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Six sovereign funds want to commit for climate
On July the 6th, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron has gathered at the Elysee six behemoths of global finance: the sovereign wealth funds of Norway, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. Together, they weigh 3 trillion dollars (about 2,600 billion...
What the #METOO movement means for company financial risk
The massive American pension fund, CalPERS, which manages $355 billion in assets, is asking management companies to disclose their ongoing and past harassment cases. The goal is to avoid financial and reputational risk, since from the start of the #MeToo movement, accusations of sexual harassment...
L'Oréal’s new spot tool puts csr at the heart of innovation
By 2020, 100% of L'Oréal products will have an improved environmental and social profile. To manage such a wide scope, the group relies on a Sustainability Product Optimisation Tool (SPOT), that took two years to develop. This tool makes it possible to rapidly visualise the areas of improvement for...
Lafarge charged with "complicity in crimes against humanity"
The cement maker, Lafarge, accused of financing jihadist groups including the Islamic State organisation to maintain its activity in Syria, was indicted Thursday June 28th. The investigating judges followed the logic of the NGO Sherpa by indicting Lafarge SA for "complicity in crimes against...
Commerzbank deploys AI for financial analysis
Commerzbank wants to deploy artificial intelligence to replace its financial analysts. It could effectively and inexpensively prepare analysis notes on company quarterly financial results. To do this, the German bank has chosen to adapt a software that is currently used to automatically generate...
The rise and fall of the CAC 40
The CAC 40 brings together companies that are the supposed flagships of the French economy. But the constitution of this flagship index is decided by a scientific committee whose criteria are unknown. Financial performance is undoubtedly at the top of the list...but isn’t it time to also integrate...
When the Big Four overthrow mass retail
After the announcement of a Monoprix-Amazon alliance and an Alibaba-Auchan partnership, Carrefour has now announced plans to partner with Google. Supermarkets have no choice but to team up with the world’s digital and e-commerce giants or risk becoming mere subcontractors for these colossal...
Sustainability in corporate management : household products and Health care, the two highest ranked sectors by ISS-Oekom
The share of companies in the industrialized countries with good and very good ratings is just slightly higher than in the previous year, says ISS-Oekom, in its annual survey. Moreover, the group of companies with a medium sustainability performance is larger than the proportion of companies with...
The carbon market will not allow Europe to reach long-term climate goals
Will the barely reformed European carbon market soon have to reinvent itself? Whatever the case, European institutions will have to think about next steps very quickly because if reform is more ambitious than expected, it will not necessarily be sufficient enough to turn the carbon market into a...
The London Stock Exchange loosens regulations in a bid to attract Saudi Aramco IPO
The introduction of the oil giant Saudi Aramco IPO onto the stock exchange is causing quite a stir amongst financial institutions. To attract this major player, with a capital estimated at $2 trillion, the London Stock Exchange decided to relax its governance and transparency obligations for...
Microsoft, Tesla and Monsanto among major companies leading the green economy, says FTSE Russel
The green economy is far from being a niche market for small companies specialising in Greentech. 6% of the global capitalisation of listed companies is dedicated to this market, according to index provider FTSE Russel. Among them are Tesla and its electric cars, Microsoft and its datacentres...and...
HDF energy will build the largest battery in the world... Even more powerful than Tesla
Soon the town of Mana, French Guiana, is expected to host the most powerful storage system in the world. It will store production from a 55 Megawatt (MW) solar plant that is to be built concurrently. Behind this project is the French company, HDF Energy.
Two-thirds of G20 member states implement TCFD recommendations on sustainable finance
As the G7 turned a blind eye to climate, a study published by British researchers highlights the fact that two-thirds of G20 member states have already started implementing TCFD (Task Force on Climate Related-Financial Disclosures) recommendations on climate reporting. France stands out as leading...
Is blockchain GDPR-compatible?
Beyond cryptocurrency, today blockchain is at the heart of many business projects to better trace flows and ensure decentralised transactions. Among the leading sectors using this tool: energy, finance and retail. However, after the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into...
When oil companies are the ones putting climate on the agenda of general meetings
The strategy of the world’s major oil & gas companies is far from aligned with the Paris Agreement objective of limiting global warming to below 2°C. Yet the mindsets, and the transparency, of major companies concern climate strategy. For example, Shell is committed to a 50% reduction in its carbon...
A year ago, Donald Trump left the Paris agreement... And mobilised the world around climate
As announced during his campaign, Donald Trump kept his promise. A few months after arriving to the White House, the US President announced American departure from the Paris Agreement. A decision that did not have a snowball effect. On the contrary, his decision has even mobilised actors within the...
Climate: NGOs demand accountability from BlackRock, the most powerful asset manager in the world
Tables have turned... Six months after Larry Fink, CEO of the largest asset manager in the world, released a letter urging companies to better account for the common good in their business strategy, three NGOs have noted BlackRock's own lack of excellence in this area. Among the negative points...
Cobalt-free electric cars: a competitive and human rights challenge for Telsa
The electric car manufacturer, Tesla, wants to massively reduce the use of cobalt in its cars. This objective would reduce the brand’s exposure to market risks, which is currently under heightened tension due to exponential demand, and would also make its supply chain more responsible. As an...
A green economy could eliminate 120 million jobs in agriculture
Responsible agriculture could have many benefits for the environment, but it could also have serious consequences for employment, warned the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in a study published on 14 May. According to their estimates, 120 million jobs would be eliminated in agricultural...
Shell makes its climate strategy validated by its shareholders
The highly anticipated Annual Shareholders' Meeting did not lead to Shell’s adoption of a demanding climate resolution. But beyond the numbers, several observers see a signal sent to the oil industry while the issue of warming was at the heart of the discussions.