Achieving Sustainability

COP preview: managing expectations

As COP 29 and COP 16 approach, we explore expectations for both against the backdrop of political intensity and ever rising global temperatures.

Achieving Sustainability

Rewiring technology for sustainable growth

Technology brings new opportunities, but also sustainability challenges. The sector must balance both for an improved sustainability footprint.

Avoided emissions: how investors can judge companies’ net-zero credentials

Investors can turn to “avoided emissions” – the positive impact of a more sustainable product or service – to assess which potential investments can make the most significant contribution to achieving the net-zero mission.

COP 28 review: beginning of the end?

The hard-fought final COP 28 agreement exceeded our modest expectations but falls significantly short of what may be needed amid escalating climate risks.

Climate change: banking on a greener future?

The banking sector is exposed to the risks of climate change through its financial activities, far more than its operations, and has much to gain from opening up opportunities in the economic transition. As scrutiny around climate transition strategies rises, structured engagement has a pivotal role to play in assessing banks’ readiness to meet this challenge.

COP 28 preview: taking the temperature

This year’s UN Climate Change Conference – COP 28 – starts in late November in Dubai. From heatwaves and health to the role of trade and climate change, find out what’s on the agenda.

Investing in the energy transition: what institutional debt investors should consider

The global shift toward sustainable energy has sparked a need for investments in energy transition assets. What types of assets and investment opportunities are available for institutional debt investors?

Power of 3: why Scope 3 emissions matter

What are Scope 3 emissions? In simple terms, they are the greenhouse gas emissions generated across a company’s value chain – both before and after its own operations. Though complex, measuring and managing Scope 3 emissions is – in our view – essential if net zero by 2050 is to be achieved.

Supercharging clean energy storage capacities

Investing in companies that develop clean energy storage solutions can contribute to shape the energy transition and open investment opportunities.

Renewable energy: the 2050 remix

While last year was transformative for renewable energy, fossil fuel subsidies and interest rate rises pose a threat to the future renewable energy mix.

How climate risk integration is disrupting the Chinese investment landscape

That investors should care about climate risk seems like a statement of the obvious; acceptance of the potential dangers of climate change and the need to accelerate the green transition are now widely accepted among policy makers, financial market participants, and beyond.

Achieving Sustainability

Investing in the energy transition: need to know guide

What is the energy transition? The energy transition describes the passage from the world’s mainly still fossil fuel-based energy sector to a zero-carbon emission sector.

Fuelling a new climate response

Commitment to sustainability has been tested this year against a backdrop of war, economic slowdown, and surging energy prices. Despite the difficulties, we believe these problems will ultimately serve to accelerate the energy transition and prompt investors to double down on opportunities for sustainable investing.

COP 27 preview: regaining momentum

COP 27 (The UN Climate Change Conference) takes place in Egypt in November, providing a check-in on global progress towards net zero in a year dominated by economic and geopolitical pressures. There are reasons to be optimistic.

Nuclear and gas in the EU taxonomy: what this means for the energy mix of tomorrow

The energy crisis prompted by the war in Ukraine has led to a reappraisal of the energy transition and thrust two contentious sources of power – nuclear and gas – into the spotlight. Does their inclusion in the EU taxonomy of sustainable investments bring clarity to their future role in the energy mix?

Going round in circles – the value of waste

A scarcity of raw materials and an abundance of waste are significant challenges for the planet. A circular economy could be a transformative solution, but it will require a radical rethink of the existing take-make-waste economy and the entire product lifecycle that goes far beyond recycling. What are the opportunities for investors?

Financing the future of nature: investor guide to biodiversity

View our investor guide to biodiversity to find out more.

Defining the rules of engagement to protect biodiversity

With rising investor awareness of the need to protect nature and biodiversity, engagement with companies is essential to scope the risks and opportunities.

Addressing the water storage gap

Learn how investments in enablers and beneficiaries of sustainable water storage solutions can offer attractive opportunities.

Deforestation: getting to the root of the problem

The statement “there is no net zero without nature” has become a rallying cry for greater action against deforestation, but what role can investors play?

It’s a waste to throw it out: Circular Food Economy as an Investment Opportunity

Investing in companies that help turning food waste into a circular system can contribute to address food insecurity and open investment opportunities.

Water in 2023 – is history repeating or just rhyming?

Dry weather patterns and historic low water levels showcase the urgency to ramp up investments in providers of water resiliency solutions.

Tackling the biodiversity challenge

To consider how investors should think about biodiversity, Allianz Global Investors partnered with Reuters Events on a whitepaper exploring the conservation crisis – and the value of a sustainable approach to investing.

Liquid capital: how investors should tackle the water crisis

We expect investors to intensify their focus on the water crisis by screening portfolios for water risks or identifying possible solutions providers.

The conservation crisis: seven takeaways from COP 15

With a race against time to save many of the world’s species from extinction, countries around the world agreed a plan at the recent COP 15 meeting to respond to the conservation crisis. But the agreement’s success depends on strong collaboration by all stakeholders, with a focus on aligning financial flows with global biodiversity targets and tackling climate change and biodiversity loss as two parts of the same crisis.

COP 15 preview: the “Paris moment” for nature?

We expect biodiversity to be a major theme for investors in 2023, after the recent COP 27 formally acknowledged the link between the climate and biodiversity crises – as underscored by severe weather events this year. We hope that the upcoming COP 15 – a conference dedicated to biodiversity – will agree a global biodiversity framework for the coming decade that will live up to high expectations.

Food security and the disruptive power of regenerative agriculture

The traditional approach to increasing yields in agriculture relies on seeking incremental gains via refining existing processes and making more efficient use of capital; for instance, by way of improving fertilizers and pest control, or using bigger and better machinery.

Achieving Sustainability

Engaging to shape a strong workforce

Investors have prioritised climate change and corporate governance over social issues. But, employee-related social concerns are moving into the spotlight.

Climate change: banking on a greener future?

The banking sector is exposed to the risks of climate change through its financial activities, far more than its operations, and has much to gain from opening up opportunities in the economic transition. As scrutiny around climate transition strategies rises, structured engagement has a pivotal role to play in assessing banks’ readiness to meet this challenge.

Proxy voting season 2023: four key takeaways

While standard governance topics dominated voting, we see increasing relevance of environmental and social aspects. Read our four voting season takeaways.

Defining the rules of engagement to protect biodiversity

With rising investor awareness of the need to protect nature and biodiversity, engagement with companies is essential to scope the risks and opportunities.

Putting the “active” into active stewardship

Investors can play a big role in addressing some of the challenges the world faces. This extends beyond simply investing money in companies with the “best” sustainability credentials. The most impact may come from investing in those companies that have more work still to do.

Say on Climate: does it measure up?

Say on Climate can be a helpful tool for investors. We explore the lessons learned, how it varies from “Say on Pay”, and share our viewpoint.

Shaping US practice through shareholder resolutions

Record numbers of shareholder resolutions in 2022 have once again demonstrated their important role in the shaping of sustainability and governance practices in the US. Allianz Global Investors recognises its role in the development by having a strong – and regularly evolving – voting policy aligned with themes it deems important.

Why German companies should embrace the role of lead independent director

Recent examples of German supervisory boards adding the role of lead independent director (LID) are useful role models for their peers. A LID can help strengthen trust and improve communication between boards and investors. Additionally, it should foster independent, transparent and well-communicated succession planning, which can be lacking among German companies.

Addressing executive pay in the US technology sector

Listed US technology companies often continue to be run by their founders, who also retain large or majority shareholdings. This situation can lead to questions over their compensation policies. Regardless of the type of ownership, concerns are exacerbated when boards fail to read the expectations of shareholders, evidenced by poor outcomes at shareholder meetings, and this requires active investors to engage directly with the board.

Oil & gas majors: active stewardship rather than divestment

The best way for investors to ensure that oil majors become enablers of the global transition to net zero by 2050 could be through concerted engagement. The world must urgently expand its clean energy sources, and we believe divestment would do little to achieve this goal.

Are all net-zero goals created equal?

The race is on for companies to declare their commitment to achieving net-zero emissions, as outlined in the Paris Agreement. But given the various inconsistencies in how the phrase is understood, what does “net zero” really mean – and how should progress towards this goal be measured?

Achieving Sustainability

Rewiring technology for sustainable growth

Technology brings new opportunities, but also sustainability challenges. The sector must balance both for an improved sustainability footprint.

Achieving Sustainability

Healthcare: how to live better

As life expectancy rises, pressure is mounting on current healthcare services highlighting the need for long-term investment in this sector.

Human rights – the weakest link in supply chains?

Prompted by a combination of global crises, high profile worker rights violations, and law changes, companies are in the spotlight to ensure workers are protected throughout the supply chain. What are the issues for investors?

Gender diversity: fixing the pipeline

Our experience of active engagement with companies tells us that efforts to increase female representation must be holistic rather than solely focused on leadership roles.

Access to healthcare – more important than ever

We are now in the 3rd year of the COVID-19 pandemic and are approaching a time of the year when health services will again face significant pressure. We explore ways investors could direct capital to products, services and solutions in the healthcare sector.

The crisis on our plates: finding potential in failing food systems

The war in Ukraine has highlighted that the current way of producing and consuming food is unsustainable. As the rising global population places greater demands on our food system, there is an urgent need to build a resilient and inclusive food ecosystem, meeting both planetary and social needs. Opportunities exist for investors across the value chain of global food production and distribution to help mitigate these risks.

Unlocking the “S” in capitalism

Social issues have typically been overshadowed by other aspects of the sustainability story such as climate. That’s changing. The Covid-19 pandemic has shone a light on inequalities in access to basic essentials and life opportunities – and the solution calls for a new brand of capitalism.