Sustainable Investment in China Newsletter Index
June 18, 2013
Increasing Environmental Protests Are Disrupting Investments
In the past few years, new investments in China have been cancelled, postponed, or significantly disrupted due to concern over their environmental impacts, both potential and actual. Protests by local residents have surged, with recent actions affecting a chemical plant in Kunming and a battery plant in Shanghai. The success of these protests will no doubt inspire increased levels of social action, which will have a significant impact on business. The government is responding by increasing standards, punishments, and pollution-reduction targets, all of which may increase costs for businesses that fail to meet the regulations.
In This Issue
December 18, 2012
How Investors View ESG in Emerging Markets
Back from BSR’s annual conference in New York, where over a thousand professionals gathered to “fast forward” sustainability, in this edition’s feature article we review one of the sessions at the conference that discussed how ESG factors affect investors in emerging markets. The speakers noted that in most cases ESG factors have a greater influence in emerging markets such as China, but that it is actually harder to understand and price those factors into investment decisions.
In This Issue
October 14, 2012
The Opportunity for Private Equity from Responsible Investment in China
USD$16 billion of private equity capital was invested in China in 2011. According to the EU Chamber of China, the country now represents five percent of global private equity investments compared to its previous level of just 1.5% in 2007. With significant influence over the companies they invest in as well as direct financial risks and opportunities from the performance of the company, PE firms can be a strong driver for responsible investment in China.
In This Issue
- In Depth: How Private Equity is Investing Responsibly in China
- Insight From the UN PRI: ESG and Executive Pay: The Missing Link
- News to Know
- On the Horizon
- View the entire email publication
June 28, 2012
The Media’s Reporting of Environmental, Social and Governance Issues in China
Investors care a great deal more about negative news on a company than positive news and often depend on the media as an important source of such negative news. The widespread feeling amongst the public is that there is more and more disparaging coverage of companies in the media, but is this true? And if it is, what impact does this have on business practices and, in turn, on investors?
In This Issue
April 5, 2012
Improving ESG Disclosure in China
Disclosure on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in China has come a long way in just a few years. In 2006, there were only 23 ESG or sustainability reports released in China--and many of them were by foreign companies. Yet in 2011, there were more than 700 such reports released, the vast majority of which were by Chinese companies. One of the major influencers of this tremendous growth was guidelines released by the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges that has lead to more than 25 percent of all listed companies releasing such a report. Though these reports are an important step in the right direction towards greater transparency—and in turn improved performance—the investment community believes more needs to be done.
In This Issue
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