About This Episode

So Black Rock has gone weak at the knees. Again.

Its recent decision to drop its focus on ESG investing in favour of a new strategy of “transition investing” seems to be another step backwards in its commitment to the green agenda.  

The decision follows the revelation, barely six months ago, that the world’s largest investor had sharply reduced its boardroom activism, and sharply dialled back its support for environmental and social-related motions at shareholder meetings.

But while the anti-everything-green activists cheer, it’s worth remembering that progress is never linear. Nor continuous. And good ideas rarely die, they just evolve.

Which is why it’s encouraging to see a new initiative out of Singapore that provides an interesting twist to the idea, and the goals, of shareholder activism.

The Panarchy Partners Gigaton Coalition wants to change corporate behaviour not by challenging the management and the board, but by helping them.

Taking the form of a non-profit foundation that brings together investors, companies and solutions providers, the coalition’s ambitious goal is to help companies in Asia accelerate their decarbonisation trajectories, and save a gigaton of carbon emissions along the way.

Oh, and the partnering Asia Gigaton Fund will allow investors to profit from the progress.

Panarchy Partners’ founder Munib Madni explains how.