Month: April 2023

How long ago was it that when you mentioned “ESG”, people would ask, “what’s that”? We sure have moved a far distance from those times. Now ESG is seen in Republican-led states as “a threat” to the well-being of citizens and public finance. In the halls of Congress we see frequent “pro and con” debates about ESG, climate change, sustainable investing, corporate sustainability…and more. ESG is now today’s hot topic for some politicians!

To remind us of an important development that helped to set the scene of the current ESG and climate crisis debate: in the first days of the Biden Administration (January 27, 2021), President Joseph Biden signed a sweeping Executive Order – “On Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Aboard” – that set out the landscape of policies, actions and financing that were described as “the whole of government” to be focused on various climate change matters.

The order offered this perspective:” The U.S. and the world face a profound climate crisis. We have a narrow moment to pursue action at home and abroad to avoid the most catastrophic impact…and to seize the opportunity that tackling climate change presents…”

The White House explained what the Federal government could and would do to take a range of planned actions intended to mitigate climate-related damage to humanity and protect the national and global economies. The order also involved actions for states and cities to help protect and fortify public and private infrastructure, natural resources, oceans, and a range of physical assets.

The political opposition was instant, and criticisms were thereafter steadily voiced at federal, state, and local levels. As the various arms of government began to develop policies, legislation, rules and regulations, there was consistent pushback by political opponents. Specific rule-making actions enabled opponents to pounce.

Case in point: the back and forth positions on ERISA oversight of pension funds. Under the prior Republican administration, rules were adopted in November 2020 that set out to prohibit or limit the ability of public employee pension systems and other plans covered by ERISA, and their appointed asset management firms, to consider ESG factors in selecting investments. Under the Biden Administration, the Department of Labor approved a Final Rule (December 29, 2022) to “address the chilling effect and other potential negative consequences caused by the Prior Rule with respect to consideration of climate change and other ESG factors.”

Republican lawmakers in Congress then passed a resolution to rescind the Department of Labor law, claiming that the Final Rule is “woke” policy that will hurt retirees’ bottom lines. President Biden then issued the first veto of his presidency on March 20, enabling the Final Rule of the Department of Labor to stand.

This is but one skirmish in the ESG arena, where we see asset management firms punished or threatened to be punished by elected and appointed public officials for embracing ESG issues and topics properly regarded as material factors in institutional investment management.

Another example we’re sharing with you in our Top Stories discusses another struggle in the ESG arena: Governor Ron DeSantis is now organizing an “anti-ESG” alliance with 18 other governors. Their stated reason is to “protect individuals from the ESG movement that threatens the vitality of the American economy and Americans’ economic freedom”. With this and other actions, we probably are seeing an important campaign platform shaping up for the 2024 state and national elections.

The G&A Institute team is closely monitoring the actions of the public sector ESG opposition and will continue to share important developments with you in this newsletter.

This is just the introduction of G&A’s Sustainability Highlights newsletter this week. Click here to view the full issue.

Originally published on The Straits Times

By Cheow Sue-Ann, Business Correspondent

SINGAPORE – Flexible time off, critical care leave, mentorship programmes and a week-long company-wide shutdown are just some of the policies that biotech company Illumina Singapore offers its 1,800 employees here.

Its unconventional “culture of care” approach has earned it a top 10 spot in this year’s Best Employers survey.

The firm began the practice in 2018, aiming to ensure that the diverse needs of each employee are met, whether it is time off or the opportunity to try out different roles in the company.

Ms Dorothy Wong, its vice-president of human resources in the Asia-Pacific, told The Straits Times that as a healthcare company, it is important to “walk the talk”, and make sure the well-being of employees is taken care of.

“We also believe that employees who stay positive and have their well-being looked after would be able to do a better job, they will contribute more and be more motivated.”

Ms Wong noted that it is important for the company to look after their staff in both good times and bad.

Because the company fell under essential services during the pandemic, this “created some opportunity for us to demonstrate that culture of care in how we quickly made sure that (employees) had a place to stay because they were willing to stay (on in Singapore) to work”.

“A lot of our foreign employees who were commuting daily decided to bring their luggage and stay in Singapore, so we ensured that they had safe and good accommodation.”

The company also shuts down for a week each year, usually in the week of July 4, to give everyone a chance to recharge their batteries.

It also does not stipulate a set amount of annual leave, allowing employees to take as much time off as they require. It also offers a critical care leave option if staff need time off for health or family emergencies.

Ms Wong noted that the company’s high retention and engagement rates also provide a measure of the happiness of its employees: “For our professionals, attrition has always been in the single digits.

“The only area that we may have a little bit higher attrition is really in production because there are more foreign workers. In that area, we are around the average for Singapore, at about 20 per cent. But for professionals, our numbers are really low.

“The philosophy is about showing care. I think, like any employer, you can never be perfect. So we have to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of the workforce.

“And by that I mean different generations and groups of workers, at any point in time, have different needs, so I think it’s a continuous journey that we all are learning.

Illumina strives to embody a culture of care that is fueled by supporting one another, promoting collaboration, inspiring innovation, and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. To learn more, click here. 

Long time Sea Change Radio listeners know a thing or two about the challenges of being both a seafood lover and an environmentalist. It’s hard to keep track of which seafoods are sustainable and which involve practices that cause egregious harm to ecosystems and humans alike — so much so that places like the Monterey Bay Aquarium have created handy guides for shopping and ordering at restaurants. Fortunately, there are people dedicated to finding ways to get protein without depleting the planet’s oceans, like our guest today on Sea Change Radio. This week we speak with Shannon Cosentino-Roush, the Chief Strategy Officer of Finless Foods, a start-up that makes a plant-based alternative tuna product and is awaiting federal approval for its cell-based seafood product. We learn about the ins and outs of the alternative seafood industry, look at the exploding popularity of poké bowls, and examine the frontier of cell-based protein manufacturing.