Understand sustainability. Make better decisions.

What is your professional background and experience? After my masters I become a data/business analyst for two different renewable energy companies; it helped me to fully realise that data will and is changing the world. Data can tell you everything you would ever need to know, but you first need to understand what the right questions to ask are, how the data should be presented so it’s meaningful and actionable and have an idea of the wider context. I’ve seen first-hand that by looking at data, presenting it in a meaningful way and offering actionable insights you can change an entire company’s direction.   

GHG Protocol basics: Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions reporting

A recently released OECD report found that just 9% of plastic worldwide is currently recycled; despite a heightened alertness of the problem globally, and the recent drive to address it.  

  In lucky number 13, we speak with Robbie Epsom, EMEA Head of ESG for CBRE Investment Management, about transparency, change and constant improvement in the industry, the effects of ESG on the property sector, and the need to think more broadly to achieve the SDGs.  

  In this episode, we chat with Mandhy Senewiratne, Director of Sustainability and Communications at Fyrefly Global Sustainability. Dan and Mandhy discuss the challenges within sustainability in Australia, her background in water and construction, why we all need to lead by example and more. Enjoy!  

  In this episode, we chat with Helen Wiggs, the Head of Corporate Climate at ShareAction, a non-profit focused on driving responsible investment. Dan and Helen discuss whether ESG is here to stay, the Investor Decarbonisation Initiative, her journey from investment banking to responsible investment and more. Enjoy!

Rio was proud to sponsor The Future of Climate Finance last week; an exclusive one-day conference held in the heart of London that addressed the escalating mobilisation of finance in favour of sustainable global development. As well as sponsoring the conference our CEO and founder, Dan Botterill, sat on a dynamic panel discussing the evolution from ESG to sustainability and real impact. The conference saw a discussion amongst lead investors, policy makers and CFOs on the multi-billion dollar climate-focused funds investment industry. Specifically, over $650 billion poured into climate-focused funds worldwide in 2021 and 2022 is set to be another record-breaking year for green finance. As the environmental stakes increase and the vocal and natural warnings grow menacingly stark, pressure on the global investment industry to tackle climate change is higher than ever before. There is no vaccine against the potential of a climate crisis and the rapidly shifting change in sentiment towards those that can assist in delivering a greener future is already widening the gap between winners and losers. There is no end of money to be made by those who anticipate the number of opportunities brought about by this uneven pace of change. Moreover, the politics of climate change continues to have significant implications for how capital markets are expected to perform. It seems increasingly possible that the owners of capital will either die alone in the pursuit of growth or share a bed with the concepts of sustainability and social well-being.   Is this endless pursuit of growth compatible with an urgent need to slash carbon emissions? Or is this the end of capitalism as we know it? Click here below to listen to the key takeaways from some of the excellent speakers including Olga Hancock, Deputy Head of Responsible Investment, Church Commissioners for England, Amanda Young,  Chief Sustainability Officer, abrdn and our very own Dan Botterill, CEO and Company Founder, Rio ESG LTD.  

'Fashion accounts for 10% of the world’s carbon emissions and is the second-most polluting industry in the world. But in an increasingly climate-conscious society, there are pressures to present sustainable performance to appeal to customers.' (Reference take from the Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/09/why-eco-conscious-fashion-brands-can-continue-to-increase-emissions?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other) What does Rio ESG have to say on this?  “There is a lot of noise around sustainability and the fashion industry but when you drill it down there is no clear or consistent scoring methodology for a consumer to simply understand these big fashion brand’s calculations,” says Faye Bennett-Hart, Chief Sustainability Officer at Rio ESG. This article lays the blame on the CDP scoring methodology, allowing high scores for big fashion brands despite their overall emissions increasing. “The CDP scoring methodology is not solely based on emissions changes per unit revenue, it’s far more complex and takes lots of other metrics into account. However, we are in a climate crisis and increasing revenues should not be at the cost of the planet. That is why science-based targets for net zero require absolute emissions reductions and with near-term and long-term targets. We have to have clear and consistent methods and scoring to reduce overall emissions, meet net zero and clearly see our way to a sustainable future."

Our Manifesto At Rio, we stand by our manifesto and that means practising what we preach. To do this, last year we set science-based targets to achieve Net Zero within our organisation. So, a year on, we’re looking at the targets we set, what practices or policies we put in place to achieve them and where we are now.