The Climate Custodians

Robert G. Eccles; Tim  Youmans

Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2016

The Climate Custodians

by Robert G. Eccles and Tim Youmans

Abstract

Can custody banks become key players in climate change? Custody banks joining the battle against climate change will signal a significant shift in governance ideology for this highly regulated industry so critical to the global financial system. While global custody banks provide the unseen but essential support system that ensures the proper functioning of the capital markets, they have great untapped potential to become change-makers in climate change. This paper expands on our idea of the "Climate Custodians" first presented in the MIT Sloan Management Review within the governance context of the "Statement of Significant Audiences and Materiality (The Statement)" for these subsidiaries of large bank holding companies. By focusing on the Big Three global custody banks—State Street, BNY Mellon, and JPMorgan Chase—we make the case for large custody banks assuming the role of climate custodians. In this role, these banks would report, among other things, a measure of carbon embedded within their institutional clients’ assets under custody to help clients understand the climate risk in their portfolios.

Keywords: Pollution and Pollutants; Weather and Climate Change; Capital Markets; Investment Banking; Institutional Investing; Policy;

Language: English

Format: Print

18 pages

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Citation:

Eccles, Robert G., and Tim Youmans. "The Climate Custodians." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-138, June 2016.

Hassina Sherjan was born in Afghanistan but grew up and was educated in the United States. A trip to Afghanistan when she was an adult inspired her to move back to her home country with two missions. The first was to educate young women through a non-profit organization she started called Aid Afghanistan for Education and a for-profit company, Boumi, that manufactures and distributes products for the home such as curtains, cushion covers, tea cozies, coasters, bedclothes, and bathroom accessories. The mission of Boumi is to create jobs in Afghanistan, especially for women, based on traditional Afghani designs and using only locally grown cotton. Sherjan wants to grow Boumi so that it can be a substantial, if not major, funding source for Aid Afghanistan for Education. In order to grow Boumi, Sherjan must confront a number of challenges including funding, finding and managing skilled workers, and getting distribution for Boumi products in major markets such as Europe and the United States.

Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2012 (Revised September 2015)

Tough Decisions at Marks and Spencer

Robert G. Eccles, George Serafeim and Kyle Armbrester

In 2007, under the leadership of CEO Stuart Rose, the iconic British retailer Marks and Spencer, with great fanfare, announced its "Plan A" initiative. Based on the five essential pillars of climate change, waste, sustainable materials, fair partnership, and health, the plan sought to transform the company's practices. By 2012, the program's aim was to ensure that M&S was carbon neutral and sent no waste to landfill. It also aimed to help its customers and employees achieve a healthier lifestyle, and to improve the lives of all involved in the company's supply chain with fair wages, as well as improved working hours and conditions. Called Plan A "because there is no Plan B," the company identified 180 projects to improve the sustainability of its operations and business practices in anticipation of the need for a very different business model in the future. Key aspects of Plan A included more sustainable sourcing and influencing the business practices of the company's supply chain; communication to employees, customers and investors; and employee engagement. The case concludes with the tradeoffs involved in the decision of whether or not to install refrigerator doors in the grocery section of its stores. While the energy savings and reduced carbon emissions are relatively clear and easy to measure, the impact on customers and revenues is harder to assess.

Keywords: Decision Making; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry;

Citation:

Eccles, Robert G., George Serafeim, and Kyle Armbrester. "Tough Decisions at Marks and Spencer." Harvard Business School Case 112-062, January 2012. (Revised September 2015.) View Details

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An essential element of capitalism is corporate reporting. Today's capitalism is supported by financial reporting. Critics of today's capitalism argue that it is too short-term oriented and rewards companies for creating negative externalities. Integrated reporting can play an important role in changing this since it is focused on the material issues that affect a company's ability to create value over the short, medium, and long term. Each country must take its own path to integrated reporting. This is illustrated by analyzing the different regulatory and legislative regimes in the United States and the European Union.

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The Climate Custodians

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