9fin Featured Content

Allwyn — ESG QuickTake (19/04/2023)

TLDR: Total energy consumption has decreased significantly since 2019 despite revenue growth, but Allwyn does not report group total carbon emissions nor scope 3 emissions. Its net zero plans are more ambitious than peers but are incomplete. Allwyn does not report the breadth of safe-play initiatives for its gambling activities. Allwyn is currently involved in legal disputes.

Pharmanovia — ESG QuickTake (19/04/2023)

TLDR: Pharmanovia leads peers in its carbon reduction targets. It does not report the percentage of women on its board nor have gender diversity targets, but it performs better than its peers in some areas regarding gender diversity. Its cyber security policy reporting is limited, but reported no cyber security incidents in 2021.

Travelodge — ESG QuickTake (18/04/2023)

TLDR: Although Travelodge aims to be “net zero” its targets are not SBTi aligned. Its policies and actions on preventing human trafficking are less detailed and comprehensive than peers. As of 2023, there have been nine claims brought against the company from former employees under the UK Equality Act, however, Travelodge does not deem these claims as material. Travelodge’s cyber security measures are in line with good practice.

Kedrion — ESG QuickTake (18/04/2023)

TLDR: Kedrion reports limited information on its ESG initiatives. It says it is committed to reducing emissions. Kedrion and its subsidiary Bio Products Laboratory (BPL) have been involved in various ongoing investigations regarding corporate governance. In 2019, BPL was involved in a cyber attack.

Gruenenthal — ESG QuickTake (17/04/2023)

TLDR: A number of legal challenges remain following Gruenenthal’s sale of Thalidomide in the 1950s. In 2020 and 2022, the group recalled batches of hormonal contraceptives in Chile due to packaging defects. In 2019, the group paid a settlement of around €1.3m following an investigation of corruption and money laundering dating back to 2009. Gruenenthal has set a target to reach “net zero” scope 1 and 2 by 2030 (not in line with the SBTi’s definition of net zero). In 2021, 54.1% of Gruenenthal’s water consumption came from areas of high or extremely 

CABB — ESG QuickTake (17/04/2023)

TLDR: CABB's emissions reduction targets are less ambitious than its competitors and are not verified by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi). CABB has a target to increase gender diversity throughout its operations, but its Board of Directors' genders are not reported. Its lost time accident rate is higher than its competitors. CABB has good awareness of its compliance risks and has implemented several good practice measures to maintain compliance.

HY Company News

PSSI Loan Plunges After Cargill Ends Contracts Over Child Labor (17/04/2023)

Packers Sanitation Services Inc. loans were quoted down more than 10 points on Monday (17/04/2022) following news reports that Cargill Inc. terminated its contracts with the slaughterhouse cleaner following child labor violations, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

JBS to pay $25 mln in latest beef price-fixing settlement in US court (17/04/2023)

JBS SA has agreed to pay $25 million to commercial beef purchasers that accused the meat-packing company of conspiring with industry rivals to restrict market supply in order to keep prices artificially high. The proposed settlement in Minnesota federal court was disclosed on Friday from plaintiffs' lawyers representing a class of businesses that bought beef for food preparation since 2015.

EU ban on forever chemicals would hit bloc’s green transition, warns top industry boss (17/04/2023)

Europe will sabotage its chances of developing a green economy if it pushes ahead with proposals to ban so-called forever chemicals on health and safety grounds according to Mark Newman, head of Delaware-based Chemours. “The race to decarbonise through hydrogen is going to be thwarted” if the EU decided to ban a class of high-performance, long-lasting fluoropolymers known as PFAS. “You can’t have electric vehicles without fluoropolymers, you can’t have semiconductors,” said Newman.

News Stories

ECB warns banks are still failing on climate disclosures, and threatens action (21/04/2023)

Eurozone banks have been given a stern warning by the European Central Bank (ECB) that it is ready to act if they do not improve “insufficient” disclosures on climate ahead of rules coming into force this year. Non-compliance with new standards on climate-related disclosures would constitute a breach of EU law and trigger supervisory action, the ECB said in its latest analysis of banks’ disclosures.

EU hit with legal action over ‘green’ label for gas in taxonomy (19/04/2023)

Four environmental groups have taken legal action against the Europe Commission over its decision to label gas as “green” in the EU Taxonomy. On Tuesday, ClientEarth, the WWF European Policy Office, Transport & Environment, and Friends of the Earth Germany equivalent BUND filed a case in the Court of Justice of the European Union. They said they want a ruling that forces the commission to review the Taxonomy Delegated Act which classified some gas and nuclear activities as sustainable

Climate transition could hit quarter of credit ratings, says S&P (18/04/2023)

The climate transition could influence the credit rating of more than a quarter of rated companies, S&P Global has predicted. Since the beginning of last year, the ratings agency had downgraded ratings for Royal Schiphol Group (to 'A-/A-2' from 'A/A-1'), Enel Chile (to 'BBB' from 'BBB+') and Inversiones Latin America Power Limitada (to 'BB-' from 'BB'). S&P said Royal Schiphol was at heightened risk of environmental policy changes; Enel Chile was downgraded partly due to adverse weather and lower hydroelectric generation after drought; and Inversiones Latin America Power was hit by "intense drought combined with significant recent additional solar and wind capacity" which resulted in network congestion and "eroded" the project's financial performance.

US ESG Bond Market Chokes on Republican Backlash, Investor Angst (18/04/2023)

US sales of bonds designed to help companies do good are plunging amid pressure from investors and Republican politicians. Companies sold about $6 billion of bonds last quarter to pay for projects that help the environment, achieve a social goal, or improve their governance. That’s down more than 50% from the same time last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, which focused on companies outside the financial industry.

Mass ESG Fund Downgrades That Rocked Market May Be Reversed (17/04/2023)

A mass wave of downgrades that shocked investors as they watched Europe’s top ESG designation get stripped from almost $200bn in funds may now be reversed. Many of the reclassifications, which saw a coveted ESG tag known as Article 9 get wiped off €175bn ($192bn) in funds in late 2022, appear to have been unnecessary in light of new guidance from the European Commission. 

Regulatory Round-up

Ambitious EU green policy reforms approved despite backlash (18/04/2023)

The resistance against the EU’s ambitious environmental goals increased as the French Green party and other MEPs tried to block plans to put a carbon price on fuel used for transport and heating, but failed to prevent the sweeping proposed reforms. The European parliament on Tuesday backed the move to expand the emissions trading scheme but 167 MEPs, mainly from green, leftwing and far-right groups, voted against the plan, warning it would spark public opposition to rising energy costs.