{"id":3584,"date":"2022-10-31T14:20:42","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T13:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/sustainable-investment-fully-fledged-but-toothless\/"},"modified":"2025-01-07T15:59:36","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T14:59:36","slug":"sustainable-investment-fully-fledged-but-toothless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/sustainable-investment-fully-fledged-but-toothless\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable investment: fully fledged, but toothless?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">let processScroll = () => {\n\tlet docElem = document.documentElement, \n\t\tdocBody = document.body,\n\t\tscrollTop = docElem['scrollTop'] || docBody['scrollTop'],\n    \tscrollBottom = (docElem['scrollHeight'] || docBody['scrollHeight']) - window.innerHeight - window.innerHeight,\n\t\tscrollPercent = scrollTop \/ scrollBottom * 100 + '%';\n\t\/\/ console.log(scrollTop + ' \/ ' + scrollBottom + ' \/ ' + scrollPercent);\n    document.getElementById(\"progress-bar\").style.setProperty(\"--scrollAmount\", scrollPercent);\t\n}\ndocument.addEventListener('scroll', processScroll);\n\njQuery(function ($) {\n    var project1 = $('.post-sidebar').offset();\n    var $window = $(window);\n    \n    $window.scroll(function() {\n        if ( $window.scrollTop() >= project1.top) {\n            $(\".post-sidebar-inner\").addClass(\"sticky\");\n        }\n        if ( $window.scrollTop() <= project1.top) {\n            $(\".post-sidebar-inner\").removeClass(\"sticky\");\n        }\n    });\t\t\t\n});\n\n\/*!\nName: Reading Time\nDependencies: jQuery\nAuthor: Michael Lynch\nAuthor URL: http:\/\/michaelynch.com\nDate Created: August 14, 2013\nDate Updated: April 30, 2018\nLicensed under the MIT license\n*\/\n\njQuery(function ($) {\n\n\t$.fn.readingTime = function(options) {\n\n\t\t\/\/ define default parameters\n\t\tconst defaults = {\n\t\t\treadingTimeTarget: '.eta',\n\t\t\treadingTimeAsNumber: false,\n\t\t\twordCountTarget: null,\n\t\t\twordsPerMinute: 270,\n\t\t\tround: true,\n\t\t\tlang: 'en',\n\t\t\tlessThanAMinuteString: 'test',\n\t\t\tprependTimeString: '',\n\t\t\tprependWordString: '',\n\t\t\tremotePath: null,\n\t\t\tremoteTarget: null,\n\t\t\tsuccess: function() {},\n\t\t\terror: function() {}\n\t\t};\n\n\t\tconst plugin = this;\n\t\tconst el = $(this);\n\n\t\tlet wordsPerSecond;\n\t\tlet lessThanAMinute;\n\t\tlet minShortForm;\n\n\t\tlet totalWords;\n\t\tlet totalReadingTimeSeconds;\n\n\t\tlet readingTimeMinutes;\n\t\tlet readingTimeSeconds;\n\t\tlet readingTime;\n\t\tlet readingTimeObj;\n\n\t\t\/\/ merge defaults and options\n\t\tplugin.settings = $.extend({}, defaults, options);\n\n\t\t\/\/ define vars\n\t\tconst s = plugin.settings;\n\n\t\tconst setTime = function(o) {\n\n\t\t\tif(o.text !== '') {\n\t\t\t\tif (s.lang == \"zh\") {\n\t\t\t\t\tlet text = o.text.trim();\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ step 1: count the number of Chinese characters\n\t\t\t\t\tconst charArray = text.match(\/[\\u4e00-\\u9fa5]\/g);\n\t\t\t\t\tlet charCount = 0;\n\t\t\t\t\tif (charArray != null) {\n\t\t\t\t\t\tcharCount = charArray.length;\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ step 2: replace all the Chinese characters with blank\n\t\t\t\t\ttext = text.replace(\/[\\u4e00-\\u9fa5]\/g, \" \");\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ step 3:replace newlines with blank\n\t\t\t\t\ttext = text.replace(\/[\\r\\n]\/g, \" \");\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ step 4:replace special characters with blank\n\t\t\t\t\ttext = text.replace(\/\\W+\/g, \" \");\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ step 5: count the number of total English words\n\t\t\t\t\tconst totalEnWords = text.trim().split(\/\\s+\/g).length;\n\t\t\t\t\ttotalWords = totalEnWords + charCount;\n\t\t\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/split text by spaces to define total words\n\t\t\t\t\ttotalWords = o.text.trim().split(\/\\s+\/g).length;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\t\/\/define words per second based on words per minute (s.wordsPerMinute)\n\t\t\t\twordsPerSecond = s.wordsPerMinute \/ 60;\n\n\t\t\t\t\/\/define total reading time in seconds\n\t\t\t\ttotalReadingTimeSeconds = totalWords \/ wordsPerSecond;\n\n\t\t\t\t\/\/ define reading time\n\t\t\t\treadingTimeMinutes = Math.floor(totalReadingTimeSeconds \/ 60);\n\n\t\t\t\t\/\/ define remaining reading time seconds\n\t\t\t\treadingTimeSeconds = Math.round(totalReadingTimeSeconds - (readingTimeMinutes * 60));\n\n\t\t\t\t\/\/ format reading time\n\t\t\t\treadingTime = `${readingTimeMinutes}:${readingTimeSeconds}`;\n\t\t\t\t\/\/ if s.round\n\t\t\t\tif(s.round) {\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ if minutes are greater than 0\n\t\t\t\t\tif(readingTimeMinutes > 0) {\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ set reading time by the minute\n\t\t\t\t\t\t$(s.readingTimeTarget).text(s.prependTimeString + readingTimeMinutes + ((!s.readingTimeAsNumber) ? ' ' + minShortForm : ''));\n\n\t\t\t\t\t} else {\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ set reading time as less than a minute\n\t\t\t\t\t\t$(s.readingTimeTarget).text((!s.readingTimeAsNumber) ? s.prependTimeString + lessThanAMinute : readingTimeMinutes);\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\t} else {\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ set reading time in minutes and seconds\n\t\t\t\t\t$(s.readingTimeTarget).text(s.prependTimeString + readingTime);\n\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\t\/\/ if word count container isn't blank or undefined\n\t\t\t\tif(s.wordCountTarget !== '' && s.wordCountTarget !== undefined) {\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ set word count\n\t\t\t\t\t$(s.wordCountTarget).text(s.prependWordString + totalWords);\n\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\treadingTimeObj = {\n\t\t\t\t\twpm: s.wordsPerMinute,\n\t\t\t\t\twords: totalWords,\n\t\t\t\t\teta: {\n\t\t\t\t\t\ttime: readingTime,\n\t\t\t\t\t\tminutes: readingTimeMinutes,\n\t\t\t\t\t\tseconds: totalReadingTimeSeconds\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t};\n\n\t\t\t\t\/\/ run success callback\n\t\t\t\ts.success.call(this, readingTimeObj);\n\n\t\t\t} else {\n\n\t\t\t\t\/\/ run error callback\n\t\t\t\ts.error.call(this, {\n\t\t\t\t\terror: 'The element does not contain any text'\n\t\t\t\t});\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t};\n\n\t\t\/\/ if no element was bound\n\t\tif(!this.length) {\n\n\t\t\t\/\/ run error callback\n\t\t\ts.error.call(this, {\n\t\t\t\terror: 'The element could not be found'\n\t\t\t});\n\n\t\t\t\/\/ return so chained events can continue\n\t\t\treturn this;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t\/\/ Use switch instead of ifs\n\t\tswitch (s.lang) {\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Arabic\n\t\t\tcase 'ar':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"\u0623\u0642\u0644 \u0645\u0646 \u062f\u0642\u064a\u0642\u0629\";\n        minShortForm = '\u062f\u0642\u064a\u0642\u0629';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Czech\n\t\t\tcase 'cz':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"M\u00e9n\u011b ne\u017e minutu\";\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Danish\n\t\t\tcase 'da':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"Mindre end et minut\";\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is German\n      case 'de':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"Weniger als eine Minute\";\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Spanish\n      case 'es':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"Menos de un minuto\";\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is French\n      case 'fr':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"Moins d'une minute\";\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Hungarian\n      case 'hu':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"Kevesebb mint egy perc\";\n        minShortForm = 'perc';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Icelandic\n      case 'is':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"Minna en eina m\u00edn\u00fatu\";\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Italian\n      case 'it':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"Meno di un minuto\";\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Dutch\n      case 'nl':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"Minder dan een minuut\";\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Norwegian\n      case 'no':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"Mindre enn ett minutt\";\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Polish\n      case 'pl':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"Mniej ni\u017c minut\u0119\";\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Russian\n      case 'ru':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"\u041c\u0435\u043d\u044c\u0448\u0435 \u043c\u0438\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044b\";\n        minShortForm = '\u043c\u0438\u043d';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Slovak\n      case 'sk':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"Menej ne\u017e min\u00fatu\";\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Swedish\n      case 'sv':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"Mindre \u00e4n en minut\";\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Turkish\n      case 'tr':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"Bir dakikadan az\";\n        minShortForm = 'dk';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Ukrainian\n      case 'uk':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || \"\u041c\u0435\u043d\u0448\u0435 \u0445\u0432\u0438\u043b\u0438\u043d\u0438\";\n        minShortForm = '\u0445\u0432';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Greek\n\t\t\tcase 'el':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || '\u039b\u03b9\u03b3\u03cc\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf \u03b1\u03c0\u03cc \u03bb\u03b5\u03c0\u03c4\u03cc';\n        minShortForm = '\u03bb\u03b5\u03c0\u03c4\u03ac';\n        break;\n            \/\/ if s.lang is Portuguese\n            case 'pt-BR':\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || 'Menos de um minuto';\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n\t\tbreak;\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.lang is Korean\n\t\t\tcase 'kr':\n\t\tlessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || '1\ubd84 \uc774\ud558';\n\t\tminShortForm = '\ubd84';\n        break;\n\t\t\t\/\/ default s.lang in english\n\t\t\tdefault:\n        lessThanAMinute = s.lessThanAMinuteString || 'Less than a minute';\n        minShortForm = 'min';\n    }\n\n\t\t\/\/ for each element\n\t\tel.each(function(index) {\n\n\t\t\t\/\/ if s.remotePath and s.remoteTarget aren't null\n\t\t\tif(s.remotePath != null && s.remoteTarget != null) {\n\n\t\t\t\t\/\/ get contents of remote file\n\t\t\t\t$.get(s.remotePath, function(data) {\n\t\t\t\t\tlet wrapper = document.createElement('div');\n\n\t\t\t\t\twrapper.innerHTML = data;\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ set time using the remote target found in the remote file\n\t\t\t\t\tsetTime({\n\t\t\t\t\t\ttext: $(wrapper).find(s.remoteTarget).text()\n\t\t\t\t\t});\n\t\t\t\t});\n\n\t\t\t} else {\n\n\t\t\t\t\/\/ set time using the targeted element\n\t\t\t\tsetTime({\n\t\t\t\t\ttext: el.text()\n\t\t\t\t});\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t});\n\n\t\treturn true;\n\t}\n});\n\njQuery(function ($) {\n\n\t$('#post-content').readingTime({\n\t\treadingTimeAsNumber: true,\n\t\twordsPerMinute: 200,\n\t\tround: false,\n\t\tlang: 'de',\n\t\t\n        success: function(data) {\n\t\t\tconsole.log(data);\n\t\t},\n\t\terror: function(data) {\n\t\t\tconsole.log(data.error);\n\t\t\t$('.reading-time').remove();\n\t\t}\n\t});\n});\n\n<\/script><section id=\"post-content\" class=\"custom-block section-post-content pt-medium pb-medium bg-white text-body\"><div class=\"wrapper-wide\"><div class=\"section-inner\"><div class=\"row g-0\"><div class=\"col-sm-20 offset-sm-2 col-lg-5 offset-lg-2 order-lg-2\"><div class=\"post-sidebar\"><div class=\"post-sidebar-inner pb-medium pb-lg-0\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"col-sm-20 offset-sm-2 col-lg-12 offset-lg-2 order-lg-1\"><div id=\"post-content\" class=\"pb-medium\"><div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sustainability in the mainstream<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One thing is for sure: the market for sustainable investment has shown a remarkable development over its first couple of decades. No one, including myself, could have anticipated the path it would take when it first appeared at the end of the last millennium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was not so long ago that most investors gave social and environmental information a wide berth, with ethically-motivated investors having to go the extra mile to find an asset manager who would take their concerns seriously. I still remember presentations to financial market participants in the late 1990s that produced little more than reactions of pity: sustainability ratings as a business model were beyond the imagination of those present. Today, the topic has become mainstream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most assets worldwide are managed with at least some ESG aspects in mind, and sustainability has found its way into the risk models of major asset managers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A similar development has revealed itself among companies: 25\u00a0years ago, ESG transparency and dedicated management structures were still rare \u2013 even among large listed companies \u2013 and firms with environmental officers were considered decidedly progressive. Today, it is about sustainability in the core business and the question of whether a business model will hold its own in ten or 15\u00a0years\u2019 time amid a dynamically changing environment. CFOs are suddenly turning their attention to ESG. That would have been inconceivable just a few years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sustainable investment \u2013 a success story?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With enormous volumes flowing into ESG assets, it is tempting to blithely join the widespread mutual back-patting, common especially on the financial markets, but it is imperative not to become complacent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What we should do, however, is take a quick look at the original intention of sustainable investment, namely contributing to the environmental (later \u201csustainable\u201d) transformation of the economy. An idea that is more relevant than ever, for EU regulation has precisely this in mind \u2013 to use the financial market\u2019s enormous leverage to systematically and comprehensively redirect financial flows towards more sustainable business models, and get a grip on the far-reaching environmental and social problems that have taken our planet to its limits and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let us turn back to the question at hand: is sustainable investment a success story?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The financial market and its steering effect<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It is widely acknowledged that an increasing number of sustainability factors has a direct impact on the economic success and future viability of companies: be it climate change-induced droughts, forest fires and floods disrupting supply chains in the food industry, political decisions to combat global warming challenging business fields in the energy and mobility sectors, or the disregard for human rights in many regions of this world resulting in regulations such as the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains. And the list is endless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is only logical that more and more investors are considering precisely these aspects in their investment decisions in order to minimise risks or actively seize opportunities. This realignment of the definition of financial risks has already started to have a certain steering effect in the market, and companies that ignore these risks will find it difficult to raise equity or debt capital at favourable conditions in the medium- to long term. The result is an economy that is forced to act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">No reason for complacency<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the speed of developments we are witnessing, I cannot conceal a certain impatience on my part with the actors. Although the leverage of the financial market and the penetration of ESG in investment decisions are great per se, our planet\u2019s life-support systems are persistently evolving in the wrong direction \u2013 away from a sustainable development in the literal sense of the word towards a self-reinforcing negative development in universal fields such as climate, biodiversity and drinking water. The financial market leverage has obviously not worked so far, or not sufficiently. What is more: I see the danger that the omnipresence of sustainability in the media creates an illusion of progress and effectiveness that makes us close our eyes to the urgency of the problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of the day, we have no other choice than to create a global economy and way of life that makes do with the resources of ONE planet instead of 1.8\u00a0planets as is currently the case \u2013 a realisation as simple as it is existential. Our success hinges on whether we can achieve a new honesty in the market, instead of the complacent \u201cwe-have-everything-under-control\u201d narrative. Beyond that, we need substantially more impact. Investment decisions must directly and measurably lead to markedly greater motivation \u2013 or even push \u2013 for companies, infrastructure projects, or real estate developers to embrace sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though there will always be constellations in which opportunistic short-term investors and entrepreneurs can make a profit from coal, oil or other unsustainable activities at the expense of the general public, the fact remains: in the face of climate change, hardly anyone could disagree that our actions must consider future generations. And for this, a financial market that takes responsibility is key. A mature and courageous financial market, one that\u2019s willing to change, one that seriously pushes the issue. A financial market that casts aside its hesitance and fear of commitment, and shows its teeth.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"tag-list-container pt-3\"><div class=\"tag-list\"><p class=\"mb-1 small\">Related topics<\/p><ul class=\"tag-list small\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/tag\/csr-en\/\" rel=\"tag\">CSR<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/tag\/esg-en\/\" rel=\"tag\">ESG<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/tag\/matthias-boenning-en\/\" rel=\"tag\">Matthias B\u00f6nning<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/tag\/sustainability-en\/\" rel=\"tag\">Sustainability<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":3335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[48,41,108,42],"class_list":["post-3584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sustainability","tag-csr-en","tag-esg-en","tag-matthias-boenning-en","tag-sustainability-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3584"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3988,"href":"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3584\/revisions\/3988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e3holding.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}