Companies to report environmental risks

The requirement will come into force in the second half of 2010.

7 September 09 11:14, Merav Ankori

Beginning in the second half of 2010, public companies will be legally required to notify the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) of environmental and social risks of their conduct. Minister of Environmental Protection Gilad Erdan made the announcement today at a conference on responsible investment at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). The conference was organized by the ministry, the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, and the EU.

The initiative is part of a UN program, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). Signatories are investment institutions, which over the past decade have come to realize that it is necessary to apply environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions in companies.

19 investment institutions founded the UNPRI, and they formulated six principles that form the standard for responsible investment. The UNPRI currently has 580 members worldwide, with an aggregate $18 trillion in assets under management, amounting to 10% of global capital under management.

Erdan said, "Each company reports what it wants, rather than in accordance with agreed upon standards. It is necessary to standardize reporting so that it will be possible to compare the conduct of different companies, assess their level of risk in a comparative way, and also reliably monitor the company's conduct over the years."

As a result of the initiative, public companies are expected to invest tens of millions, and even hundreds of millions of shekels, to install technologies and facilities to reduce pollution, improve energy consumption, and treat water.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 7, 2009

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