![]() ![]() It's not enough to hold only corporations responsible. What do you think of this kind of package? President Joe Biden is asking Congress to approve hundreds of billions of dollars to remake transit infrastructure in the US in a plan that the White House says will fight climate change. You may be caught by not having an integrated policy where you pursue profitability but also take care of people and the planet." So, here, I would understand."īut as far as his companies are concerned, where he has invested in, I would tell him: "Look, particularly because you are very heavily exposed to the insurance business, why don't you engage actively into more ESG of responsibility? Because it may backfire on you one day, in your insurance business. I would tell him: "Look, I can understand that on the level of Berkshire Hathaway, which is a kind of conglomerate, you will have difficulties measuring the ESG responsibility of each of your companies where you have a shareholding in. I would like to have a discussion with him. What would you say to Buffett and others who reject more transparency? There are those who are still against certain ESG metrics, for example, the billionaire investor Warren Buffett recently urged shareholders to reject proposals for more transparency of climate-related risks and diversity and inclusion efforts. I think to do ESG performance in the right way, you have to look at it as an ecosystem, which integrates a company as a whole. ![]() So we should not look at ESG metrics just as some kind of a formal, additional reporting system. And at the end, you have some measurement system, the ESG metrics. Then it is of course execution, not only inside the company itself but also in the supplying network. It starts with defining your strategies, where you have to take into account the present and maybe even future expectations of your stakeholders. But we should not forget that the ESG metrics - so measuring responsibility - are only part of a total integrated system. How do you feel about the surge and attention to ESG reporting? And a report showed that over 300 ESG proxies are headed to a vote this spring. Here in the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission just created an ESG task force to promote the disclosure and transparency of ESG criteria. I don't want to have them facing a crisis that may be much worse compared to what we are seeing today with the COVID-19 pandemic. There are investors who hesitate to provide capital to companies who really are damaging the environment.īut there's also a moral reason. Already today, investors recognize this danger, this risk. ![]() And it will be down the road.Īnd my fear is that we may end up like tobacco companies, which means, we will be in a situation where, down the line, you will have class action. So we have a situation where you have a kind of free ride because you don't have to integrate all your external costs into your business model, but someone will have to pay for it. I think what we have learned from the coronavirus is that prevention - the cost of prevention is much lesser compared to the cost of responding afterward to the damage. And if you look, there are two reasons - they are very obvious. So the executives who have a longer-term thinking have clearly adopted this mindset. Do you think CEOs have fully adopted this mindset that treating the climate well is good for shareholders? There's more and more recognition that a viable economy not only relies on treating people well but treating the climate well. ![]()
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