Global investment company BlackRock has bought $250 million worth of shares in Treasury Wine Estates, increasing its stake in the wine company to 8.32%.
BlackRock now owns more than $1billion worth of shares in TWE.
This follows BlackRock buying 7.3 million TWE shares in December 2019, which took its stake from 6.21% to 7.22%.
The US-based company is the world’s largest investment manager and manages about $7 trillion for its investors around the globe.
BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink recently announced the firm would place sustainability at the centre of its investment approach.
In his 2020 letter to CEOs Fink said BlackRock would make sustainability integral to portfolio construction and risk management; exit investments that present a high sustainability-related risk, such as thermal coal producers; launch new investment products that screen fossil fuels; and strengthen its commitment to sustainability and transparency in our investment stewardship activities.
"The evidence on climate risk is compelling investors to reassess core assumptions about modern finance," he said.
"Research from a wide range of organisations – including the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the BlackRock Investment Institute, and many others, including new studies from McKinsey on the socioeconomic implications of physical climate risk – is deepening our understanding of how climate risk will impact both our physical world and the global system that finances economic growth.
"From Europe to Australia, South America to China, Florida to Oregon, investors are asking how they should modify their portfolios. They are seeking to understand both the physical risks associated with climate change as well as the ways that climate policy will impact prices, costs, and demand across the entire economy."
TWE Sustainability Report outlines its commitment to best practice
Treasury Wine Estates published its 2019 Sustainability Report in August, which highlighted the ways the company is delivering on its commitment to being sustainable in everything it does.
TWE pledging its support to the Porto Protocol last year, a global forum and commitment to sharing best practice in helping reduce the impact of climate change.
“We have long believed that doing good for the environment and the community helps us do well as a company,” said Carolyn Coon, Global Director, Corporate Affairs. “This is reflected in how we bring to life our Corporate Responsibility vision of a ‘being sustainable in everything we do.’ I, along with the team at TWE are proud of our progress and excited about the ongoing impact we can and will have on the areas that matter to our business and stakeholders.”
The report reflected topics related to four key pillars: Performance, Planet, People and Product.
Among the Environmental, Social and Governance highlights over the past fiscal year are:
• Responding to recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures
• Achieving an 11.9% reduction in carbon emissions from direct operations, continued improvement in water (+15.8%) and energy (+15.4%) efficiency, and averaged 96% of waste diverted from landfill
• Light-weighting of selected packaging formats, saving around 1 million kgs of glass and more than 13,000 kgs of plastic
• Innovating to provide greater choice in lower/low/no alcohol and smaller format options
• Launching Smart Drinking, an internal program equipping employees to be ambassadors for responsible consumption
• Continuing focus on safety, achieving a 50% reduction in the Serious Injury Frequency Rate
• Exceeding targets for improved gender balance within Board (37.5% female) and leadership (39% female) roles
• Contributing 9000+ volunteer hours across the world during TWE’s Global Volunteering Week
The report was prepared in line with United Nations Global Compact Communication on progress as well as alignment to the standards and principles of the Global Reporting Initiative Standards (GRI), both widely recognised frameworks for sustainability reporting.
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