What is Earth Day?
Earth Day was conceived in the wake of a major oil spill in 1969, which drew widespread attention to environmental issues and mobilised activists. It has been observed annually since 1970, when an estimated 20 million Americans took part in demonstrations and activities across the country.
Each year, Earth Day centres on a specific theme to highlight a key environmental issue. Previous themes have included Trees for Earth, End Plastic Pollution, and Environmental and Climate Education.
According to the Earth Day Organisation, the event is observed by an estimated one billion participants across more than 190 countries worldwide.
This year’s theme: “Our Power, Our Planet”
The organisers say this year’s “Our Power, Our Planet” theme reflects a “fundamental truth” – that “environmental progress doesn’t depend on any single administration or election”. They argue: “It’s sustained by daily actions of communities, educators, workers, and families protecting where they live and work.”
People are being encouraged to take action by, for example, supporting renewable energy initiatives, pushing for plant-based options, shopping local, going pesticide-free or switching to plastic-free products.
What has Earth Day got to do with investing?
Earth Day serves as a reminder that shifting consumer preferences toward sustainability can materially influence company performance and create investment opportunities investors cannot ignore. It also highlights that the planet’s finite resources carry real economic consequences, shaping both risks and opportunities for long-term investors.
In some cases, how wealth is deployed can play a meaningful role, too, with investors choosing to use their money to help catalyse transformation by backing solutions, enablers, and market leaders.
As a responsible investment team, we closely monitor a broad range of environmental, social and governance themes that can affect long-term value creation.
This naturally includes developments across renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, biomass and ocean power, which form core components of the global energy transition.
With global energy consumption continuing to rise, the development and adoption of alternative energy sources is expected to increase to support long-term energy security and continuity of supply.
In fact, the case for renewables could be even stronger in the context of the geopolitics surrounding the Iran war. Heightened tensions in the Middle East expose the vulnerability of global energy systems that rely on oil and gas flows through a small number of strategically sensitive chokepoints. Countries are increasingly recognising the need for energy independence and renewables can support in ensuring resilience.
But our scope goes beyond assessing solutions providers. We look at enablers of transition, sustainability improvers – products or assets with the potential to enhance sustainability over time, best-in-class sustainability operations – practices and strategies adopted by leading companies in ESG, and we seek to understand other systemic risks and their interdependencies.
The Global Risks Report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) consistently emphasises risks don’t occur in isolation – they’re interconnected and mutually reinforcing.
Beyond energy transition themes, we also assess resource efficiency, biodiversity loss, pollution impacts, labour practices and corporate governance, all of which can influence company resilience and investment outcomes.
What is responsible investing?
As Paris Jordan, Head of Responsible Investing, has said:
“Responsible Investing (RI) is far from a new concept, but its market importance has risen dramatically over the last decade, driving change in many investment decisions. As ESG enters its mature years, now in a formalised framework, we have seen the terms sustainability, engagement, impact, and transition become more mainstream in anticipation of the next evolutionary phase of RI. This demand has predominantly been driven by more visible climate-change impacts, greater interest driven by a younger generation, and a prioritisation of mitigating adverse performance outcomes for long-term investment horizons such as those found in pension funds.”
To find out more about our approach, visit our Responsible Investing page.
Nothing on this website should be construed as personal advice based on your circumstances. No news or research item is a personal recommendation to deal.
Our approach to Responsible Investing
Building wealth for the future is important, but increasingly people want their investments to do more than make money.
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