ESG Integration

This year’s Journal looks different. It has more colour, more character and more columns. But the Journal’s ambition remains the same: to share the ideas shaping our thinking and informing the companies we invest in on behalf of our clients.

Board independence is typically central to good governance. But sometimes, levels of independence may not align optically with acknowledged best practice for very good reasons. One such example is Costco, where we believe the current board of directors is an important ingredient in the company’s ‘secret sauce’.

The complexity of the global energy transition is a significant long-term challenge for investors. At Walter Scott’s recent Research Conference, two guest speakers took a closer look at the reality of the transition and some of the many associated risks and opportunities.

Shareholder proposals are a growing feature of proxy voting season. While in many ways we welcome this increased shareholder scrutiny, too often what appears a reasonable objective on paper fails to withstand closer inspection.

The electrical grid system has been around for more than a century. Investment Analyst Michael Scott explores how the traditional model is having to adapt to new methods of electricity generation and the transition to net zero.

With sustainability the focus of increasingly heated and polarised discourse, we thought it timely to revisit our approach to the subject. Not with a view to taking sides in this debate, but rather to reiterate the fundamentals of our approach and articulate its philosophical underpinnings. In other words, how we do sustainability and why.

Hydrogen has been tipped to play an important role in the global transition to renewable energy. Investment Manager Ashley-Jane Kyle takes another look at hydrogen and assesses recent developments from the perspective of two companies in the industry.

Following the publication of a series of articles and videos around the topic of decarbonisation earlier this year, the project’s chief architects address client questions, particularly around the viability of energy stocks as long-term investments and how we incorporate climate considerations within our analysis.

Focusing on rising temperature while ignoring our emptying natural habitats makes no sense. An approach that takes the hand of nature while forcing climate change to slow down is the best way forward, says Oliver Balch.

Today, carbon emissions must be a serious consideration for all investors, particularly those with a long-term perspective. Over the last 18 months, we have been focused on the strategies and technologies that will shape the transition to a lower-carbon economy. Here, we identify how we seek to put this recent work into practice and how it will enhance our analysis going forward.

The way companies approach employee wellbeing is a critical test of their culture. Can they come through the current crisis with a strong and more meaningful workplace culture – or will Covid-19 expose it as an empty gesture?

When a global crisis hits, what does it mean for the likes of Chanel, Ferrari and Louis Vuitton? We find out how the luxury goods sector is faring as the Covid-19 pandemic turns the world upside down.

Retailers’ adaption to the Covid-19 crisis is not only impacting their employees but, just as starkly, workers at the end of the supply chain.

Investment Managers Alan Lander and Des Armstrong travelled to Vietnam and Bangladesh to revisit apparel and footwear factories in South-East Asia.