Everything about sustainability and sustainable investing 🍃🌱💚
Sustainable thinking and action are playing an increasingly important role in the context of climate change – and this also applies to investing. Here you will find interesting insights and valuable tips on the topic of sustainability in investing 👉
The topic of biodiversity is rapidly becoming more and more recognized as a material issue among sustainable investors. Here are some insights on what . Research analyst Irina Gagloeva writes in todays blog post about what the sustainable investment industry is focusing on when it comes to biodiversity.
The first quarter had a few surprises in store for the markets. The US tariff announcements shook the markets to the core and caused a volatile stock market environment. The environmental technology sector was not spared either. What is the outlook for the sector? We asked fund managers Clemens Klein and Alexander Weiß in a double interview.
The European automotive industry is undergoing a transformation on the one hand, and is in crisis on the other. Both consumers and carmakers in Europe seem to be struggling with the question of the future of mobility. We therefore take a fact-based look at the direction in which the (car) journey could go.
Around 8.7 million different species live on Earth – and they all provide important “ecosystem services”. This is precisely why the protection of biodiversity is essential. In the area of engagement, this year we are focusing on the chemical and pharmaceutical industry and are making contact with one of the world’s largest corporations in this sector.
Investors are increasingly focusing on environmental, social and governance criteria when it comes to their investments. But how can investors even know which products and funds are truly sustainable? One way of separating the wheat from the chaff is to use sustainability labels.
The Inflation Reduction Act is designed to get the US back on track in terms of climate protection. What will the law achieve and who could benefit from it? Senior Research Analyst Stefanie Schock addresses these questions in her article.
With the energy transition and the necessary ecologisation of the economy, “green technologies” are likely to remain one of the megatrends of the coming years. The ERSTE GREEN INVEST impact fund invests in precisely those companies whose business models could benefit from this megatrend.
Hydrogen has great potential as a carbon-free fuel, electricity storage or energy carrier and could play an important role in the energy transition. But not all hydrogen is the same, as Senior ESG Researcher Alexander Osojnik explains. There are certain differences depending on how it is produced, which makes the topic of hydrogen almost a color theory.
The use of energy has driven human development. However, the unchecked burning of fossil fuels produces massive amounts of CO2, which has disastrous consequences for the climate and the environment. More efficient energy use and more nature-friendly, renewable energies are therefore needed.
The sustainability and ethical fund family of Erste Asset Management received several awards from the Forum für Nachhaltige Geldanlagen e.V. (FNG) this year. All 16 funds submitted by Erste AM received the FNG seal, the quality standard for sustainable investment funds in German-speaking countries.
In 1972, the Club of Rome published its first analysis of the “Limits to Growth”. Fifty years later, the non-profit organisation asks in a book whether green growth is possible at all.
At the beginning of August, this year’s Tesla Annual General Meeting took place under the name “Cyber Roundup”. The number of shareholder proposals on environmental and social issues reached a new maximum this year.
About a year ago, the social impact fund ERSTE FAIR INVEST was launched. Reason enough to take a closer look at the fund, which focuses on the “S” in ESG. In addition, fund manager Bernhard Selinger explains in an interview what the term “fair” actually means.
The war in Ukraine is also a watershed in terms of European defense policy. In view of the EU’s planned social taxonomy, the question now arises as to what extent the defense industry’s contribution to national security and peace can be considered sustainable.
The EU’s possible social taxonomy could create uniform framework conditions for socially sustainable investments. However, due to the different definitions, the development of such a taxonomy is likely to be difficult.
So far, there is a lack of uniform standards for socially responsible investments. However, alternative techniques and sources of information can provide insight into the social performance of companies.
As a sustainable investor, Erste Asset Management has been dealing with social indicators in the evaluation of companies and countries for more than ten years. But how are these social aspects addressed and what do they mean?
Human rights, child labor, arms production, … – the range of social issues in the ESG universe is long. Besides environmental and governance aspects, social issues are becoming increasingly important when it comes to sustainable investment. A possible EU social taxonomy could bring new standards for sustainable investments and thus bring the “S” in ESG even more into focus.
The Inflation Reduction Act recently passed by the US Senate is intended to get the USA back on track in terms of climate protection. By 2030, 369 billion US dollars are to flow into renewable energies through various channels.
The first green bond of the Republic of Austria was issued on 24 May 2022 and is meeting with high demand. The majority of the proceeds will go towards clean and sustainable transport, e.g. the expansion of the railway network. In which other areas will the Green Bond invest?
The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, focused on the topics of the Ukraine war, inflation, supply chain problems, food shortages and climate change. How do top politicians and leading economists assess the situation?
The European taxonomy created uniform criteria for sustainable investments. Nuclear power was also classified as green under certain conditions. Read the ESGenius Letter on the topic of “Green nuclear power?”.
Companies and their stakeholders are needed to achieve the goal of an effective, science-based climate strategy with a sustainably oriented financial market that drives this transformation.
Drinking water is one of the earth’s limited resources. Water shortage can entail a variety of implications. On the occasion of World Water Day, Walter Hatak, Head of Responsible Investments at Erste Asset Management, analyzes the risks of water consumption.
Microfinance funds have become more popular with investors in recent years, complementing equities, bonds, real estate, precious metals, and commodities. Such funds invest in microloans that help people in emerging markets to secure their subsistence. At the same time, they pay a yield, as fund manager Martin Cech explains.
For a long time, the ESG sceptics could not really be heard in all the noise around the megatrend that sustainability has become in recent years across all sectors. There is hardly a corporate strategy in sight that does not bring up sustainability, hardly a lifestyle product that does not come with a planted tree pledge when you are buying it.
On the occasion of the climate conference in Glasgow, Erste Asset Management and the environmental protection organization WWF Austria draw attention to the urgency of quick decisions and huge climate protection investments.
In order to evaluate the sustainability of a company or a product, a large number of aspects have to be considered and additionally correlated with each other and placed in a broader context. Guest Commentary by Raphael Fink of Umweltzeichen Team at VKI.
In recent years, we have seen dynamic growth emerging. It started with green bonds, which were then complemented by social bonds, sustainability bonds (a combination of environmental and social projects), and sustainability-linked bonds.
Many investors currently find it difficult to tell apart actually green companies from allegedly green ones. In this article, we are going to discuss the risk of greenwashing, and discuss what investors have to pay attention to and to what extent the new regulation by the EU (Taxonomy) can help to disclose greenwashing.
In recent years, environmental and social issues were voted on at the annual general meetings of global companies. Increasingly, the focus was on more transparency regarding lobbying and political contributions.
Many of our decisions are unconsciously shaped by prejudices, role models and stereotypes that prevent diversity and inclusion. Yet diversity is critical to the future of a company. Overcoming unconscious bias is often the first step in recognizing inequalities and the need for action behind them.
In August 2021, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) published a report on global climate change. One of the key messages is that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, land areas and oceans. Heat waves, precipitation and the resulting soil moisture were identified as relevant physical risks.
Twenty years ago, Erste AM launched its first sustainable fund, thus laid the cornerstone for sustainable investments in Austria. Since then, ESG investments (environmental, social, governance) have developed from a niche proposition to the dominant theme. Social aspects are increasingly coming to the fore.
The desire for health is a constant companion in social life. In a developed country with a well-developed health and insurance system, it may be forgotten, but health is a highly unevenly distributed commodity.
The issue of ESG is stronger in our consciousness than ever before. In recent years, many measurable indicators have emerged on environmental aspects. Social commitment and good corporate governance are more difficult to quantify. Are these factors even detectable and measurable for a meaningful evaluation?
Social Banking supports people who are affected by poverty or social exclusion. This will ensure economic growth and prosperity in the region. Since its founding in 2016, Erste Group’s social banking system has already invested 400 million euros in the form of loans in the social development of the CEE regions.
Investors can make positive and lasting changes by actively participating in general meetings. As demonstrated in the last US presidential election, every single vote counts. Environmental and social issues in particular are becoming increasingly important.
Working conditions and health standards in the supply chains for the textile industry are increasingly in the public crossfire. Disasters such as those in Bangladesh have already led to a rethinking of major listed companies and have also triggered political action.
Green bonds are securities that are allocated to specific energy and environmental projects and are intended to contribute to a climate-friendly transformation of the economy. According to a study by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), they reached a record level of $269. 5 billion in 2020. Sustainability-Linked Bonds represent a voluntary commitment for issuers. How exactly they work is explained in our analysis.
The subjects of environment and technology have been occupied by brokers for years. This sector also has great growth potential in the coming years. Many companies are only at the beginning of a promising development.
We are pulling the plug on coal, abstaining from investments in companies that operate in the fields of coal mining or the production of electricity or fuel from coal from 1 July 2021 onwards.
As the first financial institution in Europe, Erste Group has joined the European Commission’s Green Consumption Pledge initiative to accelerate its contribution to a sustainable economic recovery. The Green Consumption Pledge is the first initiative delivered under the New Consumer Agenda and part of the European Climate Pact.
Germany has awakened from its pandemic “deep sleep”, and the economy is picking up speed in an election year. Investments related to the reduction of greenhouse gases could give a strong boost to innovative companies in the DAX and at European level.
Comfortably making return on the money market via interest? A thing of the past. Investors wanting to outsmart inflation should think about dividends and dividend shares. The combination of dividend shares with a selection process that takes into account ESG criteria constitutes an interesting investment alternative. So there is a kind of “two dividends”.
Impact investments are currently hot property in the financial sector. Impact funds are investments that are meant to generate positive, measurable social and environmental effects in addition to financial return.
Can sustainable investment change the world? What is impact investing, and what does Erste AM offer in this respect? Do only sustainable investors make an impact, or do all investments have an impact on the future? Impact funds – the cherry on the cake of sustainable investing? For a long time, it would be up […]
In general terms, impact investments are investments that bring societal benefits on top of financial yield. This topic therefore offers a great opportunity to talk to experts about the effects of investments on society. This is why Erste Asset Management also has an internal forum, where ESG topics, sustainability aspects, and climate risks are periodically […]
From the coldest winter in Beijing’s recorded history to the storm in Texas that surprised the world – extreme weather phenomena remind us again and again of the invasion of climate change into our daily routine. Climate risk can no longer be ignored and has to be taken into account in asset management as well. […]
Actual / nominal 2.100 Admitted Aker Horizons AS (sector: renewable electricity (renewable energy)), ESGenius score 53 (03/2021); invests in, and develops, companies in the field of renewable energy and other technologies that contribute crucially to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Majority investments in the listed companies Aker Carbon Capture AS and Aker Offshore Wind AS […]
It started with the first climate awareness bonds of the European Investment Bank. Even back then, the issue proceeds were earmarked for explicitly sustainable projects of the supranational bank. In recent years, the volume of such bonds has increased rapidly. The issue volume rose from USD 300bn in 2019 to USD 500bn in 2020. The […]
The USA and the EU are back on the same page as new President Joe Biden takes office. The new US climate envoy John Kerry, on his first visit to Brussels in this role, underlined the importance of the renewed climate alliance with Europe. “We are committed to renewing our strong alliance in the fight against the climate crisis,” the former US Secretary of State said in a joint statement with EU representatives last Wednesday.
Today the EU Disclosure Regulation comes into force. This is intended to create transparency with regard to the inclusion of sustainability risks in financial investment products. What does the regulation include and what do we do as a fund company?
Technologies – and, in particular, environmentally friendly ones – were THE big narrative on the stock exchanges last year. The upward trend of these companies continues in view of the clear political cues. Interview with Clemens Klein, Senior Professional Fund Manager.
