A new global organisation has been announced that will survey the world’s largest superfunds and other asset owners not only on how they currently manage climate risk and opportunity, but also on how they plan to do so in the future. Set up as a not-for-profit organisation domiciled in Australia, the Asset Owners Disclosure Project (AODP) will launch in London in October at the offices of principal sponsor Baker & McKenzie, Ethical Investor can reveal.
 

Australia's first animal-friendly superfund began accepting applications on Tuesday. Ethical Money’s Cruelty Free Super has been designed for anyone wishing to screen for animal exploitation, such as intensive farming, the export of live animals and animal-testing, as well as broader ethical values including environment, human rights, armaments, and tobacco.
 

An ambitious plan to source Australia’s entire energy needs from renewable sources with existing commercialised technologies has won broad endorsement.
 

Superannuation fund trustees should consider environmental, social and governance risks in their investment decisions where appropriate, while guidelines such as those laid out by the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment should not be prescribed, according to the final report of the Cooper superannuation review. (Photo: The Super System Review panel).

CUA-sponsored research revealed that almost nine out of ten Australians believe the customer-owned business model used by credit unions provides better banking than the big banks’ model, where profits go to shareholders not customers. The report came as the Sydney Morning Herald reported on 3 June on its front page that the big four Australian banks were gouging customers for billions of dollars.
 

The ACT Australian CleanTech Index fell further throughout May and lagged its benchmarks – the S&P ASX200 Index and the S&P Small Ordinaries Index. The ACT Australian CleanTech Index fell from 64.1 to 58.6 in May, or 8.7 per cent, compared to the S&P ASX200 loss of 6.9 per cent and the S&P ASX Small Ordinaries Index loss of 8.5 per cent.