5th Mar 2021

How ESG Can End Factory Farming

In order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, corporate, government and investment leaders desperately need to address the environmental impacts of intensive animal production. There are nearly 7.8 billion people on the planet, and we are feeding 70 billion livestock annually. Cows produce more greenhouse gases than the whole transport sector combined, so to get below our 2-degree goal before 2050, it's imperative we tackle factory farming.

So what is ESG and how can the ESG investment movement contribute towards ending factory farming?

What is ESG investing?

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing is a strategy you can use to put your money to work with companies that strive to make the world a better place. ESG investing relies on independent ratings that help you assess a company’s behavior and policies when it comes to environmental performance, social impact, and governance issues.

“At its core, ESG investing is about influencing positive changes in society by being a better investor,” says Hank Smith, Head of Investment Strategy at The Haverford Trust Company.

How does ESG investing work?

ESG investing is investing in companies that score highly on environmental and societal responsibility scales as determined by third-party, independent companies and research groups. 

FAIRR launched in 2016 by the Jeremy Coller Foundation, and is a collaborative investor network that raises awareness of the ESG risks and opportunities brought about by intensive livestock production. They focus on 'engagements' to change the conversation about factory farming - like speaking with leading supermarkets to stock more protein-based meat substitutes, or engaging with the world’s largest animal protein producers and encouraging them to strengthen labor standards and corporate practices throughout their supply chain.

The Founder of the FAIRR Initiative and CIO of Coller Capital, Jeremy Coller, joined Stan Stalnaker on a recent Chronicle Discussion episode and shared his journey to create the fastest-growing ESG network in the world.

Together, they discuss how the investor community has become more aware of the ESG risks generated by factory farming, the actions they can take to mitigate those issues, and the progress that is already underway to drive change in this sector.

You can listen to the episode on iTunes, Soundcloud, and Spotify.