The planet can look after itself - what we need to know is, can recycling help your bottom line?
Coca-Cola committed last week to disclosing its investment in reusable bottles, and reporting on the tracked outcome of these efforts.
Hardly a big deal, you might think.
But consider the context: late last year, Coke firmly backtracked on its recycling targets, and the ESG newsletters now seem dominated by large American corporations moving away from sustainability commitments.
So what's behind this new commitment?
In the words of one institution invested in Coca-Cola, It’s about ‘mitigating plastic-related risk’.
In October 2024 Los Angeles County sued Coca-Cola for claiming plastic containers are ‘recyclable’; despite knowing that the waste treatment of plastics also has negative environmental impacts.
The City of Baltimore is currently pursuing a similar action – alleging that companies like Coca-Cola “created a public nuisance by creating products that they know will cause significant environmental harm”.
The fact is, maybe Coca-Cola’s management and shareholders care about the environment, maybe they don’t.
But they all certainly care about financial risk.
Mitigating financial risks is in our view what 'ESG' is all about.
‘Impact’ is an adjacent but distinct investment strategy, which invests in companies seeking to make the world more sustainable.
An investment strategy that integrates ‘ESG”, identifies the risks to a company’s value posed by mismanaging environmental, social, and governance risks.
That is our approach; each industry faces material ESG issues, and those issues are risks to the bottom line of every company competing in that industry.
Sustainable companies are stronger companies. Many companies and their investors already get this; many more, like Coca-Cola, are getting it.
DJT will probably get it too – he is a successful businessman after all.
Call us on 020 3327 1555.