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ASrIA Briefing with FTSE: Measuring and Investing into a Low Carbon Economy |
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ASrIA held an exclusive 19 January briefing and networking event with Will Oulton, Director of FTSE's Responsible Investment Unit (RIU). He discussed the changing global landscape of responsible investment and the role of RI indices. Thanks to ASrIA member Standard Chartered Bank for hosting the event. We will soon be publishing a post-event page.
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Carbon Disclosure Forum 2010, Singapore |
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ASrIA is jointly organising an event on 16th March with the Singapore Business Federation and Carbon Disclosure Project to launch this year's round of the CDP in Singapore. The event will provide an introduction to CDP and carbon disclosure, and provide perspectives from investors, corporates and consultants on the business case for having calculating carbon footprints and having a climate change strategy. The event is also supported by the Global Compact Network in Singapore and CSR Asia. Thanks also to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office for sponsoring and supporting the event. Potential speakers and sponsors are welcome. Full details will be published shortly. |
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TBLI Asia, Tokyo |
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ASrIA is a network partner of TBLI Asia for the annual event this year. We strongly encourage our members to contact ASrIA if they are planning to go so we can co-ordinate activities at and around the event. The TBLI team are also calling for sponsors and speakers. |
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ASrIA-CLP Briefing and Power Station Visit |
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ASrIA members were invited to a round-table stakeholders meeting with CLP
in December. CLP led a discussion on the key risks and opportunites
facing the Asian power sector in responding to climate change and provided
an overview of their climate change managent strategy based on their
recent publication - Beyond Copenhagen - Powering Asia Responsibly. |
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ASrIA Member Briefing: ESG investment in Vietnam |
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Thanks to ASrIA member Credit Suisse for hosting the briefing
by VietNam Holding (VNH). VNH presented an overview of the Vietnamese
economy and described its portfolio construction and investment process. |
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Overview of other Events in which ASrIA Participated |
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ASrIA participated in the Acer CSR Forum, held in Taiwan, for the second
year. The forum was attended by members of Acer's supply chain network
and provided a platform for dialogue between Acer and global stakeholder
groups. ASrIA also presented a keynote at the Taipei Responsible
Investment Forum in Taipei, where it was noted that the Taipei Stock
Exchange is considering introducing a CSR Index. ASrIA also presented on
carbon disclosure in supply-chains in Asia at the OECD/ESCAP 'Conference
on corporate responsibility in Asia: Why responsible business conduct
matters', at the UN Headquarters in Bangkok. Proceedings and conclusions
of the conference can be found here.
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| SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT NEWS |
For a comprehensive news listing visit: http://www.asria.org/news |
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Time is Up for Short-term Thinking in Global Capitalism |
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ASrIA member, Generation Investment, in a piece in the Financial Times, argues that the 'global financial crisis had its origins in short-term, unsustainable strategies and actions' and strongly endorses initiatives such as the UK-based Carbon Disclosure Project and the UN Global Compact |
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Mercer Finds Positive Link Between ESG and Financial Performance |
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ASrIA member, Mercer in a new report, Shedding Light on Responsible Investment: Approaches, Returns and Impacts, analyses 16 academic studies - the majority of which (ten) show a positive relationship between ESG factors and companies' financial performance, four show a neutral relationship and two show a neutral to negative relationship. |
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Energy Efficiency Measures Can Enhance Value of Real Estate Portfolios |
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Mercer also authored a Ceres study that investigated energy efficiency measures, finding that they can increase occupancy rates, leasing prices and sale prices, all in a highly-competitive environment. |
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Asian Countries Tap Climate Funds for $800 Million in Boost for Innovative Climate Action |
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ASrIA member, Asian Development Bank helps implement the Climate Investment Funds. Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand have been awarded a total of US$800 million in support of investment plans for a range of innovative climate activities. |
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Allocation to Climate Change Investments Belongs in Portfolios, Deutsche
Bank Recommends
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ASrIA member, Deutsche Bank reports on climate change opportunities into a general asset allocation framework to illustrate the positive impact that the climate change space can contribute, demonstrating that inclusion of climate change sectors in a portfolio improves expected returns. |
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IFC and S&P Launch Low carbon Index for Emerging Markets |
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ASrIA member, International Finance Corporation has teamed up with Standard & Poor's to launch a carbon-efficiency index for emerging markets using data from Trucost, the London-based carbon analysis firm. |
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TIAA-CREF Statement on Former Holdings in Companies with Ties to Sudan |
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ASrIA member, TIAA-CREF explains its divestment of companies. "Our decision to sell shares in these companies culminated a three-year effort to encourage them to end their ties to Sudan or attempt to end suffering there," said Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., TIAA-CREF's chief executive. |
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Standard Chartered Bank Plants 5,000 Trees in Bali |
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ASrIA member, Standard Chartered Bank completed the planting of 5, 000 trees in Bali, in line with the Bank's commitment to support forest conservation programme in Indonesia. |
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SustainAbility Asks What Does the International Year on Biodiversity Mean for Business |
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ASrIA member, SustainAbility analyses the implications of biodiversity on businesses including their supply chain management systems. 2010 is the International Year on Biodiversity. |
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Civic Exchange Water Study Outlines Threats to HK Water Supply |
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Last month ASrIA Associate member, Civic Exchange released Liquid Assets: Water Security and Management in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Basin which questions the security of HK's water supply in the face of an increasingly unstable supply and growing competition from other users throughout the Pearl River Basin. |
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China Development Industrial Bank Becomes First Taiwanese Bank to Adopt
the Principles for Responsible Investment
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CDIB has adopted the United Nations' Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), becoming the first Taiwanese bank to adopt the Principles. CDIB has also been appointed to a member of the PRI's private equity steering committee.
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NBIM Hiring Environmental Managers to Run Mandates Aimed at Asian Environmental and Sustainable Resource Sectors |
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Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) is seeking managers to run a series of mandates aimed at the environmental and sustainable resource sectors across specific regions in the Americas, EMEA and Asia. |
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Investment Managers Still Lagging in Response to Climate Change Risks and Opportunities |
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New Ceres report finds vast majority of the world's largest investment managers are not factoring climate-related trends into their short- and long-term investment decision-making, the result being significant 'hidden risks' in the trillions of dollars of investment portfolios they are managing.
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Managing Water Strategically: An Interview with the CEO of Rio Tinto |
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CEO Tom Albanese explains how Rio Tinto is adapting its operations to a future when climate change may make the world's dry parts drier and wet parts wetter. |
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Korea: Sustainability Trend Survey and ESG evidence |
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SolAbility has found that sustainable Korean companies significantly outperform the less sustainable companies in terms of financial performance, both long- and short term.
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Responsible Research and CSR Asia's Asian Sustainability Rating™ Expands Into the Philippines |
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Responsible Research and CSR Asia continue to expand their Asian Sustainability Rating across the region. It is a new investment tool which rates Asian companies based on over 50 selected environmental, social and corporate governance criteria.
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Offshore Wind Energy Market Predicted to Rise to US$30bn During the Next Decade |
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A report published last month by Emerging Energy Research predicts that the offshore wind energy market will grow about 12% annually for the next decade, surging to US$30bn.
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Indian Government Issues Voluntary CSR and Corporate Governance Guidelines |
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Earlier this month at the conclusion of the first India Corporate Week, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs issued guidelines intended to encourage best practices in corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.
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Fault Lines Remain After Climate Talk |
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Opinions about the results of the climate change talks in Copenhagen last month suggest that, if nothing else, the fault lines that preceded the conference are still very much in place. ASrIA member, Credit Suisse Advisor Rajendra Pachauri comments about the world post-Copenhagen here.
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Assessing the Political and Social Consequences of the Global Recession in Emerging Markets |
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The Economist looks at the political and social consequences of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, saying they've been milder than predicted. In developing countries, at least, governments have not fallen in a heap, as they did after the Asian crisis of 1997-98. |
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South Korea Plans Cap and Trade Scheme |
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The South Korean government has announced plans for an emissions trading scheme which it says could be in place as soon as late 2010. |
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Corruption in Indonesia's lucrative forestry industry costs the government US$2bn annually, Human Rights Watch says in a new report: Wild Money: The Human Rights Consequences of Illegal Logging and Corruption in Indonesia's Forestry Sector. |
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| EVENTS |
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| For a comprehensive listing of sustainable finance events in the region & globally, visit www.asria.org/news/conference |
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| ASrIA Briefing: Measuring and Investing into a Low Carbon Economy |
Hong Kong |
We will soon upload a post-event page. |
Changing global landscape of responsible investment and the role of RI indices. ASrIA Co-Founder and Director, Tessa Tennant, who was also recently at Copenhagen, will also provide a brief commentary at the end of the event. Free event. |
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| Future of Microfinance: Leveraging the Platform |
Hong Kong |
January 21 |
Briefing by CEO of Grameen Foundation, a USA-based nonprofit organization focusing on enabling the poor, and especially the poorest, to create a world without poverty. |
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TBLI Asia 2010: CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS AND/OR SPONSORSHIP
ASrIA is TBLI's network partner. |
Tokyo |
Deadline: 31 January
Event: 27-28 May |
Accepting presentation proposals and sponsorship commitments for TBLI CONFERENCE™ ASIA. ASrIA members are strongly encouraged to contact us if you plan to attend so we can co-ordinate activities. Contact Erik Floyd at: erik@asria.org / +852 3105 3702. |
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Carbon Disclosure Forum 2010
ASrIA is a co- organiser. |
Singapore |
March 16 |
Providing both an introduction to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and climate change risks and opportunities and also some strategic and technical advice Stay tuned for more details. |
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FT Investing in a Sustainable Future |
New York |
March 24 |
2nd annual FT Investing in a Sustainable Future international conference bringing together today's corporate, financial and investment leaders. |
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Carbon Disclosure Forum 2010
ASrIA is a co- organiser. |
Hong Kong |
To be determined. |
Providing both an introduction to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and climate change risks and opportunities and also some strategic and technical advice Stay tuned for more details. |
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