All about Environmental Social and Economic

Annual Report 2021 The three C’s: Covid, climate, conflict

2022-06-27T16:50:00.008-07:00

Annual Report 2021 The three C’s: Covid, climate, conflict

Last year cutting-edge science joined forces with public policy to roll back, if not defeat, a clear global threat. It was not climate change. The advent of vaccines enabled many societies in the developed world, at least, to edge back toward normality after nearly two years of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. But thanks to Covid, we do now have a slightly better idea of what a truly global response to climate change might look like.

As is often the case when we sit down to prepare our annual report in the early northern-hemisphere spring, it is very difficult to block out major events of the first few weeks of the year; never was this more true than two years ago, when country after the country went into unprecedented lockdowns.

It is so again now, as the conflict in Ukraine dominates the headlines, the humanitarian sector, and the attention of governments and millions of people worldwide.

Of course, climate change is not the cause of this conflict. But the ramifications certainly intersect with the climate crisis in many ways, reflecting the warnings about compound crises that the IPCC Working Group II report highlighted so clearly.

Even as our colleagues in the Ukrainian Red Cross and the ICRC strive to maintain humanitarian access, we are also struggling with aggravated humanitarian challenges globally – food-price inflation perhaps above all, reflected in the terrible hunger in the Horn of Africa; the record heatwave in South Asia that affected harvests and triggered an export ban in India has not helped matters.

At the same time, the new geopolitical outlook will also have implications for Net Zero as governments consider their energy futures and their commitments to the Paris goals.

https://stories.climatecentre.org/annual-report-2021/index.html

Local Environment And Ecosystem Of Entire Himalayan Region In Danger

2022-06-27T16:41:00.007-07:00

Local Environment And Ecosystem Of Entire Himalayan Region In Danger

Addressing the participant of a virtual dialogue on the environmental issues of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, experts said on Sunday that the local environment and the ecosystem of the entire Himalayan region are in danger. They said that if forests, rare species of animals, precious birds that act as environment filters, valuable herbs, and ecosystem-balanced plants are not protected, the region would lose its ecological balance.

The environmentalists warned that the timber mafia should be curbed to protect the precious forests of the region. They also said that irregular construction of guest houses in Neelum Valley should be stopped and alternative sources of energy should be provided to the people to stop the relentless deforestation. “If steps are not taken at the grassroots level, we will lose a great deal of national capital, which will have a devastating effect on the local environment and the ecosystem of the entire region,” they said.

full articles ==> https://www.eurasiareview.com/27062022-local-environment-and-ecosystem-of-entire-himalayan-region-in-danger-experts-warn-oped/

Are Electric Cars Really Better for the Environment?

2022-06-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

Are Electric Cars Really Better for the Environment?

that's the worst-case scenario. If instead, you're driving your EV up in Alaska, which has the highest percentage of renewable energy usage in the continental US, the Model 3 produces a measly 130 grams of CO2 per mile. That brings the break-even point down to 26,699 miles, or about two years of average driving.

So, there you have it. Even when using electricity that largely comes from coal, and even factoring in the creation of the battery pack, EVs have a considerably smaller impact on the environment than traditional, gasoline-powered cars.

Now, what happens when those battery packs can't hold a charge? And just how long will that take, anyway? And just how much money can you save running an EV instead of burning gasoline? For all those answers and more, stay tuned for the next installment of EVs Exposed!

full articles==> https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/are-electric-cars-really-better-for-the-environment/

Five Practical Steps to Implementing ESG

2022-06-26T17:18:00.002-07:00

Here are five practical steps to implementing ESG

1.Measure and assess: determine where you are in each component of your ESG strategy

2.Map out stakeholders: identify who the stakeholders are, and engage them early in the process

3.Prioritize company values: focus on areas that complement your strategy and drive the biggest impact

4.Set goals and measurements: defined goals and metrics help guide success

5.Build momentum: gain financial support to propel future initiatives by demonstrating the win-win aspect of ESG

Learn more in the University of Tennessee white paper https://www.mainepointe.com/esg-improvement, sponsored by SGS Maine Pointe.

Source : https://www.sgs.com/en/news/2022/02/esg-in-the-supply-chain-why-now

Moody’s Finds ESG Risk Mitigation Delivers Higher Returns

2022-06-26T16:56:00.010-07:00

Moody’s Finds ESG Risk Mitigation Delivers Higher Returns.

Controversial events can cause lasting damage to shareholder value, analysis from Moody’s Analytics suggests.

Improved ESG practices lead to corporates acting as more secure investments, according to research papers by Moody’s Analytics in collaboration with ESG data firm RepRisk.

Findings from the ‘Business Impact of ESG Performance’ report showed significant and long-term effects of negative ESG-related events on firms’ stock returns.

The paper proposed a quantitative measure of ESG performance based on the controversies a firm experiences and studied the relationship between performance and stock market returns.

There have been several high-profile instances of firms facing lasting damage as a result of ESG-related failures. In 2015, Volkswagen shares dropped after it was revealed that the amount of carbon emissions from its vehicles were being deliberately underreported, while failures in corporate governance led to the collapse of US healthcare firm Theranos in 2018, and German firm Wirecard in 2020.

Covering 13,000 controversies at more than 3,000 public companies from 2013 to 2019, the Moody’s research found that ESG events have large and persistent negative effects on firm value, and the more severe the event the larger its impact. Moderate to severe ESG events resulted in an average -4% one-year excess equity return, which represents a loss of approximately US$400 million for a typical-sized firm in the study.

Moody’s said its findings were robust for firms of all sizes, and held particularly for firms in the energy and natural resources, consumer products, finance, and construction sectors.

But companies that learn from past controversies and revamp their internal ESG risk practices can lower their future rate of ESG events and reflect this improvement in their returns, the research also showed.

Full article => Moody’s Finds ESG Risk Mitigation Delivers Higher Returns

2022-06-26T16:36:00.001-07:00

Business gurus back ESG as new normal

The global community concept of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) should be regarded as a “new normal”’ on the road to achieving sustainable development goals, a conference for female CEOs acknowledged on Saturday.

Advocates of the view that company profits should be shared among the workforce, rather than flowing back into the pockets of owners, made their case on the last day of the 2022 Global Summit of Women (GSW), as they discussed the topic of ‘’How #ESG Informs Business Strategy’’.

ESG is widely seen as an evolution in the methodology by which company performance can be measured and has been embraced by customers and investors.

Even if not required to do so, many companies are now including their ESG activities in annual reports.

Full article => https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2333763/business-gurus-back-esg-as-new-normal

Thailand hosted the three-day GSW 2022, attended by 650 delegates from 52 countries.

The Bangkok Summit ended on Saturday with two significant milestones having been achieved.

It was the first carbon-neutral gathering ever in the event’s 32-year history.

And it also made significant revisions to Thailand’s Corporate Governance Code regarding the terminology that should be used during high-level discussions on gender diversity as a necessary component of good corporate governance.