In August the European Electric Car Report signals that during the first seven months of 2020 the West European electric passenger car market outpaced that of China. Europe bought half a million electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) cars in the first half of 2020 and is on track to sell a million plug-in cars this year for the first … more
On 14 July BlackRock reports that it has taken action against investee companies for climate inaction. It has put 244 companies “on watch” for insufficient progress on climate issues and taken voting action at the AGMs of 53 companies over climate issues, largely through voting against the re-election of directors. This comes after a coalition of shareholders – including public pension … more
On 19 June Markus Braun, CEO of Wirecard, announces his resignation as details of large-scale fraud unfolds at what was one of Europe`s most valued fintech companies. The group for the first time acknowledges the scale of a multiyear accounting fraud, warning that €1.9bn of cash on its balance sheet probably does “not exist”. Its shares collapse by more than 80%. … more
On 12 May the World Business Council for Sustainable Development reports that its members who demonstrate taking ESG factors into account have been beating major stock exchange benchmarks by 4.3 – 9.4% in 2020 up to the end of April. Its listed members in Europe beat the STOXX Europe 600 benchmark by a margin of 4.3%. Member companies from China … more
In an interview with BCG and an opinion on Forbes published 19 April, Oxford Professor Bob Eccles discusses the meaning of dynamic materiality in COVID times. He describes COVID in terms of boosting the salience of certain topics (e.g. employee health & safety) and illustrating event-driven materiality. While he supports the SASB approach of determining materiality on an industry sector … more
On 19 March the WEF with Boston Consulting Group publishes a white paper on “The New Age of Materiality: Harnessing the Pace of Change in ESG”. It notes a new trend for investors to build their capacity to more accurately assess which environmental and social issues will become material over time, and integrate these forward‐looking perspectives into investment decisions. It … more
On 20 February the IIRC launches a revision of its Integrated Reporting <IR> Framework. A key question remains target audience. The current Framework determines “the providers of financial capital” as the primary users of <IR>. Some feel this should be expanded to stakeholders broadly (providers of all types of capital). Implied is whether materiality is ultimately determined with reference to … more
On 5 January the WHO publishes its first Disease Outbreak News on a new coronavirus identified following a reported cluster of cases in Wuhan, China. On 12 January China publicly shares the genetic sequence of COVID-19. Evidence of human-to-human transmission mounts. A WHO delegation visits China and its Emergency Committee convenes. On 30 January WHO reports 7818 total confirmed cases worldwide, the … more
