Sunday Brunch
Our thoughts on the key issues faced by practitioners trying to advance sustainable investing.
Sunday Brunch: do politicians lead or follow?
Most politicians follow not lead. And so we need to think less about our message, and more about if our proposal speaks to the values and aspirations of the wider population.
Sunday Brunch: why do we have equity markets?
Financial markets exist to provide liquidity, and to enable companies to raise new financial capital. Or do they? Are they more a mechanism to generate financial returns. If so, what might this mean for sustainability.
Sunday Brunch: investment, buybacks, and CEO tenure
If a CEO knows they might not be in the job for long, they might focus on short term wins over long term value creation. As shareholders we need to be vocal in our support of good investment, even if it has a long payback.
Sunday Brunch: profits, buybacks and sustainability
High levels of share buybacks are often quoted as evidence that companies can afford sustainability investments. But the link is poor and better measures, such as profit margins and ROIC are available.
Sunday Brunch: proxy voting should be part of engagement and value creation.
Proxy voting can be made better. This is important for all investors. Two foundations should be, better linking voting outcomes to long term value creation, and making proxy voting an integral part of the corporate engagement process.
Sunday Brunch: the relevance of accounting for sustainability professionals?
Current financial reporting effectively ignores the investments that create the majority of a company's financial value - their intangible assets. This includes many environmental, social and governance factors. We need better disclosure on this, but how?
Sunday Brunch: key thoughts from 2024
Sustainable Investing is changing. Thoughts on the changes we have seen in 2024 and hopes for 2025.
Sunday Brunch: Innovation & why investing is forward looking
Yes, investing is about the future. Future profits and future cashflows. But the value of a company is also impacted by historic innovation shortfalls. Nespresso shows it can work - will Nestle work out how to repeat the wins this brings?
Sunday Brunch: 'dirty' investments and investor expectations
Yes, demand for some 'dirty' products might collapse in the future. But, to make a compelling case to investors, we also need to understand if this negative outcome is already reflected in the current share price.
Sunday Brunch: investible diversity
Diversity matters, but not the diversity you might think. It has become an accepted fact that there is a strong link between demographic diversity and financial returns. But it's not actually supported by rigorous analysis.
Sunday Brunch: audit - the risk hiding in plain sight
Audits matter. Much of the time investors don't get the data that underpins a company strategy. It's confidential. And so we rely on the auditor to check it. And this should include sustainability strategy. But, often it doesn't. That needs to change.
Sunday Brunch: clean electricity is possible, but politically tough
A clean, low carbon electricity grid is possible. And while the task of adding all of the renewables, batteries etc is challenging, the big barrier is political will and regulatory frameworks. Lets not pretend the route will be easy.