NewsBite

Social responsibility

July

Andrew Griffin, the chief executive of Balmain, is targeting companies that have failed ESG tests for his latest private credit fund.

This private credit fund is going big on companies failing ESG tests

Balmain Corporation said it had considered calling the strategy a “Vulture Series” – but decided naming it after a different bird of prey was more appropriate.

  • Primrose Riordan

April

Weaponising parliament’s power to compel witnesses to appear distracts from its purpose to ensure a well-informed and scrutinised democratic Australia.

Why supermarkets ‘fell off their pedestal’

Building social licence is a significant opportunity for retailers but as the travails of the two big supermarket chains show, it can be easily damaged.

  • Sue Mitchell
Senior Liberal Paul Fletcher.

Legitimate to question Higgins’ $2.4m compo: Liberals

The opposition says it is legitimate to question Brittany Higgins’ payout given Justice Michael Lee found there was no political cover-up of her rape.

  • Phillip Coorey

November 2023

Australian banks have $47bn of loans for livestock agriculture, the sub-sector with the biggest impact on nature.

Directors urged to get advice as nature risk turns liability

A groundbreaking legal opinion says company directors who fail to consider the toll on nature could be in breach of their duty of care and diligence obligations.

  • James Eyers

October 2023

Traditional Owners at Juukan Gorge in September 2020.

Rio Tinto chairman fears global blowback from a No vote

Dominic Barton frets over the impact on Australia’s reputation if the Voice referendum fails. He says Rio’s post-Juukan cultural overhaul is taking time.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
Advertisement

August 2023

Prashant Murthy, AirTrunk’s chief financial officer, says it will put any savings from its new loans towards social impact initiatives in STEM education.

More than 40 banks commit to AirTrunk’s $4.6b debt deal

The data centre’s latest financing, the largest so far this year, includes Australian, Singaporean and Hong Kong dollars.

  • Aaron Weinman

June 2023

Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, at lunch in London with the AFR’s Hans van Leeuwen

Ex Unilever boss on doing the right thing (and making money)

As the CEO who turned Unilever green, the Dutchman received many more bouquets than brickbats – even from shareholders. Over lunch, he shares his secret sauce.

  • Hans van Leeuwen

May 2023

Grace Forrest in London ahead of the launch of the Global Slavery Index.

From fashion to solar panels, taint of slavery stalks firms

Grace Forrest’s Walk Free has documented $26 billion of goods coming into Australia that could have forced labour in their supply chains.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
 Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott, Harvey Norman executive chairman Gerry Harvey, CSR CEO Julie Coates and Ramsay Health Care CEO Craig McNally.

Good times won’t last so what’s the plan, CEOs ask

With weaker economic growth expected, it is crucial that businesses have enough flexibility to adjust to the tougher times, Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott says.

  • Carrie LaFrenz and Simon Evans

December 2022

FairSupply co-founders Arne Geschke and Kimberly Randle with their newest investor from AirTree, Jackie Vullinghs (middle).

Forrest’s Minderoo, AirTree back ESG tech platform

Kimberly Randle started her career as a commercial litigator in LA, but volunteering on weekends at an orphanage in Mexico motivated a career change that set her on the path to create FairSupply.

  • Yolanda Redrup
Rokt CEO Bruce Buchanan intends to give away all of his personal wealth.

Rokt joins Atlassian’s corporate philanthropy movement

Bruce Buchanan’s Rokt has joined Atlassian’s Pledge 1% initiative, committing to giving away some of its time, profits and product.

  • Yolanda Redrup

November 2022

Mark Cutifani in his London home, before his trip to Australia to set out a stall on the future of mining.

Most miners are ducking their climate responsibilities: Cutifani

The former Anglo American boss sees no clash between going green and boosting returns. And he warns Albanese against a windfall tax on energy producers.

  • Hans van Leeuwen

October 2022

Gina Rinehart: “Unnecessary for sports organisations to be used as a vehicle for social or political causes.”

Oil and gas companies targeted over sports sponsorship

The fight against “sportswashing” is now affecting some of Australia’s biggest resources and energy companies and their sponsorship of sporting teams. Where’s the line?

  • Jennifer Hewett

August 2022

An ANZ shareholder has written to the bank calling for disclosure of biodiversity risk in the annual report.

ANZ under pressure to reveal biodiversity risk

The same law firm that has sued CBA argues ANZ must lift disclosure of nature risks to comply with duties under the Corporations Act.

  • James Eyers
Banks will soon have to account for activities such as land clearing of areas where threatened species live, under new global nature-related reporting requirements.

Banks preparing new disclosures to show impact of lending on nature

A new acronym, the TNFD – or Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures – is looming large for banks, who will lift disclosure on natural environments.

  • James Eyers
Advertisement

July 2022

The probability of Australia falling into a recession has increased and markets are set for a period of heightened volatility as interest rate rises cause households to cut back on spending and companies to downgrade earnings, says Aware Super’s Damian Graham.

Recession risk has increased: Aware Super

Rising interest rates are causing uncertainty for households and businesses, says Aware Super’s Damian Graham.

  • Michael Read
A shift to index fund investing is BlackRock chairman Larry Fink admitting that the firm’s executives don’t know more than everyone else after all.

BlackRock shows why finance and fossil fuel politics shouldn’t mix

Governments that unleash fund managers and retail banks to make the hard climate decisions about oil and gas are dodging accountability.

  • Nick Hossack
Arnott’s Chief Transformation Officer Simon Lowden.

Sustainability push means tech takes the biscuit at Arnott’s

As well as helping it anticipate an Aussie craze for gluten-free snacks, the transformation chief at Arnott’s says smarter tech is changing how it works sustainably.

  • Paul Smith

June 2022

KPMG partner Julia Bilyanska says  some companies reporting no material exposure to environmental and social risks are out of step with companies in the same industry.

Study of 600 listed companies throws cold water on ESG claims

Roughly one in four companies listed on the broader ASX claim they have no exposure to environmental or social risks, putting their lack of disclosure often at odds with peers.

  • Lucy Dean

January 2022

Consulting firm The Palladium Group specialises in advising government and corporate clients on strategy, impact investment and supply chain management.

Foreign aid consulting firm Palladium hires UBS for review

Australian born-and-bred consulting and project management firm The Palladium Group has called in the investment bankers to test whether there may be a strategic or financial investor willing to buy into the company. 

  • Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson and Kanika Sood

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/corporate-social-responsibility-1mt9