Everything to do with 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 👉
How can active ownership make a difference? In our new blog post, we summarize the key highlights of the 2025 Engagement & Voting Report – from voting on over 600 companies to governance and biodiversity engagements, and Erste AM’s first sovereign engagement.
Drought, low river levels, and scarce water reserves have long since ceased to affect only the natural world. They impact harvests, energy supplies, transportation routes, and corporate profits. Why water is increasingly becoming a financial metric—and what role managing this resource should play in investment decisions.
The recent heat wave had Austria firmly in its grip, setting new temperature records. Such extreme temperatures have long been a factor in the economy: They hamper productivity and energy supply – but they also draw attention to companies working on solutions in the fields of energy and cooling. Read more about this in today’s blog post.
Outdated infrastructure, climate change, and the boom in AI data centers make sustainable water management more necessary than ever. In this interview, fund manager Clemens Klein explains why investments in water management are also attractive to investors and what opportunities they present.
Since the beginning of the Iran conflict, the topics of energy independence and security of supply have been on everyone’s lips again. Renewable energies and environmental technologies can make a decisive contribution to this. This was also demonstrated at one of the most important industry meetings for renewable energies. Read more about this in the blog article by fund manager Alexander Weiss.
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.
The strong market growth in recent years of sustainable investment products has produced a variety of investment strategies that makes it hard to recognise such investments at first glance. Is there any relief in times where every player on the financial market is talking about sustainability? Guest commentary by Roland Kölsch, Qualitätssicherungsgesellschaft Nachhaltiger Geldanlagen.
Can investment companies contribute to making the world a better place? Walter Hatak, Head of Sustainable Investments with Erste Asset Management (Erste AM), responds with a resounding “Yes – but only with the help of our clients!” More and more client assets go towards climate-friendly companies, while at the same time Erste Asset Management uses its votes from the shares it has invested the clients’ funds in to elicit more sustainability from companies across the board.
The topic of sustainability offers a great opportunity to discuss the question of engagement. By engagement, we understand the dialogue between investors and shareholders and the respective companies in order to suggest changes and to bring them about in a targeted fashion.
The term “sustainability” can be found in the 2019 annual reports of all 20 ATX companies – and usually more often than terms like “profit” or “efficiency”. What the reference to sustainability means specifically is not always clear.
To many companies, ESG is still a relatively new field, which is why it is important to understand how rating agencies evaluate sustainability and how the approach has changed over the years.
Numerous companies increasingly see themselves as responsible for doing something to protect the climate, and for good reasons. Erste Asset Management compensates for company-specific CO2 emissions and supports international climate protection projects.
The “European Green Deal” is a new vision for a sustainable and fair economic system in Europe. Green investments can also be profitable investors in the long term.
A European Green Deal is the ambitious goal of the EU to implement a new growth strategy to stop net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and make economic growth independent of resource use.
Corporate dialogues were not particularly hindered by Covid-19. After a short collection phase, both in the companies and in our company, corporate dialogues were resumed or already ongoing dialogues were continued.
The EU wants to be climate-neutral by 2050. Mobility – one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gases – is of particular relevance to this strategy. Traffic is currently responsible for more than 25% of total CO2 emissions in the EU. Road traffic accounts for 72% thereof, and traffic by air and by water for […]
Will Europe become the first climate-neutral continent in the world? What has become of the climate movement? In recent months, Corona has completely ousted the issue of climate change from the media. Walter Hatak, Head of Sustainable Investments at Erste AM.
According to the latest report from Forum for Sustainable Investments, the investments in sustainable funds/mandates (i.e. institutional clients) increased by 39% in 2019. What do you think is the reason for the drastic increase of this asset class? What has become clear during this crisis is that people are ready for big changes within short […]
*ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance“ – These are the three broad categories according to which companies are examined in sustainable investment. Disclaimer: Forecasts are not a reliable indicator for future developments.
According to our evaluation, the Danish Ørsted AS is among the leading companies in the environmental sector, which results from a radical transformation of the business model that the company has gone through in the recent decade. Whereas ten years ago the company produced 85% of its energy from fossil fuels and only 15% from […]
Many of the companies in the utilities sector have so far failed to implement a comprehensive decarbonisation strategy. Utilities sector: assessment & engagement According to the analysis by our partner MSCI, less than half of the companies in this sector[1] have set themselves goals such as the ones required for the containment of climate warming […]
The topic of energy and electricity provides an excellent background to have a closer look at the issue of energy transition. The prevalent energy mix, which is still very much geared towards fossil fuels, is in the process of transition, as also pointed out by Erste AM’s research partners. The comeback of coal? The current […]
Green bonds are bonds whose issue proceeds are exclusively used to finance existing or new projects with environmental benefits. Long tradition In 2007, the European Investment Bank (EIB) issued the first green bond and called it “Climate Awareness Bond”. While during the first years this young market segment was largely driven by supranational issuers and […]
When I think back to my first school outing to the refinery in Schwechat (Lower Austria), the first thing that comes to mind are the excellent wiener sausages at the canteen. The highly complex processes involved in the refinement of crude oil, on the other hand, are hard to digest even for an adult. Divesting […]
Erste Asset Management expands on its pioneering role in the area of ethics and environmental issues. The company is taking the next step by making sustainable criteria an integral part of a large number of its investment decisions.
The gifts of the three Magi to the new-born Christ Child are well known. Even back then, gold was of high value due to its scarceness and was regarded as a special kind of paying one’s respects to someone. Frankincense and myrrh have since then lost some of their appeal as gifts, but it is […]
Guest commentary by expert Ronald-Peter Stöferle The public is still being fed the narrative of gold being a dirty metal. Gold is considered environmentally reproachable because open-pit mining requires enormous volumes of rock to be moved; and in rare cases, mercury is used in the process. Gold is also regarded as soiled in terms of […]
To extract gold, copper, nickel, tungsten and other metallic raw materials, entire ecosystems are destroyed. Guest author Georg Scattolin from the WWF, on environmental threats in the extraction of raw materials.
The takeover by LVMH raised the media profile of Tiffany last week substantially. Not only financial aspects, but also the sustainability strategy make the company attractive. Tiffany has gone through an impressive development in terms of sustainability. The company has co-financed or implemented numerous projects to facilitate a better and more environmentally friendly production of […]
Whereas in previous decades the development in the car industry had almost come to a halt, we have seen momentum picking up in recent years in the development of alternative forms of propulsion in this sector. E-car technology should prevail in the long run – our research partners agree on that. For other technologies such […]
Admitted PowerCell Sweden AB (sector: Electrical Components & Equipment), EAM ESG rating 09/2019 of C; admitted into the investment universe of ERSTE WWF STOCK ENVIRONMENT in September 2019. The company was created as a spin-out from Volvo Group in 2008. PowerCell Sweden AB develops and produces modular and scalable fuel cell stacks and systems. Development […]
Do you feel guilty about driving a car? – What’s this question all about? Whereas the term flygskam (flight shame) has become popular outside of Sweden in recent years, there are far fewer people who feel they need to justify driving a car. It has become routine for booking websites to offer compensation options for […]
Read more articles from this issue of our ESG letter here. *ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance“ – These are the three broad categories according to which companies are examined in sustainable investment. Legal note: Prognoses are no reliable indicator for future performance.
Currently only a third of transport is by rail. However, in domestic transport (i.e. Austria), 60% is possible, and even 85% in cross-border traffic – a clear signal that should be heeded by rail infrastructure strategies. In addition to a socio-ecological tax reform, a comprehensive turn-around in mobility is a crucial factor in the fight […]
