Together with Source Global Research, our ESG Practice Lead, Olaf Clemens, examines the prospect of a sustainable, green world of tomorrow from the financial industry point of view. Read this interview to find answers.  

Research has shown that ESG-related factors, when measured or estimated consistently, are meaningful data when making investment decisions. Leading firms are accordingly now incorporating ESG factor data across their entire portfolios to improve forecasting and risk management. 

Climate-related and environmental risks are one of the ECB's key supervisory priorities and one of the main objectives of the EBA's Sustainable Finance Roadmap. Read this blog to learn more about the concrete milestones, particularly on the full integration of C&E risks into the ICAAP.

APAC FIs need to understand the opportunities and challenges arising from the COP27 climate summit. Our new article sets out the key focus points and their implications for the future, from the agreement on a new ‘loss and damage’ fund to the increasing urgency of climate financing and climate adaption. 

This article shares how Capco’s ESG practice enables organizations to rapidly progress along their ESG maturity curve to systematically unlock long-term strategic benefits. 

This article examines the European Banking Association’s analysis of the interaction between environmental risks and the traditional prudential risk categories, and proposes an action plan for firms to prepare for a potentially binding Pillar 1 treatment, in light of the EBA’s Discussion Paper published in May 2022.

The climax of COP27 delivered what has been hailed as “the most important climate advance” since the 2015 Paris Agreement”. Read our thoughts on week two and the takeaways for financial services. 

With countries and regions around the world seeking to green their financial systems by developing sustainability taxonomies, financial institutions will need to interpret taxonomies across different operating markets and respond to the challenge of collecting and managing sustainability data.

COP27 – the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – has kicked off with the key aim of ensuring full implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement. Read our summary and related observations on the key developments during week one in Sharm El-Sheikh.

A look at a variety of Canada's climate risk management guidelines and associated risks. 

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives have gained significant momentum over the past decade. These articles highlight the effect of ESG-driven imperatives on the financial services landscape.

On June 3, the EPA finalized their 2022 RFS requirements along with changes to the final 2020 and 2021 obligation years. There are several key actions that could have reverberating effects across the renewables landscape.

In the financial services industry today, there are two trends that can hardly be bypassed: ESG and DLT. In this whitepaper we discover how DLT can help with ESG reporting, data quality and much more.

The unique characteristics of RECs, including compliance requests and differing registry platforms, represent gaps and challenges to most ETRM solutions.

Global energy markets are experiencing a fundamental shift in the way energy is produced, transported, stored, and consumed. Reducing climate change effects via the removal of carbon emissions is the key driver behind this historic transformation. 

The unbanked and underbanked market offers a good opportunity for financial institutions to showcase their commitment to ESG.

Summary of the ECB’s 2022 Climate Stress Test results and challenges banks faced with the test and integrating climate risks into their risk management.

ESG and Roboadvising, two of the most significant wealth management trends of the past decade, are colliding, providing huge opportunities for firms.

Climate change will have a material impact on financial services. The recent CBES exercise reaffirms the need to address the associated risks.

The ECB is expected to publish the results of its first bottom-up climate stress testing in July 2022. Based on the outcomes, new requirements will be put in place for banks.

ESG is shaping strategic discussions of corporates across industries like no other. The issue has moved from climate activists’ street protests to the top of business leaders’ agendas around the world. While there has been significant media attention on the substantial value of ESG, there are always two sides of the coin and the inherent risks of this “flight to green” should not be ignored.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) continues being a hot topic in the wealth industry. On March 21, 2022, the SEC proposed a new set of rules requiring more disclosures in registration statements and periodic reports.

While passing European-style legislation is unlikely, ESG is manifesting with a uniquely U.S. flavor — corporations are leading the way.

The focus is on Canada’s financial institutions to act as wardens of environmental, social, and governance responsibilities in the Canadian economy – a multi-pronged challenge that encompasses both the need to manage risk and capture value as the market comes to terms with the new ESG realities.

In this paper we explore the numerous challenges that must be overcome to ensure the continuing advancement of renewable energy resources.

Current geopolitical events will have long-term implications for global oil and gas prices, which will in turn cascade through to impact not only home energy bills and forecourt prices but existing expectations and strategies around the planned energy transition to transform the global energy sector. 

Das Thema Nachhaltigkeit und Transformation im Finanzwesen steht im Fokus des Interviews mit Myriam Piser, Strategic Lead of Sustainable Finance bei der BayernLB.

In diesem Podcast spricht Anna Sophie Herken von Allianz Asset Management im Interview mit Agnieszka Walorska über das Thema Nachhaltigkeit und ESG-Kriterien.

In this paper, we explore the intersection of the fast-evolving digital assets space and banks and financial institutions’ emerging ESG obligations.

In this paper, we explore progress to net zero in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and the implications for financial institutions’ climate actions, including decarbonizing portfolios and establishing ESG data strategies.

Our new paper explores how ESMA’s new consultative guidelines expect asset managers to assess investor ESG preferences, the implementation challenges and the strategic opportunities.

Die Vermögensverwaltung einer globalen Universalbank identifizierte Projekte, die zur Marktführerschaft bei ESG-verantwortlichen Investitionen beitragen sollten. Erfahren Sie in unserer Success Story, wie Capco bei der Entwicklung und Implementierung eines CRO-Dashboards für alternative Anlagen unterstützte.

This paper outlines approaches for assessing ESG data scoping and sourcing, and sets out one specific approach/best practice for incorporating corporate ESG data strategies.

COP26: Clean energy transition and agricultural transformation will give rise to new funding demands, while a fundamental reassessment of risk management models also looks inevitable. Read our thoughts on the second week of the Conference.

COP26: Nature-positive finance is the future. How do financial services firms kick-start the move and will their data be up to scratch?

As the world tries to become greener, the EC’s recent proposal for greenbonds will impact the sustainable bond market. We examine green bond requirements and what this means for external verifiers. 

This paper by Capco UK discusses the complex subject of conduct with climate change and how it is arguably one of the widest ranging thematic issues of our time. 

With the advent of the COVID pandemic, organisations have started to prioritise their ESG strategy and corporate stewardship. Notably, financial services are accelerating their activities in this space, with the stark realities of COVID have come a wider appreciation of macro level risks in general – climate change included – and how these factors can dramatically turn the business tables. For insurers, this includes integrating ESG within the core business and operations, as part of underwriting, investing and risk management decisions, and developing tailored ESG products and services.

Data availability and quality pose major challenges for meaningful sustainability reporting. One important step to achieve the necessary transparency and resolve data quality issues is having a clear and unambiguous definition of environmentally sustainable activities, as done by the EU Taxonomy. Thus, the introduction of key performance indicators (KPIs) is another major step to foster sustainability reporting and facilitate the usage of disclosed information.

The Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) has developed recommendations for more effective climate-related disclosures, subsequently adopted as the de facto standard for reporting climate-related information. Capco has undertaken a high-level review of 33 banks around the world who have committed to producing TCFD-aligned disclosures. This paper assesses each of the banks’ climate-related reporting against six key criteria.

Tomorrow’s green economy is taking shape, with ESG objectives at the top of the agenda for financial institutions both in APAC and globally. In this paper, Capco Hong Kong’s Brendan Delanty explores the current trends, challenges, and way forward for corporate banks. 

On 21 April 2021, the European Commission adopted a comprehensive package of measures to reorient the flow of funds towards more sustainable investments. An integral element of this sustainable finance package is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) proposal.

With the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and its gradual enforcement from 10 March 2021, the European Commission is implementing the second important building block of the EU Action Plan for Financing Sustainable Growth after the EU Taxonomy – transparency of sustainability.

A look at the driving forces and outlook of environmental, social, and governance investing in financial markets.    

In this video, we explore the issues of transparency and standardization around green investments, and the importance of establishing a common language and formal mechanisms to ensure consistency when detailing and validating ESG criteria.

ESG is now a central consideration in the construction of investment portfolios. In this video, we visit a biomass plant and discuss the practicalities of adopting an ethical investment approach.

The popularity of impact investments and online investment platforms is growing among millennials. We examine why and how wealth managers can adapt to serve this market.  

In this video, we look at the evolution of ESG, its place within the value chain of risk and risk management, the changing profile of the influencers shaping approaches to ESG as well as green investments, including the importance of standardization and transparency in ensuring investors can make informed choices.

What is the role of a public firm in a free market? Traditionally, the answer would be to maximize value for its shareholders.

This still holds true, but there are now a much broader range of considerations for firms to meet, such as ESG factors, which have developed to a point where they are driving inflection in supply and demand.