Who doesn’t know it – sitting together in a boisterous atmosphere, with a glass of champagne in your hand. Or two. Christmas is the celebration of joy, of Christmas markets, and of excessive alcohol consumption: a good reason for us to dedicate this ESG Letter to the topic of alcohol.
The big chateaux in the Bordeaux region, Hofbräuhauses, and abbey distilleries: alcohol is a distinctive cultural good. It is not by accident that big events are always accompanied – and fuelled – by alcoholic beverages.
Everybody is talking about organic wine. Commercials claim it is better for the environment, because the conservation-minded way of handling nature safeguards the habitat of a diverse range of organisms.
Did you know that the fear of an empty glass has a name? Find out what it is and more interesting facts about the topic of Alcohol.
The UN General Assembly has deemed the economy crucially important in the fight against noncommunicable diseases such as addiction. This requires a situation where one does not categorically reject financial support from the industry aimed at curtailing the problem through research, preventive measures, and the treatment of people suffering from alcoholism; that being said, one has to make sure that this is not done in a way that contradicts the intention of reducing the problem.
An addiction or alcohol dependency is a chronic illness that can manifest itself in numerous layers of problems. Intervention regimes have to take these into account by approaching the situation from a medical, psychological, and social angle. Dialog in Vienna offers such a comprehensive approach. Find out more in this blog post.
Alcohol enjoys a special privilege. No other drug is as socially accepted. This also manifests itself in the special status it is invested with by law: while cannabis – a market whose legal side is estimated to grow from USD 9.5bn in 2017 to USD 32bn by 2020 – is legal in only a handful of states, tobacco is subject to ever-more stringent regulations. By comparison, alcohol producers are relatively free to pursue their business.
The Austrian term “Komasaufen“, which refers to the practice of binge drinking, received the “Doublespeak Award” 2007. The award followed significant media coverage and discussion on the alcoholic excesses that young people were engaging in with extremely sweet alcoholic beverages.
The definition of the investment universe is the most important step in the construction of a fund.
Erste Asset Management recognized the importance of responsible fund management early on. Over the course of the past decade we have developed and successfully introduced a broad range of sustainable funds. The following funds are available in line with Erste Asset Management’s „Responsible Investment Approach“.