Did you mean esa?
Ivan McKee: ...investment, as part of our global capital investment plan, alongside the work of the global ethical finance initiative, setting up Scotland as a centre for environmental, social and governance—ESG—investment, which is something that we are very proud to take forward. Maggie Chapman talked about conditionality, which I have covered. On investing in infrastructure, she made the very...
Guy Opperman: I will take my right hon. Friend’s compliment. The UK is the first country in the world to address the social elements of ESG. We have produced a call for evidence, “Consideration of social risks and opportunities by occupational pension schemes”, and I would encourage everyone to get involved with that. That will genuinely transform the supply chain, access to finance and investment in...
John Glen: ...banks are consistently ranked at the top of the global green and sustainable debt underwriting league tables. In the UK, almost half—49%—of the £9.4 trillion in assets were integrating ESG, or environmental, social and governance, in their investment processes last year, up from a reported 37% the previous year. In other words, as City Minister I see a sector that is increasingly...
Lord Fox: My Lords, I am sure that the Minister is aware of the acronym ESG, which stands for environmental and social governance—an important way of making sure that businesses behave properly. But there are different reporting standards for listed companies and private equity companies. Will he ensure that all companies trading in this country report on a level playing field? Will he undertake to...
Michael Matheson: .... We are aware that some Scottish local government pension funds have already signed up to the principles of responsible investment and exercised a preference in new investments with positive ESG—environmental, social and governance—characteristics, which they have set out in their financial criteria. I can also inform the member that Scottish ministers intend to liaise with the...
Guy Opperman: ...mandatory for occupational pensions schemes, and to consult on measures to require pension schemes to measure and report their alignment with the Paris Agreement on climate change. Our work on ESG is recognised worldwide. DWP are also consulting on guidance for trustees to improve stewardship and voting which will be key to ensuring high-carbon assets transition to net zero. The...
Lord Shinkwin: ...and sanction companies linked to the camps in Xinjiang? He may also be aware that many of these companies advertise heavily that they are ethical and uphold environmental, social, and governance—ESG—criteria. Fine, but what about genocide? Where does that fit within ESG criteria? Is ignoring it for profit ethical? Surely we should move towards defining ESG criteria in primary...
Viscount Trenchard: ...and green savings bonds. The Government need to show leadership on this matter, because the exclusion of nuclear does not encourage those investors who might otherwise be moved to change their ESG policies to include nuclear. However, the speech made by my right honourable friend the Energy Minister on 2 December at the annual conference of the Nuclear Industry Association was most...
Kevin Hollinrake: ...is very welcome. There is clearly big UK demand. In evidence to the Treasury Committee, the FCA chief executive said that in the coming years about 33% of fund manager investments would be into ESG, which is very welcome news. However, according to a recent investor survey, 80% of investors quoted the lack of disclosure and consistent definitions of green as a drawback to their ability to...
Lord Ravensdale: ...strategic goal of the UK, but which does not detract from what the Government want from ARIA overall. Amendment 19 simply calls for ARIA to develop its own environmental and social governance, or ESG, strategy, to consider the impacts of the exercise of its functions and the projects which it funds. It would allow the board of ARIA to consider their own strategy for alignment with the...
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: ...1 of that Act, which concerns net-zero emissions. That is an important and good way of expressing it, and I hope that we will see that eventual outcome. Amendment 19 talks about ARIA having an ESG strategy. This would not be my preferred way forward. In a way, it is better than nothing, and I see the point that was made by the noble Lord, Lord Ravensdale, about lining up with other vaguely...
Lord Shinkwin: My Lords, these findings clearly have major implications for businesses’ ESG policies. When do the Government plan to follow the lead of the US and produce an investment ban list of firms known to be exercising or participating in the worst human rights abuses?
Sadiq Khan: For London to remain a leading centre of green finance, we need to ensure that the growth in environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investment which we have seen in recent years is accompanied by rigorous standards to hit net zero and avoid ‘greenwashing’. The City of London is fully committed to this agenda and last year, a poll of global institutional investors showed that...
Lord Blencathra: ...still needs to be said in 2022, 73 years after the genocide convention was agreed and nearly 80 years after the world became aware of the abominations of Auschwitz. Yet here we are in the age of ESG and corporate social responsibility, when the UK boasts of leading the world in the fight against modern slavery, and what do we find? We find hundreds of millions in public money poured into...
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of demand for investments that are advertised as meeting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria; and what steps they are taking, if any, to ensure that such investments are in line with (1) the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, and (2) the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Lord Benyon: ...of the Treasury’s green taxonomy extremely seriously and making sure that we are focusing what Minette Batters talked about in her speech—the trillions of pounds floating around in the ESG markets —on nature’s recovery and benefiting farmers’ incomes by getting them access to that green finance.
Viscount Younger of Leckie: ...in public bodies, including local authorities attempting to declare boycotts. Administering authorities can of course make decisions based on sound environmental, social and governance—so-called ESG—considerations. For example, funds may well choose to not invest based on legitimate concerns over a company’s polluting activities or its poor governance. However, what is clearly...
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) pension products are available for automatic enrolment pensions; what assessment they have made of the impact of financial services regulations on the number of ESG pension products available for automatic enrolment pensions; and what steps they are taking to increase the number of ESG pension products...
Lord Howell of Guildford: ...case for a large chunk of renewable energy through nuclear increases by the day, particularly now that we may get an acceptance that nuclear electricity is green electricity and is approved under ESG rules and so on. I put it to our Liberal Democrat friends that they must face the issue that there is a value—yes—but it cannot be put into money, because it has to be measured in terms of...
