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.

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.
Erste Asset Management was yet again ranked first among the Austrian investment companies last year. Assets under management in Austria had increased by 16.6% y/y to EUR 47.7bn as of 31 December 2021.
Fund manager Alexander Weiss traveled to Norway last November to visit some of the companies invested in the ERSTE WWF STOCK ENVIRONMENT environmental fund.
All submitted investment funds of Erste Asset Management were awarded the top mark by the FNG seal of approval. The Forum for Sustainable Investments (FNG) is the professional association for sustainable investments in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Read here why this is important and the transformation of the economy is possible.
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.
Funds marketing themselves as green investment do not always focus on companies that fight climate change, develop solar modules or recycle batteries. Instead, many of them look like traditional portfolios holding large tech companies – yet they wear green labels.
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.
By integrating sustainable factors, we pursue social and environmental justice and have mechanisms and tools in place to avoid greenwashing. Our mission is also to align our sustainability approach with the investment needs of our clients to build a solid foundation for the future.