Australian and New Zealand ESG Update
/BlackRock reiterates its committment to ESG
In the annual letter to company leaders, BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink said the company will be pushing for disclosure on plans for transitioning to a net-zero carbon economy. The letter outlined how BlackRock was looking towards a net-zero carbon future and will be acting accordingly.
Hostplus called out by Market Forces
Hostplus has come into the sights of activist group, Market Forces, demanding the superannuation fund divest fossil fuels and develop a climate action plan. Most recently Market Forces lobbied UniSuper successfully in terms of how it invested in fossil fuel companies and managing climate risk.
Market Forces says Hostplus is not keeping up with its peers and needs to do more, as AustralianSuper, Aware Super, UniSuper and HESTA all committed to divesting thermal coal (either in active strategies or in a percentage-based exclusion), with six of the 10 biggest super funds in Australia (AustralianSuper, Aware Super, UniSuper, Rest, HESTA and Cbus) committing to net zero emissions by 2050.
Hostplus has said it agrees that climate change poses a material, direct and current financial risk that is relevant to its investment strategy.
LGIAsuper pulls AMP Capital’s ethical fund from socially responsible option
Another superannuation fund has revoked its mandate with AMP Capital’s Ethical Leaders, transferring the funds to Pendal Group’s Sustainable Balanced Fund. The LGIAsuper Socially Responsible Balanced option was pulled from AMP, the super fund said, because of concerns with investment performance and reports about the culture at AMP. The mandate was not due for renewal until 2023.
Future Super using deidentified recruitment practices to improve diversity
Future Super is now not looking at resumes when hiring, but instead focusing on deidentified methods of finding the best-qualified people for the job. After identifying that the team was overwhelmingly white and just over half male, the fund decided to take action. In 2020, just over half of all new hires were women, with 73 per cent being a self-identified person of colour. The fund also gave a shout-out to those who sit outside the binary, with plans to explore ways to do better in terms of providing true equality and opportunity for all applicants.
The new system means candidates are less likely to be chosen because of where they used to work, and other biases, and chosen for the skills they currently have.
Rest investigates new ethical option after missteps
Rest superannuation is surveying members before it launches its new ethical investment option, after a recent legal case with a member, Mark McVeigh, over climate change. The case was ultimately dismissed with Rest agreeing to all McVeigh’s requests.
