Greenhushing — the withholding of sustainability milestones and other environmental investment goals by institutional investors and investee companies — is a trend that could already be on the way out, says Mary Jane McQuillen, head of environmental, social and governance investing at ClearBridge Investments, a subsidiary of Franklin Templeton Investments. The effects of greenhushing are expected […]
Vestcor Corp. is reporting a 7.5 per cent return for 2023, despite the challenges of rising inflation and high interest rates. The New Brunswick-based investment organization achieved five- and 10-year annualized returns of 6.27 per cent and 6.73 per cent, respectively. In a press release, Vestcor noted these returns ensure its clients continue meeting their […]
The New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System and Board of Education Retirement System signed an agreement with the Royal Bank of Canada to publicly disclose its financing ratio of low-carbon energy to fossil fuels. The investment organizations are mandating RBC, as well as Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., to adhere […]
Canada’s largest public pension funds are showing modest improvements on climate action but are moving too slowly overall, according to a new report by a climate advocacy group. The progress report from Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health found four of the 11 pension plans it examined still don’t have emissions reduction targets […]
A majority (91 per cent) of Canadian institutional investors say climate change is a leading concern within the environmental, social and governance space, according to a new survey by Millani. The survey, which polled more than 30 institutional investors with a total of $4.5 trillion in assets under management, found 47 per cent of respondents also […]
Two New York City pension funds are pushing the Royal Bank of Canada to disclose more details on its clean energy funding. The shareholder resolution filed by the New York City Employees’ Retirement System and Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York asks that the bank fully report a ratio of how its clean […]
About a third (34 per cent) of the companies on the S&P/TSX composite index are meeting the reporting requirements for environmental, social and governance standards by disclosing the metrics of all of their sustainability related risks and opportunities, according to a new report by consultancy Millani. The report, which reviewed ESG standards in Canadian public companies, […]
Despite the prevalence of farming in its home province, the Alberta Investment Management Corp.’s agricultural portfolio is just 13 years old, the product of a 2010 investment in converted farmland held by Australian timber producer Great Southern Group. The properties proved too arid for tree growth and were converted back to croplands for canola, wheat […]
“Everyone on stage agrees on one thing — [environmental, social and governance] integration is just smart,” said moderator Francisca Quinn, co-founder and president of Quinn and Partners Inc., during a panel at the 2023 Responsible Investment Association conference last week. She was joined by representatives of two Canadian public sector investment organizations with very different […]
There’s a distinct window of opportunity for institutional investors to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through refurbishing brown buildings in Europe to make them operationally carbon neutral, said Lucy Swinton, investment director at Fidelity International, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Global Investment Conference. Environmental, social and governance — particularly the ‘E’ aspects — is increasingly becoming a disruptive […]