9fin Featured Content

Motor Fuel Group - ESG QuickTake (9fin) (06/03/2023)

TLDR: MFG falls behind peers in terms of emissions reduction targets and disclosures. Total scope 1 and 2 emissions for MFG increased marginally between 2020 and 2021. MFG has made greater progress than peers in EV charger deployment. Incidents that involve relevant oil supplier and retail and food partners could potentially impact MFG, although 9fin has not found evidence that MFG has been impacted in the past

Morrisons - ESG QuickTake (9fin) (03/03/2023)

TLDR: Morrisons lags behind competitors on setting a net zero target and has industry average GHG emissions targets. Its standing among supermarkets on plastics is mixed, with more recent reports putting it in the top third of comparable peers. In 2021, Morrisons received criticism relating to reports of animal cruelty on its farms. In 2023, it was convicted of health and safety failures.

Teva - ESG QuickTake (9fin) - Update (27/02/2023)

TLDR: Teva’s SPT 2 still doesn’t cover scope 3 emissions which accounted for 92% of Teva’s total emissions in 2021. Teva has made positive progress towards SPT 1a and SPT 2, however, 9fin found a lack of progress towards SPT 1b. In 2022, Teva finalised a $4.25bn settlement with around 2,500 local governments, states and tribes over the company’s role in the opioid epidemic. Teva reports a minimal step-up for failure to reach SPTs (10 bps).

News Stories

Brussels clamps down on ‘greenwashing’ in bond market (1/03/2023)

The EU has drawn up a set of standards to fight “greenwashing” in the bond market, the first step towards regulatory oversight for a fast-growing asset class that has so far largely governed itself. The deal reached late on Tuesday night between the European Commission, parliament and member states could eventually lead to a sharp reduction in the volume of debt allowed to carry a sustainable label, say analysts. To be labelled “green” under the new rules, 85 per cent of the funds raised by the issuance must be allocated to activities that align with the EU’s taxonomy, which defines sustainable investments within the bloc.

Biden vows to veto Republican attempt to block DoL ESG rule (1/03/2023)

US president Joe Biden has said he will veto a move by Republican politicians to undo a rule allowing retirement plans to consider ESG factors in investment decisions. In a vote split mostly along party lines members of the republican controlled house vetoed by 216-204 on Tuesday to approve a resolution that would nullify a recently introduced Department of Labor rule allowing retirement plan fiduciaries to consider climate and other ESG factors when they make investment and voting choices. 

European bosses hit easy targets for ‘green’ bonuses, pay report shows(25/02/2023)

Bosses at Europe’s largest companies received “surprisingly high” bonus levels for meeting goals to cut carbon emissions in 2022, easily achieving their targets despite inadequate progress on global warming, the latest executive pay expert report finds. More than three-quarters of Europe’s 50 largest companies now include some form of carbon target in their executive pay packages, a new report from PwC and the London Business School said. However, the robustness of these targets and the ease at which business leaders were being awarded their “green” bonuses was called into question by the study.

UK Regulator Bans Lufthansa Ad Over Misleading Climate Claims (01/03/2023)

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned Lufthansa from using an ad in which it claimed to "protect the future of the earth". The advertising authority found the claim to be misleading as it did not reflect the full picture of Lufthansa's carbon footprint and argued that the airline had not provided sufficient evidence to support its assertion. The ruling follows a complaint from a member of the public and is part of a wider crackdown by the ASA on greenwashing in advertising.

Germany and Italy stall EU ban on combustion engines (03/03/2023)

Germany and Italy are opposing the European Union's (EU) proposed ban on combustion engine cars by 2035. The EU had planned to announce the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles as part of its Green Deal initiative to combat climate change. However, Germany and Italy are demanding exemptions for cars that run on synthetic fuels. The delay is seen as a setback for the EU's climate goals, and environmental campaigners have criticised the move.