the support of 32 MPs across five political parties and also stands for the Parliamentary Contributory Pension fund to promote exposure among its members. However the MP’s Pension fund does not disclose how much of the scheme is invested in oil and gas industries. On the contrary the Environment Agency Pension fund does reveal these issues and has committed to reducing its exposure to coal companies by 90 percent by 2020. (Financial Times)
Sustainable investing boosts bond portfolio performance
Socially responsible investing has become an important consideration for a growing number of individuals and institutions. Investors increasingly look for financial returns while helping to achieve a positive impact. The first report in Barclays Impact Series shows the positive effect that environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing can have on bond portfolio performance. The study analyses the relationship between ESG investing and performance in the US corporate bond markets. It has found that introducing ESG factors into the investment process resulted in a small but steady performance benefit. Of the three scores it was found that governance factors had the strongest impact on performance. When comparing the excess returns of a high-ESG portfolio with a low-ESG one, the high-ESG investment outperformed steadily using data from both Sustainalytics and MSCI. The return advantage over the past seven years averaged 0.29 percent per year and 0.42 percent per year, respectively. (Just means)
Strategy
Goodwill partners urge people to donate using the Give Back Box this Cyber Monday
Goodwill is partnering with leading retailers to make it easy for online shoppers to reuse, repurpose and recycle textiles and clothing. In time for Cyber Monday, the Give Back Box platform leverages e-commerce to allow people to donate items in a unique and convenient way. Donations made through Give Back Box will create jobs and transform lives by supporting Goodwill’s mission. Since Give Back Box was launched a year ago, more than 16,400 boxes have been given a second life and more than 197,200 pounds of items have been diverted from landfills. Retail leaders in the CSR and sustainability space include ASICS America, Dockers, eBags, Herberger’s, Younker and Dockers. This year, Levi Strauss is providing an extra incentive to the campaign. For every box of donated clothing or shoes shipped to Goodwill using the free shipping label, Levi will donate $5 to Goodwill, up to $25,000. (3 BL Media)
Supply Chain
Swedish court rules Myanmar “Green Book” inadequate for EU importers
Swedish Administrative Courts has ruled that a certificate issued by the Myanmar Forest Products Merchants’ Federation (MFPMF) did not provide adequate proof that a shipment of teak imported into Sweden had been legally harvested. The court’s verdict follows nearly a year of injunctions from Swedish authorities and an appeal by the company, which had imported the teak violating the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR). The ruling suggests that importers need to be able to establish exactly where in the country the wood products were harvested, by whom, and develop robust systems to demonstrate that the necessary risk assessment and mitigation measures have been completed. This case is the first in which a court has determined that the certificate issued by MFPMF is not sufficient. (Ecosystem Marketplace)
New GMOs kicked out of US organics guidelines
The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has voted unanimously to update its US standards to ban ingredients derived from new genetic engineering (GE) techniques from certified organic products. The board says it will ensure ingredients that are derived from new GE techniques will not wind up in organic certified foods and beverages. The vote served as a recommendation by the NOSB to the US Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program. One of the new GE methods the board is concerned about is synthetic biology. Some synthetic biology ingredients are ending up in food and consumer products without sufficient labelling, in general they lack of adequate oversight, the group insists. By contrast, 64 nations globally have far more stringent GE labelling laws, including the EU, Japan, Russia and China. The EU goes one step further and bans the cultivation of GE crops, with only minor exceptions. (Triple Pundit)
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