Storebrand's Role in Reaching the Sdgs
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Storebrand’s Role in Reaching the SDGs Investing in a future worth looking forward to A Master’s Thesis Written By Celine Topper (102540) Hanne Bjørnslett Nilsen (103539) MSc in Finance & Investments MSc in Finance & Strategic Management Supervisor: Svend Peter Malmkjær Date of Submission: 15th of May 2020 Number of Standard Pages: 117 Characters: 265 310 Copenhagen Business School Abstract This study investigates the Norwegian financial industry’s work with sustainable investments and was inspired by how investors, both public and private, have a crucial role in the channeling of cash flows toward sustainable projects. It aims to identify how the case company Storebrand is working systematically with sustainable investments and evaluates whether other companies can follow their lead to support United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Based on interviews with representatives from the industry and documentary secondary data, we mapped success factors and potential challenges for the work with sustainable investments. The in-depth study of Storebrand found that Storebrand’s success derives from four essential elements: (1) integration of sustainability into everything they do, (2) perception of sustainability as a competitive advantage, (3) size, and (4) expertise. By comparing Storebrand to our peer group of institutional investors, we identified and addressed four main challenges that hinder the work of integrating sustainability into asset management: (1) perception of sustainability, (2) lack of information, (3) lack of shared definitions, and (4) how size matters. The research concludes that parts of Storebrand’s success can be challenging for the peers to imitate, but that several findings can be used as inspiration for their own approach. We hope that the research contributes as a valuable insight into the topic of sustainable investments, and that it highlights the crucial role that the financial industry has in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. KEYWORDS: sustainability, sustainable investments, institutional investors, Storebrand, SDGs - 1 - Abbreviations: CDP Carbon Disclosure Project CSR Corporate Social Responsibility DNB Den Norske Bank ESG Environmental, Social and Governance FFKF Fondsfinans Kapitalforvaltning GRI Global Reporting Initiative IIRC International Integrated Reporting Council KBN Kommunalbanken KLP Kommunal Landspensjonskasse NAA Norwegian Accounting Act, in Norwegian: Regnskapsloven OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development SB1Ø SpareBank 1 Østlandet SDG Sustainable Development Goal TCFD United Nations Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures UN United Nations (UN) PRI (United Nations) Principles of Responsible Investments - 2 - Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................ - 1 - Abbreviations: ............................................................................................... - 2 - 1 Introduction ............................................................................................. - 6 - 1.1 Problem Definition ........................................................................................... - 7 - 1.1.1 Research Question ............................................................................................................................ - 7 - 1.1.2 Delimitation ..................................................................................................................................... - 8 - 2 Literature Review .................................................................................. - 10 - 2.1 Sustainability & the Financial Sector .............................................................- 10 - 2.1.1 Sustainable Development ............................................................................................................... - 10 - 2.1.2 Sustainability in the Financial Sector ........................................................................................... - 11 - 2.2 Storebrand .......................................................................................................- 15 - 2.2.1 History ............................................................................................................................................ - 15 - 2.2.2 Structure......................................................................................................................................... - 16 - 2.3 Stakeholder Theory .........................................................................................- 17 - 2.3.1 The Pyramid of CSR ..................................................................................................................... - 18 - 2.3.2 Creating Shared value .................................................................................................................... - 19 - 2.3.3 Stakeholder Theory and Sustainable Finance ............................................................................... - 20 - 3 Model..................................................................................................... - 23 - 4 Methodology .......................................................................................... - 25 - 4.1 Research Design...............................................................................................- 25 - 4.1.1 Research Philosophy ...................................................................................................................... - 25 - 4.1.2 Research Purpose ........................................................................................................................... - 25 - 4.1.3 Research Strategy .......................................................................................................................... - 26 - 4.1.4 Research Method ............................................................................................................................ - 28 - 4.2 Data Collection ................................................................................................- 29 - 4.2.1 Documentary Secondary Data ....................................................................................................... - 29 - 4.2.2 Interviews ....................................................................................................................................... - 30 - 4.2.3 Method ........................................................................................................................................... - 33 - 4.3 Evaluation ........................................................................................................- 34 - 4.3.1 Reliability ....................................................................................................................................... - 34 - 4.3.2 Validity ........................................................................................................................................... - 35 - 5 Part I: Storebrand ................................................................................. - 37 - 5.1 Investment Mandate........................................................................................- 37 - 5.2 Investment Beliefs & Strategy ........................................................................- 38 - 5.3 Tools & Processes ............................................................................................- 40 - 5.3.1 Exclusion ........................................................................................................................................ - 40 - - 3 - 5.3.2 Active Ownership ........................................................................................................................... - 42 - 5.3.3 Sustainability Ratings .................................................................................................................... - 42 - 5.4 Resources & Organization ...............................................................................- 48 - 5.4.1 Matching Expertise with Investment Strategy ............................................................................. - 48 - 5.4.2 Maintenance of ESG Expertise ...................................................................................................... - 50 - 5.4.3 Organizational Integration ............................................................................................................. - 53 - 5.5 Performance Management ...............................................................................- 54 - 5.5.1 External Managers ......................................................................................................................... - 54 - 5.5.2 In-House Investment Team ........................................................................................................... - 55 - 5.6 Public Reporting .............................................................................................- 56 - 5.6.1 The Annual Report ........................................................................................................................ - 58 - 5.6.2 PRI Reporting ................................................................................................................................ - 60 - 5.6.3 Carbon Accounting Report ............................................................................................................ - 61 - 5.6.4 Reports on Exclusion