Case Title: "Super funds set to track carbon footprints" - By Derek Parker
Brief summary of the case:
The case study is about the superfunds and the decision making process when investing.According to the 2008 report, 'Carbon Counts', superfunds are considering greenhouse gas emissions in their investment decisions. Some superfunds had much smaller carbon footprints than others yet showed above average performance. The research found that it was possible to greatly reduce the carbon liabilities of a portfolio by carefully selecting carbon- efficient companies without sacrificing financial returns.
Read the above case, examine the results and conduct your own research of other relevant materials to answer the following questions in your own words:
1. Why would the finance sector and investment funds in particular to have an interest in climate change.
2. Outline potential sources of information that superannuation funds could use to gather data about a company's sustainability operations.
3. Outline methods superannuation funds could use to encourage companies to take a more active role in managing climate change.
4. Read the report, Carbon Counts 2008: "The Carbon Footprints of Australian Superannuation Investment Managers" as mentioned in the case. Choose any 2 companies from ASX200 that discloses their environmental or carbon impacts. Analyze the report in the context of Stakeholder theory answering the questions below.
- As Stakeholder theory is divided into two branches, which branch of the theory is explained in this case?
- Explain the difference between the two branches in terms of the alternative perspectives about when information will, or should be produced by an organization.