![]() ![]() The trust our clients place in us, and our role as the link between our clients and the companies they invest in, gives us a great responsibility to advocate on their behalf. It is their money we manage, not our own. Most of the money we manage is for retirement – for individuals and pension beneficiaries like teachers, firefighters, doctors, businesspeople, and many others. As this market shift continues to unfold, rapid technological advancements and financial innovations are challenging the outdated perception of sustainability and cost-reduction as strictly competing priorities.BlackRock is a fiduciary to our clients, helping them invest for long-term goals. Today, over 130 companies around the globe have committed to going 100 percent renewable, and almost half of the Fortune 500 have set renewable energy or carbon emissions reduction targets. The steep drop in prices for renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies has created nationwide opportunities for high-return projects, which can often be structured as cash-flow positive agreements that shield customers from operational risks. Since 2009, wind farm costs have decreased by 67 percent, while utility-scale solar has seen an 86 percent decline – and corporate renewables procurement has surged in response. In recent years, the cost of energy projects that address these concerns have plummeted due to falling technology prices. ![]() For most businesses, the ways in which energy is purchased and consumed is the primary source of carbon emissions. The good news: incorporating sustainability no longer requires forfeiting returns. As these aggressive targets are rolled out across their operations, the suppliers that exist within these value chains will be heavily impacted by these policies and must begin to plan accordingly. In the past two months alone, companies such as McDonald’s, Walmart and P&G have each made formal announcements of plans to significantly reduce emissions throughout their supply chains by 2030. While the challenges that Fink alludes to in his letter are exceedingly broad in scope and are in no way limited to environmental sustainability, our clients are already receiving pressure from key customers to address environmental concerns in particular. The rise of ESG investing, together with growing demands from shareholders and customers for businesses to embrace social responsibility, will have lasting impacts on how companies make operational decisions. From a business perspective, exercising leadership on these issues is an opportunity to manage risk, drive investor confidence, improve brand image and build strong relationships with employees and the community – all of which are conducive to long-term value creation. This message from BlackRock coincides with a trend of increasing awareness in the larger investment community of the value in incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decisions.Īs an investment strategy, ESG analysis is largely a risk management tool that weighs exposure to important societal issues, including employee relations, data privacy, carbon emissions and much more. In the letter, Fink urged executives to acknowledge the societal impacts of their businesses and to use this understanding to inform their shorter-term decisions.įink argues that companies without a sense of purpose – those that are unwilling to respond to broader social challenges – will succumb to short-term pressures to distribute earnings, and forgo investments needed for long-term growth. How your corporate energy strategy can demonstrate a commitment to sustainability while driving savings.īy Mike Muoio, ISG Enterprise Energy SolutionsīlackRock CEO Larry Fink, co-founder of the firm that has since become the largest asset manager in the world, made waves in January with his latest annual letter to CEOs. ![]()
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