What a year – 2023 has been a year of ups and downs. Alongside our successes (B Corp!), we have also been shocked and saddened by events with many and ongoing social and environmental consequences playing out on the world stage: events whose full impacts are not yet known.
This, along with ongoing anti-ESG sentiment in the US (and potentially investor weariness on the topic in other regions), has made for an often difficult environment, both financially and emotionally.
However, we have had our highs as well, kicking off with one of the best…
B Corp certification
2023 will, I think, be remembered by many here at White Marble (now known as Alpha Agency) as ‘the year we got B Corp certified’. Our successful certification in August marked the culmination of over 18 months of hard work led by Lisa Mattes, and is a significant milestone in our sustainable journey.
We are encouraged by the developments we have achieved already to achieve B Corp certification, and looking forward to the updated criteria in the pipeline next year which will help to inform and share our continued evolution over the next two and a half years before we are required to re-certify.
Stewardship research & reporting
This summer we also undertook our second major sustainability research project, this year focused on stewardship reporting. We surveyed and interviewed a wide range of current signatories to the UK Stewardship Code to get an understanding of how stewardship reporting is used, where the challenges lie, and how firms are addressing them.
We are also very pleased to report that our 100% track record of success in helping firms gain or retain signatory status to the UK Stewardship Code remains intact after working with another four firms this year.
Offsetting
This year we continued to offset the carbon footprint of the White Marble workforce though Ecologi.
To date we have funded the planting of 15,912 trees and avoided 850.06 tonnes of CO2e emissions.
Specific projects we have contributed to this year have included:
- Protecting rainforest in a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia, a project which will prevent emission of 14,000,000 +CP2e over the first 10 years
- Generating renewable solar electricity in Egypt, a project which avoids 83,683 tonnes of CO2e emissions each year
- Avoiding methane emissions from landfill in Brazil, a project which is expected to produce 102,579MWh of energy during its lifetime
- Protecting the Mataven forest in eastern Colombia, a project that will prevent an estimated 3,622,351 tonnes of CO2e emission per year over the course of its 30-year lifespan
You can read more about the projects we have contributed to through Ecologi here.
Other developments
This year also saw the formal establishment of White Marble’s Culture and Research propositions, both growing out of the sustainability practice. These two areas of focus have fostered growing expertise in response to client need and we are excited continue exploring new opportunities to deliver value for our clients and wider audiences in the coming months.
Looking forward – trends for the next 12 months
Our Head of Sustainability, Benjie Elston, shared the following top 5 key trends that he anticipates shaping the next 6 – 12 months in the sustainability space:
- The growing reporting burden – how to appropriately assess regulatory requirements vs investor expectations, build frameworks and resource efficiently and cost-effectively
- Language and taxonomies – the nuance and consequences of words such as sustainability, stewardship and fiduciary duty at corporate, portfolio and holding levels
- Culture at a corporate and portfolio level – the drive for efficiency and competitive advantage, whilst finding data to successfully enhance and support socially-focused investments and their commercial viability
- The rapidly evolving brand puzzle – developing messaging and articulating a value proposition which can authentically resonate across audiences & geographies
- Validity of Net Zero targets and the associated landscape – choosing the right model and the potential risks associated with making strong public commitments