Veon attended the launch of ESG Day on Tuesday 5th November at the Printworks, Dublin Castle, which was sponsored by Irish Life, during Climate Finance Week which was organised by Sustainable Nation Ireland and the Department of Finance.
Pictured above is Stephen Nolan of Sustainable Nation Ireland and Paul Brosnan of Veon Ltd which is an associate partner of SNI
At the event, Patrick Burke, Managing Director of Irish Life Investment Managers presented the 2019 State of Play Report, commissioned by Sustainable and Responsible Investment Forum (SIF) Ireland which is the national platform for policy makers, capital providers and intermediaries to advance sustainable and responsible best practice across all asset classes in Ireland. Under the Government’s “Ireland for Finance Roadmap” SIF is charged with the development of a national blueprint to guide Irish green and sustainable finance activities. The report explores the trends and challenges experienced by Investment Managers in Ireland as they evolve their investment approaches.
The report identified the challenges participants faced when it came to implementing ESG strategies namely:
- the cost of obtaining the underlying data;
- the lack of transparency into the underlying companies;
- and no regulations against which to benchmark themselves and their peers.
The report also identified the continuing key drivers of demand emanating from Institutional Investors and the key role asset owners play in influencing the adoption of Responsible Investment practices by their investment managers. Climate Change was also identified as a key focus area by investment managers and second only to Corporate Governance issues.
Sustainable Nation Ireland is the national platform for the promotion of Ireland as a world-leading hub for sustainable finance, business and innovation, accelerating Ireland’s transition to a low carbon economy. SNI brings together capital market participants, corporates, innovators and public sector organisations to stimulate increased investment in sustainable infrastructure and innovation. The transition to a low carbon economy is a huge opportunity for Ireland, catalysing economic growth and jobs and Veon is committed to playing a role in this transition.