Promoting ESG investing by trustees: Risk management and structuring solutions

• Main Authors: OOI, Vincent, SEE, Alvin W. L.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2024
• Subjects: Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics; Business Organizations Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4434; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/6392/viewcontent/Ooi_See_TrusteesTurningGreen_sv.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The world is falling behind on its commitments to tackle some of the most pressing problems of this century: climate change, inequality, and other obstacles to building a sustainable future. In 2015, all Member States of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (‘UNSDG’) and 169 targets spanning the spectrum of environmental, social and economic dimensions of development. At the mid-point to 2030, the UN Secretary-General reported that of the roughly 140 targets for which data is available, about 12 per cent are on track; more than half are moderately or severely off track; and some 30 per cent have either seen no movement or regressed below the 2015 baseline. In short, based on current trajectories, the world is not on track to achieving these goals. It is in light of this sobering thought that we consider the opportunities for channelling more of the world’s wealth, often held in trust funds, towards initiatives aligned with these goals, through innovative approaches. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change observed with regards to the implementation of the Paris Agreement 2015, ‘pursuing 1.5°C mitigation efforts requires a major reallocation of the investment portfolio, implying a financial system aligned to mitigation challenges’. Within the investment world, businesses or financial products are increasingly rated based on their environmental, social and governance (‘ESG’) credentials, which broadly correspond with their contributions to furthering many, if not all, of the UNSDG.