Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Criteria for Consultants and Clients
Announcements from the International Actuarial Association: Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria have rapidly become essential components in investment processes and strategies for investment managers, pension funds and other entities around the world. The driver is long term investment performance and avoiding the traps which a short term mindset may engender. At the same time there is a recognition that pension scheme members, company shareholders and customers, and other stakeholders increasingly expect investment institutions to take account of their wider responsibilities to the economy, society and the environment. Actuaries need to be involved to truly work for the benefit of societies and to be part of the response to these concerns.
Whilst climate change is generally the most important, ESG also covers a variety of issues which may have a bearing in screening and analyzing investments. Environmental criteria include pollution and waste. Social criteria could involve health & safety, and child or forced labor. Governance may deal with a company’s leadership, executive pay, audits, corruption and shareholder rights.
This webinar will present experts discussing the why and how of ESG, and the implications and opportunities for actuaries.
Click here to make a reservation (it is free of charge for Members of any IAA Section and €50 for others)
Once successfully registered, you will receive an automated response which will include a link to use to login on the day of the webinar.
If you cannot attend the live event, we understand that a recording will be made available on actuview and on the IAA youtube channel within a few weeks afterwards.
Esko Kivisaari
Esko is a fellow of the Actuarial Society of Finland and the penultimate chairperson of the Actuarial Association of Europe. He is working as the vice managing director of Finance Finland, the industry lobby of insurers, banks, and other financial actors. Kivisaari was a member of the 2017 High-level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance of the European Commission. He has continued his activity in sustainable finance for example with the article ‘Sustainable Finance and Prudential Regulation of Financial Institutions’ in the book ‘Making the Financial System Sustainable’ edited by Paul G. Fisher and published by Cambridge University Press in 2020.
Paul Meins
Paul is an independent consultant, a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, and former Vice-Chair of its Resource & Environment Board. He was the lead author of “Decarbonisation: a Briefing for Actuaries” published by the IAA in November 2018 and “Pension Fund ESG Risk Disclosures” published by the IAA in December 2020.
Sarah Wilson
Sarah is the founder and CEO of Minerva Analytics, the UK’s independent ESG research and proxy voting agency. Minerva builds on the foundations of Manifest Information Services Ltd with a new suite of ESG voting support tools for active owners. Over the past 30 years, Sarah has been closely involved in the development of innovation in the independent research industry, including the creation of the first electronic proxy voting message standards and the development of Europe’s premier database of objective governance profiles of 95% of the world's companies by value. Minerva’s research and data are widely used by global regulators, asset owners, asset managers, and academics to support their investigation into the impact of ESG developments. Sarah has recently been appointed Vice-Chair of the Government’s Taskforce on Pension Scheme Voting Implementation https://tpsvi.org/