Skip to main content

Is green financing here to stay or is it a PR fad on ESG - Insight from WSJ and Economist news.

The news

WSJ 

Green is in the black. Investors are putting an eye-popping $3 billion a day into green funds. Driven by rising valuations for electric-vehicle companies and adjacent start-ups, banks and investors now believe that they can make money backing green investments. Assets in investment funds focused partly on the environment have more than tripled over the past three years, reaching almost $2 trillion globally in the first quarter. 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/green-finance-goes-mainstream-lining-up-trillions-behind-global-energy-transition-11621656039?st=l369yh44pzf9yl8&reflink=article_email_share&cid=other-eml-onp-mip-mck&hlkid=b67774aa732349a58d989fe7e3c9d03a&hctky=9431270&hdpid=4fdab845-9904-4476-b0e7-14337e26f163

Economist 

Is it all just spin? There are some who view the green-finance gold rush with skepticism, viewing the recent embrace of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funds as a PR ploy. But ESG-minded leaders argue that the only way to halt global warming is to engage—and invest.

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/03/27/the-impact-of-green-investors?cid=other-eml-onp-mip-mck&hlkid=d23470e925e24397b8d6674dc047260c&hctky=9431270&hdpid=4fdab845-9904-4476-b0e7-14337e26f163

Why it matters. Reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and achieving a net-zero transition will have far-reaching implications for businesses. Companies with carbon-intensive product portfolios and low levels of technological sophistication will end up paying the most. The distance between low-carbon leaders and high-carbon laggards will widen, and those in the latter group may find they no longer have a viable business.

Climate action on the agenda. In a world where many of the rules of competition are changing, observing is no longer a tenable strategy. If your company doesn’t have a plan for competing and winning in a net-zero economy, it’s time to make one. Here are some ideas for what executives can do: 

Mckinsey article on https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/sustainability-blog/time-is-running-out-for-business-leaders-net-zero-strategy?cid=other-eml-onp-mip-mck&hlkid=6c93a6bc316d475e8964ec891bc473f4&hctky=9431270&hdpid=4fdab845-9904-4476-b0e7-14337e26f163


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Biyani looks at the bigger picture

It is important to look at the holistic picture and have an individual opinion rather than get swayed away by the public consensus. This is the view of the man who pioneered the retailing boom in India - Mr. Kishore Biyani, the founder of India’s largest retailing company - Pantaloon. In an article in the Wall street Journal, Mr. Biyani wrote, "Almost daily doses of bad news on television screens and newspapers have possibly done as much damage to the economy as the events on either side of the Atlantic." I completely agree with him. Mr. Biyani’s predicament is based on the fact that an overwhelming majority of Indian consumers are self-employed, who can neither get laid off nor can have pay cuts. Consider some statistics he has provided. The share of the national income represented by proprietor-run concerns and partnerships is 35%. The share of companies is around 15%, government around 25%, and agriculture around 25%. Combine agriculture and the self-employed in industry a...

Infosys kick started the March quarter and full year FY09 result season today on a mixed note

Infosys kick started the March quarter and full year FY09 result season today on a mixed note. Although its fourth quarter operating performance did not have much to be enthused about, the company managed to add 37 new clients and 1,772 employees (net) during this quarter. This goes to show the consistency in the company’s long term business prospects. While the full year profits grew by a healthy 29% YoY, the company announced an earnings guidance for FY10 that would be lower by 3% to 7% YoY as compared to FY09 EPS.

Insight from the new book "The story of work" by Jan Lucassen. Work that never ends

The more things change, its turn out to be the  same as it ever was.  A new book about the history of work reveals that today’s workers have much in common with all those who have come before them over the past 12,000 years.  People’s appetites drive them to produce more than they need, and they build political and economic institutions to help them do it. Then those institutions drive them to do more. NYT ( see the story in the link)  also talks about  Gluttons for punishment.  We work so much because we want so much. That was anthropologist James Suzman’s conclusion after studying hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari Desert who satisfied their survival needs with roughly 15 hours of weekly labor. But modern, urban societies cause us to develop unlimited desires, which lead us to endless labour https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/podcasts/transcript-ezra-klein-interviews-james-suzman.html?cid=other-eml-onp-mip-mck&hlkid=38845d000b404e829c41b7395739f39a&...