Articles about “ESG”
Sustainable investing 2026: From orange back to green?
Despite political headwinds, the outlook for sustainable investing is positive. Renewable energies are continuing to gain ground, but this trend is not yet fully reflected on the capital market. Read more in the blog post by Walter Hatak, Head of Responsible Investments.
World Environment Day: creating a positive impact with active ownership
Today’s World Environment Day focuses on environmental and climate protection under the slogan “Our Power, Our Planet.” Find out how we, as an active investor, are driving sustainable change in companies in today’s blog post.
The ethical business case: What is the case for ESG?
Climate protection has long since arrived in the financial industry. Even though there has recently been political headwind for ESG in some countries, the topic remains important for investors. This is because taking sustainability factors into account makes sense for companies in a number of ways. You can find out more about this in the article.
Emerging markets bonds and sustainability: How do these two go together?
Lower interest rates in the USA mean that investments in emerging markets are becoming more attractive. The ERSTE RESPONSIBLE BOND EM LOCAL fund, which received the Austrian Ecolabel in August, could also benefit from this.
Microfinance: A journey through emerging Kenya
Kenya is one of the largest economies in sub-Saharan Africa and is currently the most heavily weighted country on the African continent in the ERSTE RESPONSIBLE MICROFINANCE fund. Fund manager Martin Cech therefore recently visited the country and a number of companies and microcredit borrowers.
News from the world of active ownership: the Voting & Engagement Report 2023 is here!
The Voting & Engagement Report 2023 provides interesting insights into our voting behavior and our corporate dialogues over the past year. In terms of engagement in particular, there are some new companies with which we are actively engaging to promote greater sustainability.
Biodiversity: Engagement for our nature
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.
How do climate leaders find their way into our fixed-income portfolios?
Sustainability factors are actively integrated into the investment process in our bond portfolios. This ensures that climate risks are minimized and climate opportunities are actively seized in our corporate bond funds. Fund manager Matthias Hauser explains exactly how this works.
Integrated equity research, or: what is this “ESG” thing in my portfolio all about?
How are sustainability factors integrated into the equity analysis and what aspects does a fund manager look at in the companies? Our Austrian equity fund manager Bernhard Haas explains this using an example company.
Engagement and voting – worth our while?
Dialogue with management and the active exercise of voting rights are intended to encourage companies to operate in a more environmentally friendly and socially responsible manner – engagement & voting is the keyword. But what are the benefits of these measures? An overview of scientific studies on this topic provides interesting results.
Interview: Minimizing climate risks effectively
Companies have to deal intensively with the risks and opportunities that the climate crisis brings for their business model. These factors therefore also play a major role in our investment process. Stefanie Schock, Senior Research Analyst in our Responsible Investments team, explains how this works for the ERSTE WWF STOCK ENVIRONMENT equity fund.
Annual General Meetings (AGMs) 2024: dispute about shareholder rights
We also supported numerous shareholder motions during this year’s Annual General Meeting season. However, there were also occasional disagreements regarding motions and fundamental shareholder rights.
Sustainable finance initiatives – a jumble of letters or effective multi-stakeholder approaches?
Sustainable finance is a dynamic process that aims to make the financial system sustainable. In his guest article, Michael Schmidt, member of the Sustainable Finance Advisory Board of the German Federal Government, explains why the many different initiatives on the topic of sustainable finance are needed and which three points are necessary for the sustainable transformation of our financial system.
Socially sustainable investment – how does it work?
Investing sustainably in companies with a social impact – this is possible with the ERSTE FAIR INVEST equity fund. In this interview, fund manager Bernhard Selinger explains how he finds socially sustainable companies for the portfolio and why a sustainable strategy is also good for the company’s success.
Climate Score: How we can identify sustainable leaders and laggards
In order to further improve sustainable company analysis, the Responsible Investments team at Erste Asset Management developed the Climate Score last year. The score combines various environmental data to identify the sustainable leaders and laggards in each economic sector. Read the blog post to find out how the score works and what it can be used for.
How can I as an investor benefit optimally from structural changes?
Megatrends are long-term developments that not only change the financial markets, but also global economic and social life. As an investor, you can benefit from these trends, especially with a long-term investment horizon, provided you are aware of the risks and opportunities of such a strategy. Find out which structural changes could shape the markets in the future and thus offer opportunities for investors in the blog post.
FNG Label: 17 top marks for our sustainable funds
Strict criteria, a clear investment process, and many years of expertise pay off, as illustrated by our results in this year’s award of the FNG Label by Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen (FNG; Forum for Sustainable Investments). All 17 funds submitted by Erste Asset Management were awarded the quality label for sustainable investment funds, capturing the top rating of three stars.
Anti-ESG? Investors positioning themselves
Although environmental and social issues dominated the shareholder resolutions in this year’s voting season, their approval by investors declined. There are many reasons for this. In any case, Erste AM is increasing its support for environmental and social motions.
The new jumper and climate change: climate risks in the textile industry
The booming fashion industry is also confronted with a wide range of challenges due to climate change. These could prompt the entire industry to rethink.
Climate risks: Is climate change that bad?
This year’s September went down as the warmest in measurement history. Especially in our regions, it was a welcome extension of the summer for many. However, the warmer temperatures clearly show us the consequences of climate change. The risks this entails for the economy and companies and how we take these into account in our investment processes is the topic of our new ESGenius Letter.
Climate Score? Oh please, not another ESG factor!
Climate risks are also an important topic for investors. A look at the climate-readiness of companies can minimise potential risk factors.
Erste Group publishes first Climate Report
In the Climate Report, published for the first time this year, Erste Group reports on progress, targets and measures towards a net-zero emissions portfolio by 2050 and net-zero operations by 2030. Climate risks and their impacts are also a topic.
Sustainable investments: fad or long-term trend?
With a view to the Ukraine war, the multiple regions of crisis or the extreme inflation, one would be forgiven for thinking that sustainability issues were taking a back seat when it came to investing. Gerold Permoser, Chief Investment Officer of Erste Asset Management, claims that this is not the case and that there is a lot of potential for investors. In a recent press talk, he and Heinz Bednar, CEO, presented five key drivers for ESG investments.
A Tale of Two Companies: Bayer’s Biodiversity Conundrum with Monsanto
In 2018, Bayer acquired the US agrochemical and agricultural chemicals company Monsanto. However, the deal, valued at around USD 64 billion, raised a number of questions. As a result of the merger, Bayer has since found itself responsible for a number of controversial practices of the US company. This is associated not only with sustainability risks but also with a potential risk of billions through various class actions.
How our ESGenius App helps us to track engagements
With our self-developed “ESGenius” App, we can track and document our ESG activities such as engagements. Two current examples show how the app helps us improve our ESG performance.
A sustainable story of success
In July, the ERSTE RESPONSIBLE STOCK GLOBAL fund will celebrate its 20th anniversary. During its history so far, the fund has achieved a highly successful performance while the world of sustainable investments has changed fundamentally.
Microfinance defies international capital markets in 2022
The microfinance market also faced a variety of challenges in 2022. Despite the difficult environment, however, the global market continued to grow dynamically. The ERSTE RESPONSIBLE MICROFINANCE also developed positively in the previous year compared with the global equity and bond markets.
“Environmental themes offer potential for long-term growth phase“
Forbes Magazine ranked Clemens Klein, fund manager of ERSTE WWF STOCK ENVIRONMENT, as one of the top ten fund managers of the German-speaking region. In our interview, he talks about the investment strategy and philosophy of the fund.
Chatbot “Sustainable Investing”: The new expert on sustainability
With so much information and offers on sustainable investing, investors can easily lose track of what’s out there. Our new chatbot “Sustainable Investing” can help here and shed some light on the matter. In this article, we explain which questions the chatbot can answer and how to find it.
The topic of water in sustainable investing
Clean water is one of the most valuable and important resources on our planet. This is one of the reasons why ERSTE WWF STOCK ENVIRONMENT invests specifically in companies that help to reduce water consumption. In this article, we explain what role the topic of water plays in sustainable investment and how water risks are taken into account in the investment process.
Energy of the Future
There is no perfect solution to solve our energy problems in the long term, explains Walter Hatak, Head of Responsible Investments. But instead of burying our heads in the sand, we should be able to choose the best possible alternative, take the future into account in our planning, and learn from past mistakes.
Inflation Reduction Act: what’s next?
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.
Hydrogen – a colour theory
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.
Getting out of crisis mode
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.
Sustainable and ethical line of Erste Asset Management funds awarded top marks
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.
Cyber-Roundup 2022: Tesla shareholders demand action on social issues
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.
ERSTE FAIR INVEST – “S” moving to centre stage
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.
Are Defensive Weapons Social?
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.
From the EU Taxonomy to the EU Social Taxonomy?
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.
Practical techniques to analyze social factors in ESG research
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.
What does the “S” in ESG stand for?
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?
ESG investments – “S” is for sexy?
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.
“Green Rush” – The Inflation Reduction Act
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.
YOU INVEST funds become sustainable – Questions and answers about the reorganization
Gerhard Beulig, Senior Fund Manager at Erste Asset Management, answers the most important questions about the reorganization of the YOU INVEST funds.
Saving multiple crises the right way
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 achieves record result in 2021
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.
ESG: Too much of a good thing?
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.
World Climate Conference COP26: Leverage needed for investments in climate protection
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.
A green label does not necessarily mean green on the inside
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.
Green or Greenwashing?
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.