Third Economy

As global advisors, we are thrilled to have conversations about how sustainably drives long-term financial value for our clients. We're proud to be a sponsor of this year's Colegio de Contadores Públicos de Costa Rica International Conference on Financial Information 2024 this Thursday, 8/29 and Friday, 8/30 in San Jose. Our LATAM team will be at the conference this Friday, 8/30 - stop by to chat about growing your business through sustainability or just to say hello! Jose Alfaro David Araya-Gutiérrez

We are thrilled to bring back our 'Meet the Team' series, where we shine a spotlight on the exceptional individuals at 3Econ! Today, we're featuring Jose Alfaro, a Senior Advisor at Third Economy. Get to know Jose! ⬇️ ✅ What is your name and title?  Jose Alfaro, Senior Advisor ✅ As Senior Advisor, what does your job entail?  As a Senior Advisor I get to use my technical expertise and academic background to support our super talented group of analysts high quality and science-based work. I personally lead some of the technical workstreams like Climate-Scenario Analysis. I also support our Business Development team when we are engaging with clients that might have a more technical or science-based requirement.  ✅ What have you enjoyed most working at 3Econ?  My favorite part has been engaging with clients in hard to decarbonize sectors. Using climate-scenario analysis and TCFD frameworks we are able to help them dream of what their company will look like in a low-carbon economy and identify opportunities in that shift.  Also, the team at 3Econ is amazing and I love working with such a talented group! ✅ What's your favorite weekend activity?  I love doing triathlons. Right now, I am training for the Ironman Cozumel in November. So, my weekends usually involve a long work out, swimming with my kids and then napping! 

While the SEC's climate reporting may be on hold for public companies, ESG pressure continues to build from another source - your supply chain. We're seeing more and more questionnaires submitted from participants across the value chain and your team needs to be ready to answer some key questions to stay competitive. Our CEO, Chad Spitler, shared his thoughts with SupplyChainBrain last week on how (and why) suppliers should start measuring key ESG metrics to meet increasing demand from their biggest customers.

Last week, the Financial Times released a film called "Who Killed the ESG Party?", which is making its rounds on the internet amongst ESG's vocal critics. The film should be called who killed the “E” party, since it’s focus is narrowly on climate and fossil fuels. It doesn’t address that many managers believe the G is the most critical piece through which E and S factors are financially considered, and the importance of employees in driving financial success. ESG is all about tying sustainable business practices to profit. Pieces like this overgeneralize the practice and we're here to set the record straight. What do you think of their portrayal of #ESG and #sustainability in 2024? https://hubs.li/Q02HThqf0

BlackRock and State Street recently built out their investment stewardship efforts to match clients who want more climate-related risk assessments with more rigorous analysis. The number of owners who explicitly direct managers to invest in sustainable and transition-related strategies continues to grow in 2024. For folks looking to learn about #sustainablefinance at the beginning of their career or for #sustainability professionals looking to level-up on their knowledge, we have created a Terra.do course to go over the basics and talk about how individuals can enact programs like BlackRock and State Street’s on a smaller scale. Join us for this four week course and sign up through the link below: https://hubs.li/Q02HxZbJ0

We are lucky to learn from CEO Chad Spitler everyday, who has been a part of some of the biggest transition points for #sustainablefinance through his work as Head of Investment Stewardship and Sustainable Finance (amongst other things!) at BlackRock. His course through https://hubs.li/Q02Hb2mX0 is the perfect place for financial and sustainability professionals to learn how to incorporate sustainable finance tactics into their career development and make their own mark on sustainable investing. In 4 weeks, registrants will go over the basics of constructing a portfolio with sustainability in mind and how to make climate-informed financial decisions using sustainability data. The first class is 7/29 at 1PM PT – you don't want to miss it! Sign up through the link below: https://hubs.li/Q02H9ThC0

More investment in climate and transition-related stewardship strategies from State Street, matching BlackRock's recent guidelines. A State Street spokesperson highlighted that this policy is about "providing clients with choices" – a key component of sustainable finance that our CEO Chad Spitler has written on in the past. Read on for their new policy details or check out our past insights on sustainable finance on our website: https://hubs.li/Q02H6GW_0

Sustainability continues to be a key issue for board members, despite the anti-ESG rhetoric. According to a recent survey of 801 board members of public, private and pre-IPO global corporations, 96% expect a continued or stronger focus on ESG in the coming years. Two thirds of these respondents are also going deeper into the business implications of sustainability – by citing a social issue (D&I) as a human capital risk. Sustainability is a tool for good governance and its not surprising to see key stakeholders confirm its role in risk mitigation and value creation. A few other key statistics from the study: - 63% cite diversity and inclusion as the top sustainability issue - 66% say their companies have stayed the course on ESG in response to backlash Thanks to WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development for the insights. Check out the full report below.

Investors are not backing down from encouraging companies to decarbonize, despite today's noisy landscape. BlackRock announced its Climate & Decarbonization Stewardship Guidelines last week, a new engagement option for clients who explicitly direct the manager to invest in sustainable and transition-related strategies. The Guidelines consider whether companies are actively trying to limit the average global temperate rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels as set out in the Paris Agreement, alongside financial performance objectives. The new guidelines have already been applied to over 80 investment funds in Europe, with US and Asia-Pacific funds coming online in the near future. This is a big step for BlackRock and represents a continued investment in climate-related risk assessments for clients. Read more on the policy below: https://lnkd.in/gM7gG4A8

We're so thrilled to have CEO Chad Spitler's thoughts on climate policy and its unintended consequences across the capital markets profiled in Reuters' Sustainable Switch newsletter. Thank you to Editor Sharon Kits Kimathi for the feature. You can read our whole statement on our website here: https://lnkd.in/gHe-wY-K.