Date of Publication: April 27, 2021

Author: Sophie Nicholls Jones

Summary:

In particular, there has been a surge this past year in sustainable investing approaches, as investors demand more attention be paid to environmental, social and governance endeavours. «The pandemic has not slowed the momentum around climate change and sustainability. In fact, it has increased the pace,» says Charles Antoine St-Jean, CPA Canada’s president and CEO. Urgency is translating into action on sustainability reporting.

The ESG investing momentum is evident in a recent RBC survey which found that 75 per cent of institutional investors incorporated ESG principles into their investment process , while 84 per cent believe ESG-integrated portfolios perform as well or better than those that don’t integrate ESG. A lot of what is needed in ESG, or sustainability at large, is about transparency around decision-making, she says. CEOs from Canada’s eight leading pension plan investment managers, representing approximately $1.6 trillion in assets under management, recently called on companies and investors to provide consistent and complete ESG information to strengthen investment decision-making and better assess and manage ESG risk exposures. This statement spotlights the urgency of improving sustainability reporting to ensure transparency, while building trust among investors and the public at large.

Link to Full Reading:

https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/news/accounting/the-profession/2021-04-27-esg-investing