Making Sustainability Real: The Model Mandate for Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals

This 90 minute interactive course will cover

Introductions to our course and what you would like to achieve
We will introduce the main objectives of the training module: to help ICGN members meet the growing demand for sustainable investing mandates and ensure that sustainability and stewardship objectives are fully reflected in investment management agreements and contract terms with the managers they have selected to manage their assets.

Crisis? What crisis? Esg/sustainable investing under assault.  How the model mandate can address the emerging critiques of esg/sustainable investing

In this section we will:
Provide background on the development of the 2022 document including the joint effort to update the original 2012 document.

Discuss key developments in the evolution of the investment industry over the past 10 years including the rise of sustainable investing and stewardship.

Discuss the more recent and ongoing backlash against sustainable investing including the critiques from Tariq Fancy (formerly of BlackRock), Stuart Kirk (formerly of HSBC), The Economist, Florida’s ESG ban, Texas’ feud with BlackRock, et al and the broader effort to equate ESG with ‘woke capitalism’. We will also discuss the emerging regulatory environment designed to eliminate greenwashing. 
 

Purpose, planning, procedures, and tools for action

In this section we will:
Provide an overview of what’s in the Model Mandate, covering the purpose, structure and how to use it, including customisable clauses that are included as examples.

Explain why there should be an alignment of incentives between asset owners and their managers, leading to a shared understanding of the outcomes being sought by both parties. 

Discuss the rise of stewardship codes in key markets. 

Reinforce the expectations on asset owners that their stewardship and sustainability objectives are fully reflected in investment management agreements (IMAs) and contract terms with the asset managers they have selected, and provide practical advice.

Clarify how the use of Model Mandate can help asset owners and asset managers meet the requirements of fiduciary duty and long-term sustainable value creation.

We will then provide a closer examination of the main tasks to be undertaken before the RFP and the search process begins, including:

• Fiduciary duty, single, double and systemic materiality drivers, 
• Sustainable investing policy development, 
• Stakeholder and/or beneficiary engagement.

This section will also cover how SDIs can be implemented: 

• Exclusion lists, 
• Incorporation of SDI criteria, 
• Risk identification, 
• Stewardship and positive investments within the context of major SDG themes. 

We will also cover such aspects as governance, culture, expertise and resources. Attendees will be asked to identify their primary concerns, their priorities and their preferred approach.

Getting it done: key questions for asset owners, asset managers and service suppliers

Key learnings, questions and conclusion