The REP Wrap: Hedge funds are shorting green businesses
Your weekly summary of corporate sustainability news.
Hedge funds are betting against green businesses, according to Bloomberg News. Around 500 hedge funds disclosed their positions to data firm Hazeltree, and the results suggest that more of them are short than long when it comes to batteries, solar energy, hydrogen and electric vehicles. For oil, gas and coal, on the other hand, more of them are long than short. Bloomberg claims investors are not convinced climate investments are worth the money, after greentech and clean energy stocks lagged the overall market.
Canada’s competition watchdog has published the 200+ responses it received to a consultation on greenwashing provisions added to the Competition Act in June. Under the new rules, businesses must be able to prove certain environmental claims. The Competition Bureau asked the market for their opinion and says the responses will “inform its future enforcement guidance about environmental claims”. According to KPMG, around a third of the public replies were submitted by industry organisations, with another 15% each from NGOs and individuals. 14% came from companies in the energy and resources sector.
The European Council has called on the EU to “change the paradigm of manufacturing” to move the region to a circular economy. In a draft of the new Budapest Declaration on the New European Competitiveness Deal, Thérèse Blanchet, the General Secretariat of the Council, said it would “develop an integrated market for secondary materials” and called for quick progress to ensure sustainable practices and innovation become part of the economic framework. The declaration also stresses the need for greener agriculture and energy systems, and reiterates the need to reduce reporting requirements for companies, especially SMEs. The draft is expected to be formalised at a meeting of heads of state on November 8.
NYU Stern has published recommendations on how to strengthen corporate standards on human rights. The US business school says firms should engage openly with governments on the subject, and set up internal controls ahead of regulation being implemented.
Meanwhile, investors have written to the CEOs of the UK’s largest companies asking for better disclosure on workforce issues. Pension fund Railpen, and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association want more evidence that firms are treating their staff well, citing “several commitments from the new government in relation to the UK labour market, and the likely future public policy focus on workforce reforms”.