2016 ET CARBON RANKINGS REPORT

Recommendations

Info

10 ENGAGED INDEXES, CARBON RISK AND PERFORMANCE: INDEX INVESTING AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR REDUCING CARBON RISK Index investing strategies – also referred to as passive investing – are rapidly growing as a proportion of the market. In 2016, passive equity vehicles accounted for over 40% of total US equity fund assets, up from 18.8% a decade ago, according to Morningstar. 17 This is representative of the global trend, with over $4 trillion in savings now in index funds. The reason for this shift in assets is clear. Investors are disillusioned with active investing strategies that charge higher fees and typically fail to perform better than more cost-effective index-based counterparts. 18 In a low-return environment where fees and performance come under particularly harsh scrutiny, it is hard to see an end to this accelerating shift towards passive investing, particularly as technology continues to drive down costs. This has important ramifications for how financial flows can be guided to address the financial risks and opportunities linked to climate change. Firstly, stock market indexes, acting as benchmarks for fund performance or as the basis of investment strategies, will occupy an increasingly important role in the allocation of capital across the economy. However, pure index investing strategies reward companies solely on the basis of current financial performance and fail to anticipate future risks and opportunities such as those created by the low-carbon transition. Secondly, the role of investor engagement on climate change with investee companies will become an increasingly important function for index houses and passive investment funds. Blackrock, Vanguard and other asset management giants have been openly criticised for their failure to use their position of significant influence to vote on shareholder resolutions relating to climate change. 19 ET INDEX RESEARCH 2016 CARBON RANKINGS REPORT
ENGAGED INDEXES, CARBON RISK AND PERFORMANCE 11 ENGAGED TRACKING INDEXES Engaged Tracking Indexes embed the principle of investor engagement directly into the index investment strategy. They include non-financial criteria, such as sustainability indicators, when weighting companies within the index. The index provider contacts index constituents to inform them of the non-financial criteria on which they will be ranked and what steps are required to improve their position. Simply put, companies have to do better on non-financial performance to move up the rankings and to attract more investor capital. This provides an innovative and costeffective form of index investing which incorporates stewardship principles and shareholder engagement. Engaged Tracking Indexes clearly communicate investor expectations to constituent companies. They are a systematic tool for reallocating capital according to non-financial performance in a transparent manner. ET Low Carbon Indexes go beyond reweighting companies according to the intensity of their direct carbon emissions and take into account the full scope of their carbon footprint. Reweighting within the index is done according to a company’s ET Carbon Rank®, which includes Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. The ET Low Carbon Index® methodology incentivises ever increasing disclosure and lowering of emissions since these are the criteria upon which the Rankings are based. ET Low Carbon Indexes enable investors to position themselves in a forward looking way to reduce their exposure to systemic carbon risk, while simultaneously signalling to investee companies that investors expect a swift transition to more carbon-efficient business models. They provide a systematic tool for redistributing capital from high to low-carbon companies in the most efficient manner possible. In the case of the ET Carbon Rankings and corresponding ET Low Carbon and Fossil Free Index Series, constituent companies are informed of the following Engaged Tracking Investor expectations: • Measure and disclose a full Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions inventory. • Disclose in annual reports how action to limit global warming as part of the Paris Agreement may affect operations. • Publish business transition plans that explain how the company will manage the business risks and opportunities arising from a 2 °C regulatory environment, including those related to GHG emissions, capital expenditure, remuneration policy, and political spending, among other enterprise risks. • Communicate how such a business transition plan can be implemented. 2016 CARBON RANKINGS REPORT ET INDEX RESEARCH
Page 1 and 2: FOREWORD 1 2016 ET CARBON RANKINGS
Page 3 and 4: 3 ABOUT ET INDEX RESEARCH ET Index
Page 5 and 6: FOREWORD 5 The international Financ
Page 7 and 8: 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 2016 ET Car
Page 9: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9 Carbon Context
Page 13 and 14: ENGAGED INDEXES, CARBON RISK AND PE
Page 15 and 16: UNDERSTANDING THE ET CARBON RANKING
Page 25 and 26: CARBON REDUCTION POTENTIAL 25 CARBO
Page 27 and 28: CARBON REDUCTION POTENTIAL 27 Infra
Page 29 and 30: CARBON REDUCTION POTENTIAL 29 TABLE
Page 31 and 32: CARBON REDUCTION POTENTIAL 31 Table
Page 33 and 34: CARBON REDUCTION POTENTIAL 33 Oil a
Page 35 and 36: ET GLOBAL CARBON RANKINGS 2016 35 C
Page 37 and 38: ET GLOBAL CARBON RANKINGS 2016 37 C
Page 39 and 40: ET GLOBAL CARBON RANKINGS 2016 39 T
Page 41 and 42: ET GLOBAL CARBON RANKINGS 2016 41 T
Page 43 and 44: 43 ET CARBON RANKING METHODOLOGY: E
Page 45 and 46: ET CARBON RANKING METHODOLOGY 45 KN
Page 47 and 48: ET CARBON RANKING METHODOLOGY 47 SP
Page 49 and 50: ET CARBON RANKING METHODOLOGY 49 DI
Page 51 and 52: APPENDIX 51 ET Europe 300 Carbon Ra
Page 53 and 54: APPENDIX 53 INFORMATION FOR REPORTI
Page 55 and 56: APPENDIX 55 Level 1 Thematic Sector
Page 57 and 58: APPENDIX 57 Michael is non-executiv
Page 59 and 60: APPENDIX 59 References 1 Carbon Tra
Page 61:
FOREWORD 61 2016 CARBON RANKINGS RE
show all

2016 ET CARBON RANKINGS REPORT

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?