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Investors Pull $5 Billion from US Sustainable Funds in Q4 2023, IGT Receives Highest ESG Rating, and More ESG News

Published: 2024-01-26

Investors took out $5 billion from U.S. sustainable funds in Q4 2023, the first time this has happened in over 10 years. This was due to poor performance, political scrutiny, and one fund’s bad year. Sustainable funds did worse than regular funds, which may have led to people taking their money out. One fund in particular had a big impact. The political climate in the U.S. may also be a reason for the decline in ESG investments.

On the other hand, International Game Technology PLC (IGT) got the highest MSCI ESG rating of AAA, showing its commitment to the environment, social issues, and good governance. This rating reflects IGT’s progress in managing risks related to ESG and making the company a leader in sustainability. IGT does well in areas like governance, product safety, carbon emissions, and labor practices. MSCI’s ESG Ratings help investors make informed decisions. IGT’s AAA rating shows its dedication to responsible business practices and sustainability.

In Canada, Hudson Restoration, a company that fixes properties, got certification from EcoClaim, a group focused on sustainable insurance practices. This certification lets Hudson Restoration track and manage Scope 3 emissions, which come from property claims, and help their clients reach their ESG goals. The partnership with EcoClaim is a step toward global sustainability. Hudson Restoration is known for being eco-friendly and committed to good work and personal service. They fix luxury homes and businesses in Canada.

In the beauty industry, there will be a three-day event with interviews from experts at big companies, startups, and trend experts. The event will talk about things like new beauty ideas, circular beauty, and what future beauty customers want. Some of the speakers are leaders in the industry. The event wants to give insights into the future of the beauty industry, including sustainability.

But not all the news is good. Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer got criticized for saying that oil companies should be praised for giving money to museums and galleries, instead of being criticized by people who care about the environment. Activists say oil companies use donations to make themselves look better and keep doing things that hurt the environment. Campaign groups want legal action against museums and galleries that get money from fossil fuel companies because they say it’s like helping them hide their bad actions.

In finance, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) made rules for sustainability-linked derivatives (SLDs). These rules let people make derivatives linked to ESG goals. The rules talk about things like how to measure goals and what happens if goals aren’t met.

In Texas, Barclays Plc can’t take part in deals for municipal bonds because they didn’t answer questions about their carbon emissions. The Texas Attorney General’s office is checking if some banks, including Barclays, are boycotting the fossil fuel industry. If they are, they can’t work on muni-bond deals in Texas. Barclays was one of the biggest underwriters of municipal bonds in 2023 and one of the largest managers in Texas.

In the future, companies will have to meet new rules for reporting and disclosing sustainability. To help them, there will be a webinar and software demo on Feb. 13, 2024. The software helps with collecting and checking data, analyzing and managing it, and making reports. It also has emissions libraries and templates to save time.

But a new report by South Pole, a group that helps with climate change, says that 70% of companies that care about sustainability are hiding their climate goals to follow new rules and avoid attention. This is hurting progress on climate change and making it easier for big polluters. Changing rules, more attention, and not enough guidance are reasons for this.

In another news, Texas officials banned Barclays from taking part in the state’s municipal bond market because they’re worried about the bank’s policies on the environment, social issues, and governance. The ban happened because Barclays didn’t answer questions about their carbon emissions. Other big banks are still being looked at.

Finally, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) released its 2023 ESG Report, showing what they did for the environment, social issues, and good governance. The report talks about four important things: helping communities, having a good and fair workplace, taking care of the planet, and having a good marketplace. Some of the highlights are donating a lot of money to help communities, reducing emissions, spending money with different suppliers, and having more people with disabilities on their team. WBA wants to keep doing good work and working with others to help customers, patients, and communities.

Overall, some companies are doing well with ESG and sustainability, but others are being criticized for being sneaky and hurting the environment. The finance industry is also trying to make investments that are good for the environment and be more clear about what they do. As the world needs to take action on the environment, it’s important for people to know what’s going on and make companies do the right thing.

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/investors-pull-money-esg-funds

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