PFAS: Forever Chemicals – Investor Briefing
PFAS: Forever Chemicals – Investor Briefing
On 3 September 2024, the First Sentier MUFG Sustainable Investment Institute (SII), working with Chronos Sustainability, hosted a webinar to discuss the findings of a new report: PFAS: Forever Chemicals – Investor Briefing.
The panellists – Clare Wood (Portfolio Specialist, Stewart Investors), Eugenie Mathieu (Nature Stewardship Lead, Aviva Investors), Patrik Witkowsky (Senior Sustainable Finance Advisor, Chemsec), Sudip Hazra (Director, SII) and Dr Rory Sullivan (Chronos Sustainability) – discussed the investment-related risks and opportunities presented by PFAS chemicals.
Some of the key insights from the discussion were:
PFAS are widely used across nearly every industry due to their valuable properties, but their persistence and ability to enter the environment through multiple pathways make them a significant concern.
There is increasing regulation and litigation around PFAS, affecting a wide range of industries. This includes producers, product manufacturers, and waste management and testing service providers, leading to a notable increase in investor interest in the matter.
Limited transparency from companies regarding their PFAS exposure hinders investor ability to assess the risks and opportunities related to PFAS.
Most companies are currently addressing the issue from a financial materiality standpoint.
Several companies have begun to either phase out or restrict certain types of PFAS or develop alternative solutions — signalling the start of a broader industry trend.
Notes
The full recording of the webinar can be found here and on the Chronos YouTube channel.
The slides presented in the webinar can be found here.
The First Sentier MUFG Sustainable Investment Institute is a joint venture initiative between First Sentier Investors and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation. The institute was launched in May 2021 to provide insights to investors that will contribute to a better understanding of how sustainability should be considered in investment approaches. The Institute works with global research groups, consultants and academics to examine Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues and better understand how investment practices can contribute to a more sustainable world.
Chronos Sustainability was established in 2017 to deliver transformative, systemic change in the social and environmental performance of key industry sectors. Chronos is involved in a wide range of global transformation projects across the sustainability spectrum and develops tools and strategies to enable its clients to accelerate action and effect real-world outcomes at scale.