Joseph Thavaraja – Page 2

26 May 23

When a Bud Lighting moment is outdone by a gaslighting moment

The spectacle of well-known brands getting ensnared in the unsavory porridge of wokery/ LGBTQ comms is becoming the order of the day. As the comms sector saw the cooling off of the controversial run on the Bud Light-Mulvaney episode, no less than Adidas AG, the German brand which is a global sportswear phenomenon, picked up the […]

18 May 23

Greening the ESG greenbacks via the developing world’s rainforest

Was it the weak banking sector outlook alone spurring the investor sellout of ESG assets, causing the asset decline? Or did Credit Suisse particularly have a bigger play on ESG assets, unlike other banks? It did. Unlike other banks, Credit Suisse was a leading player in a (very) less known ESG asset class. This asset […]

08 May 23

How the Collapse of Credit Suisse Has Highlighted the Unsustainability of ESG, the Global Sustainability Figurehead

Recently, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, Credit Suisse, collapsed after more than 160 years of its historic existence. Credit Suisse’s unexpected demise sent shockwaves across the global banking structure and cast a dour shadow on the all-time renowned Swiss banking system as well. “Credit Suisse’s … willingness to engage with clients that some other banks avoided…lost billions […]

23 Feb 23

Sri Lanka and CO2

A good piece of news is that Sri Lanka’s annual share of global CO₂ emissions remains very low. In 2020, it was a mere 0.06%. Still, the sudden rise in this share beginning in 1995 (at 0.02%) is a cause for concern having remained at 0.02% from 1950. The 45-year trend reversed in 1995 and […]

01 Feb 23

From CSR to ESG and then?

Back in the day, way before Sustainability or ESG concepts hit the mainstream, the ‘go to sustainability practice’ of many brands was Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In 1953, Howard Bowen (considered as the father of CSR) defined it as “the obligations of businessmen to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those […]

27 Jan 23

Sri Lanka and CO 2 (Part I)

The heavy use of fossil fuels has resulted in greenhouse gas emissions which warms up the atmosphere. The result is climate change driven by global warming. A leading gas among Greenhouse gases is Carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is not always produced artificially. Humans naturally exhale it and geographicsources such as volcanoes continuously emit it for […]

20 Jan 23

FESG; the Materiality of Money

Materiality does not flow only along non-financial aspects such as “diversity”. Financial Materiality too is important and is now gaining rapid acceptance amonginvestors who assess ESG performance. If an issue can impact the company’s financial performance, such an issue is a Financial Material Issue. A hefty, regulatory fine for ‘corporate misbehavior’ could be considered as […]

09 Jan 23

Sri Lanka’s vulnerability to climate change impacts

A country’s vulnerability to climate change can be found by the ND-GAIN Country Index (NDGCI). The World Bank highlights that Sri Lanka ranked 103 out of 181 countries in NDGCI in 2020. Sri Lanka is recognized as vulnerable to climate change impacts by the Bank. Sri Lanka’s weak ranking also implies that the country’s readiness […]

04 Jan 23

The “Governance Materiality”

The governance materiality pillar focuses on shareholder’s rights, board diversity, executive compensation, alignment of compensation to company’s sustainability performance, and “matters of corporate behavior” such as anti-competitive practices and corruption. It should be noted that some Companies may interchangeably use “Governance Materiality” along the lines of CSR. If the Board does not support governance materiality, […]

05 Dec 22

Societal materiality impacts differ firm to firm but should not be ignored

What is assessed in the societal view? Does this matter to society and does the company significantly impact on this topic? When it comes to defining attributes assessed in the societal view, the ESG impacts being assessed differ from business to business. It is not practical to apply a standard set of attributes or a […]