When consumers return an item of clothing, they think that it will be shipped back to a warehouse, processed, then resold. Yet, due to the relentless and unsustainable nature of fast fashion, returns commonly end up in landfill. This is because it is cheaper for the company to throw them in landfill than to process them, as this would outweigh how much it cost to produce the garment in the first place.
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Our Chief Executive, Dan Botterill, recently had a discussion with James Holley, Head of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) at Bridgepoint on all things ESG and investment data. Bridgepoint is an alternative asset fund management group focussing on the Middle Market, and have adopted responsible investing principles into their work and business practices.
James spoke with us as part of our most recent resource guide, ESG Due Diligence, Compliance, and Voluntary Reporting: A Data Collection Guide for Financial Services. This guide provides snapshot of the ESG due diligence data landscape, and some practical steps for collecting data.
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AVG Group Sarl, a climate change investment firm in Norway, recently engaged with Rio to to better understand their ESG performance and areas of improvement. Together undertaking and assessment of each company in AVG’s portfolio against material ESG issues using a customised methodology aligned with SASB and WEF frameworks.
The final report of the assessment is a summary that showcases the positive environmental impact that one investor has when investing in AVG’s fund. The report also provides visualisations of environmental data, demonstrating the direct impact of individual investment through key metrics such as carbon emissions saved, homes powered, and equivalent trees planted.
Taking time to sit down with Rio recently, Karl shared his insights and expertise to contribute to Rio's data collection guide for financial services, titled ESG Due Diligence, Compliance, and Voluntary Reporting. You can find more insights, actions and tips in the full guide.
Assessing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance is becoming a critical part of the due diligence and voluntary reporting process for investment, financing, and insurance decisions. There are many connected reasons for the rising importance of ESG reporting and performance, including:
After the commotion and commitments at COP26, there has been much discussion on what’s next for global climate action and how to align action with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
At Rio, we believe transitioning to a circular economy is an imperative part of tackling the climate crisis. However, the importance of a circular economy can often be overlooked in business and organisational strategies.
It's true that net zero is fundamental, and we hope you’re on your net zero journey or about to embark on it (if you need a hand, we have a ten step to net zero guide), but here we’ll explore why circularity shouldn’t be left behind.
We need to scale up climate action, and we need to do it fast. Climate commitments from governments leave the world on track for a temperature rise of at least 2.7ºC, according to the latest Emissions Gap Report. But we still have a window of opportunity, with the coming decade a crucial time for action.
Action to achieve the climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreement can’t be left to governments, or any single sector. Limiting increases in temperature to as far below two degrees Celsius by the end of century will need ambitious involvement and commitment from the private sector - and not just from the largest companies out there.
This is where the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) becomes apparent. Collectively, SMEs account for about 90% of all businesses and 50% of employment worldwide. While individually each have a seemingly minor impact, together they are critical for responding to the climate crisis. What’s more, given the scale of emissions reductions needed, it requires a collective effort for all companies to act on their carbon footprint - both in their direct operations and in their supply chains.
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The debate over how much forward motion COP26 has truly created will continue over the coming year and into the next COP summit. But this much we know today: Sustainability thinking is here to stay.
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Currently I’m working closely with our Sales team to better develop my skills and also boost my knowledge base in the ESG field, whilst learning to understand the large scope of what our Rio platform is capable of.
Alongside that I’ve undergone a lot of our own Rio engage training which has been very insightful and helpful whilst breaking into the sustainability field!
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Will the COP26 Summit in Glasgow go down as a moment of intense discussion or as a pivotal turning point in the movement towards true clean energy change? U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to join world leaders in accelerating climate-connected goals, and there’s been strong sentiment towards phasing out coal entirely. Yet outside the conference, the numbers tell a different and more complex story. Since 2000, coal production in the Asia Pacific region has jumped more than 60 percent.
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While sustainable investing has taken off these past few years, there remains one big barrier for investors who want to take the leap: the unavailability of data.