ESG
September 21, 2020
Start of the IMD Winning Sustainability Strategies Online Program
Following the publication of the book Winning Sustainability Strategies, IMD Lausanne is launching an online program aimed at business executives, strategy practitioners and sustainability professionals who are interested in the business case for sustainability and its strategic implications. Facilitated by the authors Jan van der Kaaij, Managing Partner of Finch & Beak, and IMD professor Benoit Leleux, the program starts on 21 September 2020 and is designed to help integrate sustainability in your strategy so you can maintain your competitive edge.
Lessons from DSM’s Winning Sustainability Strategy
The roots of global specialty chemicals company Royal DSM are as a Dutch state-owned coal mining company that started in 1902. The company’s future, however, is far removed from its past. DSM’s Strategy 2021 describes how the company plans to drive above-market growth through developing innovative solutions addressing Nutrition & Health, Climate & Energy and Resources & Circularity, together with increased customer-centricity and large innovation projects. In this article, DSM’s approach is decomposed by looking at the elements of its sustainability strategy, and we provide tips how to replicate this.
How to Assess Your Own ESG Performance
ESG index funds are proving to be more crisis-proof than their less sustainable peers: with the average ESG fund falling by a mere 12.2% in 2020, almost half the decline of the S&P 500 according to Bloomberg. With the 2019 net money flows into these funds estimated to have almost quadrupled compared to 2018, companies are well-advised to advance their ESG performance. To help you do just that, this article provides four elementary questions and gives access to a newly launched online self-assessment, the ESG Acceleration Scan.
Maintain the Motion: ESG Acceleration Webinar Series
Finch & Beak launches the ESG Acceleration Webinar series: three webcasts in May 2020 aimed at speeding up sustainability performance and building resilience in the decade to deliver - especially during these challenging times. We'll be sharing practical insights on how to use DJSI, materiality and impact valuation to take your sustainability program to the next level.
Introduction to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for newcomers
ESG Acceleration Webinar: DJSI For Rookies
During this practical and interactive webinar, Finch & Beak will break down the basics of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). The session is designed as a training for companies that are participating for the first time in the assessment, or employees that have no prior personal experience with working on the DJSI.
Materiality Matrix in Focus
Analysts are better able to assess fundamental risk and reflect it in stock prices when corporate disclosures are specific and avoid vague, abstract language. However, according to SASB’s State of Disclosure Report, companies used vague and non-specific language more than 50% of the time across ESG topics. Sustainability leaders such as DSM, Unilever and Barry Callebaut demonstrate that a focused materiality approach that is strongly allied to the company’s Enterprise Risk Management and aligned with its business strategy leads to better results, both for society and for shareholders. With only an approximated 30% of companies actually combining their materiality assessment with their Enterprise Risk Mapping, “StratESGy”, i.e. the alignment of business strategy with ESG factors, is still in its infancy.
Prepare for the 2020 DJSI Questionnaire
On Wednesday 1 April S&P Global will open its annual Corporate Sustainability Assessment. This questionnaire is the basis for selecting the best-performing companies for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). Every year, S&P Global assesses over 7,500 companies around the world on industry-specific and financially material ESG topics. To be ready to start your required preparation, check out our summary of announced changes for this year's methodology.
EDP: Green Bonds Foster Sustainable Investing
Alternative forms of investments are becoming more predominant in corporate financial structures. Companies that leave a bigger fingerprint are encouraging internal collaboration by pairing unrelated divisions to one another. Energias de Portugal is living proof of this, blending its corporate vision with investors’ desire for portfolio diversification. Hedging both financial and environmental risk factors, green bonds enable alignment and play an active role in a strategic point of view.
Unique knowledge and networking event in Amsterdam
DJSI Expert Training 5 March 2020
On March 5th 2020, ESG practitioners from across Europe will meet again in Amsterdam to learn and exchange best practices with top level peers. Building on the success of our DJSI events and trainings since 2010, we will deep-dive into the relevance of ESG data for investors, potential changes to the CSA, key sustainability trends and developments.
