Category: ESG

Japan’s METI-led “Sustainable Value Creation” Investment Push

2016-06-03 posted by

“The Study Group on Investment for Sustainable Value Creation established by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), disclosed its minutes in April after three meetings in February and March. The objective of the Group is to find some common foundations for action by companies and investors on two main issues:

1) Measures to effectively utilize various kinds of capital and make decisions on investment for sustainable value creation.
2) Evaluation of information that investors use and proposed improvements for this and better corporate/investor dialogue. (…)

https://www.jri.co.jp/MediaLibrary/file/english/periodical/CSRTrendReport_201606.pdf 

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Research Report by Kohei Soga ”Scale of ESG investment in Japan”

2016-05-16 posted by

‘‘Summary: This paper will introduce the overview of the results of a questionnaire survey of Japanese domestic investment managers that have signed the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) conducted by Nikko Research Center , for the purpose of clarifying the state of environmental, social, and government (ESG) investment in Japan. Until now, ESG investment market research has focused on investment products designed for individual investors and the state of investments including those by institutional investors was never fully understood. From the results of this survey, we learned that ESG investment assets in Japan amount to 46.0 trillion yen, which is an amount that greatly exceeds the scale of individual investor-focused financial products known up until now. In addition, among the ESG investment approaches , the engagement/proxy voting was dominant. After examining the personnel structure related to ESG investment institutions, it was revealed that many institutions have the most personnel devoted to proxy voting operations. Furthermore, an examination into the characteristics of the clientele revealed that institutional investors such as pension funds are the main players in Japanese ESG investment.

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Eco – Business: ”Transparency drives sustainability”

2016-05-12 posted by

”There are several motivations for companies to make sustainability a business priority.

In some instances, it is a fundamental part of a company’s business model. In others, companies are driven by economic imperatives, or are reacting to adverse events that have already affected the firm negatively, such as allegations of child labour or toxic spills.

But whatever an organisation’s disposition towards sustainability may be, there is a growing demand coming from several quarters for companies to be more transparent in their environmental, social, and corporate governance – known as ESG –  practices.

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Sonoko Noda and Nobuhiro Sato: ”Japan’s rate of independent directors is one of world’s lowest”

2016-04-19 posted by

Background: 

Last year, Japan introduced codes designed to work together to increase corporate value and investor return in Japanese companies. The Corporate Governance Code and the Stewardship Code are supposed to work hand-in-hand to promote transparency and sustainable growth. Part of the Corporate Governance Code calls for companies to have at least two independent directors. Having outsiders on board, it was hoped would bring discipline as companies reach for higher profits.

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Kato Takao and Kodama Naomi: ”Corporate Social Responsibility and Gender Diversity in the Workplace: Evidence from Japan”

2016-04-15 posted by

”Abstract: Using panel data on corporate social responsibility (CSR) matched with corporate proxy statement data for a large and representative sample of 1,492 publicly-traded firms in Japan over 2006-2014, we provide rigorous econometric evidence on the effects of CSR on gender diversity in the workplace. Our fixed effect estimates point to positive and significant effects on gender diversity of CSR, yet the effects are felt only after two to three years.

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”How the ESG landscape is changing in Japan” – A participant’s personal observation of RI Asia 2016

2016-03-30 posted by

  ”RI Asia 2016 took place at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on the 23-24th February, and was attended by approximately 400 domestic and international participants. As an ex-resident of London now based in Tokyo, it has been interesting to observe the changingESG landscape in Japan. RI Asia acted as a useful milestone to stop, reflect […]

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David A. Katz et al ”Gender Diversity on Boards: The Future Is Almost Here”

2016-03-27 posted by

Image result for harvard law school forum

‘‘A board composed of directors representing a range of perspectives leads to an environment of collaborative tension that is the essence of good governance. In a room where everyone has different points of view and there is a greater opportunity for cross-pollination of ideas, there are fewer unspoken assumptions, less “group think” and a greater likelihood of innovation. This allows the board to ask the probing questions and tackle the challenging issues, such as risk management and succession planning, which are at the center of good corporate governance.

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”Exxon Mobil must allow climate change vote: SEC”

2016-03-27 posted by
A sign is seen at the entrance of the Exxonmobil Port Allen Lubricants Plant in Port Allen, Louisiana, November 6, 2015. REUTERS/Lee Celano
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”Morningstar Introduces Industry’s First Sustainability Rating for 20,000 Funds Globally, Giving Investors New Way to Evaluate Investments Based on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Factors”

2016-03-20 posted by

”CHICAGO, March 1, 2016—To help investors evaluate funds based on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today introduced the Morningstar Sustainability RatingTM for funds. The new rating will enable investors around the world to evaluate mutual funds and exchange-traded funds based on how well the companies held in their funds are managing their ESG risks and opportunities.

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