{"id":650,"date":"2021-03-18T16:45:45","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T15:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brandtec.de\/brandrock\/?p=650"},"modified":"2023-12-13T14:14:25","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T13:14:25","slug":"to-rethink-the-world-we-live-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brandtec.de\/brandrock\/to-rethink-the-world-we-live-in\/","title":{"rendered":"To rethink the world we live in"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=“1″ _builder_version=“4.16″ global_colors_info=“{}“][et_pb_row _builder_version=“4.16″ global_colors_info=“{}“][et_pb_column type=“4_4″ _builder_version=“4.16″ global_colors_info=“{}“][et_pb_post_title meta=“off“ featured_image=“off“ _builder_version=“4.16″ global_colors_info=“{}“][\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text admin_label=“subtitle“ module_id=“subtitle“ _builder_version=“4.16″ global_colors_info=“{}“]What actions are companies and investors taking to address the threat of climate change?[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=“author-title“ module_id=“author-title“ _builder_version=“4.16″ global_colors_info=“{}“]by Anja Ludzuweit<\/em>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=“teaser“ module_id=“teaser“ _builder_version=“4.16″ global_colors_info=“{}“]<\/p>\n

Increasingly, sustainability issues like the loss in biodiversity and climate change have moved to the top of policy agendas as material risks that need to be addressed with urgency. In this context, the agenda of the European Green Deal<\/a> is to transform our union into a modern, resource-efficient and sustainable market economy with the goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 in a fair and just way.<\/p>\n

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Both companies and investors are now starting to get on board. As of February 2021, 1,215 companies had either set or committed to a science-based target<\/a>, with the aim to decarbonize their operations to net zero emissions by mid-century. Their targets are aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit global warming to well below 2\u00b0C by the end of the century.<\/p>\n

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An important role that investors can take is to assert influence at CEO and board level through engagement and dialogue. Failing those, investors have the option to follow through with shareholder resolutions and in some instances, vote against the Board of Directors, if the company\u2019s management is not proactive enough on climate change issues. Moreover, large institutional investors have the power to pressurize companies and make them recognize that environmental and social issues have financial consequences. Every year, Larry Fink, BlackRock\u2019s CEO, writes a letter to companies<\/a> to outline important issues that shape the world. This year he has been very outspoken once again about the fact that climate change poses a material financial risk that companies need to understand, address and disclose on. Ultimately, climate change should be factored into the daily decision-making process of companies, just like addressing cyber security, customer behavior and product innovation.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=“subtitle“ module_id=“subtitle“ _builder_version=“4.16″ global_colors_info=“{}“]Do we need hard climate regulation?[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=“4.16″ global_colors_info=“{}“]<\/p>\n

On the other hand, if we want regulatory and policy action to happen at scale, we need rules and laws to ensure that climate change risk is priced into all actions that we take as citizens. We need disclosure frameworks that mandate companies to assess climate change as a risk as it could destabilize our economies and financial markets. The coronavirus pandemic is a good example of a nature based systemic risk that caused a great amount of economic disruption. If left unmanaged, the impacts of climate change could be equally bad or worse. The EU Action Plan on Sustainable Finance<\/a> is now mandating such disclosures under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)<\/a>, targeting investors as of this year.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=“subtitle“ module_id=“subtitle“ _builder_version=“4.16″ global_colors_info=“{}“]The recommendations of the TCFD[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=“4.16″ global_colors_info=“{}“]<\/p>\n

The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)<\/a> has laid out a framework for addressing climate change risks and opportunities along two major dimensions:<\/p>\n

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