In this episode of the ESG Report, I discuss ESG sustainability and stewardship with my guest Ben Colton explains how his company State Street Global is contributing to a better understanding and implementation of sustainability and stewardship practices for ESG.

Ben Colton is the Global Head of Asset Stewardship at State Street Global. The company is a steward of its clients’ investments, and as such, he oversees proxy, voting, and See more +

In this episode of the ESG Report, I discuss ESG sustainability and stewardship with my guest Ben Colton explains how his company State Street Global is contributing to a better understanding and implementation of sustainability and stewardship practices for ESG.

Ben Colton is the Global Head of Asset Stewardship at State Street Global. The company is a steward of its clients’ investments, and as such, he oversees proxy, voting, and engagement activities.

1. Sustainability provides opportunity. The low-carbon economy will allow companies to refine their business models as they transition. They can see sustainability as a differentiator and a shift in consumer behavior. Ben stresses, however, that the discussion about brown vs. green energy should not become polarized. How companies change in response to a low-carbon economy will be dynamic.

2. Not having diversity is a business risk, especially at the board level. This speaks to areas for improvement within your nomination processes. Ben stresses that it is important to ensure that members widen their nomination pool and allow diverse candidates.

3. It’s time to start setting baseline expectations for carbon emissions and holding companies accountable for meeting them, Ben stresses. Companies need to be part of the solution. “Large oil and gas companies can be part of the solution. We can’t polarize this discussion in brown versus green and expect high emitting companies to spin off all their assets to the private equity sector because that’s what we’re seeing, and that’s what we’re concerned about,” he says.

4. Diversity is a part of human capital management and is related to corporate culture. Diverse work environments encourage innovation, create a welcoming work environment, and encourage employee engagement.

5. Human capital management will be more important in the coming years, and companies will consider integrating their employees’ voices and feedback.

KEY QUOTE:

“Having progressive diversity and inclusion practices will promote employee satisfaction.” – Ben Colton.

Resources:

Ben Colton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-colton-20b73521/

State Street Global Advisors: https://www.ssga.com/us/en/institutional/cash See less -