Weekly Snippet December (05.12. – 11.12.)
Products and Service
BNP Paribas Asset Management acquires majority stake in International Woodland Company
BNP Paribas Asset Management announced the acquisition of a majority stake in leading Danish natural resources specialist International Woodland Company (‘IWC’). IWC is headquartered in Copenhagen and has more than 30 years’ experience in providing investment management and advisory services within sustainable timberland investments, agriculture investments and ecosystems services, including carbon credits and conservation projects. It oversees EUR 5.5 billion of timberland investment programs globally. The transaction is expected to close in H1 2023 and is subject to regulatory approval.
Read more here.
Franklin Templeton announced new Multi-Sector Impact Bond Fund for European investors
The fund aims to help the transition to a sustainable and equitable economy by investing in and engaging with fixed income issuers that have potential to materially improve their environmental and social practices. Built on Brandywine Global’s existing multi-sector investment framework, the fund’s strategy emphasizes dynamic sector rotation, downside risk management, and a dual approach to macroeconomic and fundamental research, with a continuous focus on delivering measurable positive impact.
Read more here.
Regulations and Law
Federal Reserve Board invites public comment on proposed principles for the management of climate-related financial risks
The Federal Reserve Board invited public comment on proposed principles providing a high-level framework for the safe and sound management of exposures to climate-related financial risks for large banking organizations. The proposed principles would apply to banking organizations with more than $100 billion in total assets and address both the physical risks and transition risks associated with climate change. The proposed principles would cover six areas: governance; policies, procedures, and limits; strategic planning; risk management; data, risk measurement and reporting; and scenario analysis.
Read more here.
GRI revised its Biodiversity Standards and asks for public comment.
The exposure draft of the revised GRI Biodiversity Standard has now been approved by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) and is available for public comment. The objective is to test the clarity, feasibility, completeness, and relevance of the drafted Standard. The public comment runs from 5 December 2022 until 28 February 2023.
Read more here.
ESG Data and Analytics
S&P Global acquires Shades of Green business from CICERO
The acquisition will be integrated into S&P Global Ratings and further expand the breadth and depth of its second party opinions (SPOs) offering. SPOs are independent assessments of a company’s financing or framework’s alignment with market standards and typically provided before any borrowing is raised. S&P Global Ratings will retain an office in Oslo, Norway where Shades of Green is based. The Center for International Climate Research will continue to lend its climate expertise to Shades of Green and provide insights to S&P Global’ s other leading sustainability businesses.
Read more here.
Net Zero
Crédit Agricole S.A. details its intermediary targets and actions plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 on five sectors
Groupe Crédit Agricole will disclose the targets for five additional sectors (Shipping, Aviation, Steel, Residential Real Estate and Agriculture) in 2023. These commitments are very ambitious, as these ten sectors represent over 75% of global GHG emissions and around 60% of Crédit Agricole Group’s credit exposure. Crédit Agricole has also committed to decrease its own direct carbon footprint by -50% by 2030.
Read more here.
Vanguard drops out of Net Zero Asset Managers initiative
Vanguard is the second-largest global money manager with $7.1tn under management and more than 30mn customers as of end of October. The group said on Wednesday last week that it was resigning from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. As reasons, Vanguard mentions confusion about the views of individual investment firms and the management of mainly passive index investment funds.
Read more here.
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