Asset owners can’t afford to sidestep sustainability

Active ownership by public investors is needed to drive transition

    • Disclosure frameworks and green criteria must be extended to support and integrate brown industries looking to transition towards a sustainable economy.
    • Disclosure frameworks and green criteria must be extended to support and integrate brown industries looking to transition towards a sustainable economy. PHOTO: BT FILE
    Published Wed, May 1, 2024 · 11:30 AM

    AS MECHANISMS for ensuring a sustainable economy rise on the financial sector’s agenda, the role of asset owners, and the allocation of trillions of capital required in the transition are increasingly under scrutiny.

    Pension funds and sovereign funds can play a pivotal role in steering investments through stewardship activities, scrutinising and benchmarking the targets of their portfolio and effectively holding them to account.

    Nevertheless, key barriers persist for public funds in taking this role.