Sophia Magazine vol.9 / SUMMER 2019
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Rimmel (R): We have seen a major shift towards ESG in-vestment in recent years. Investors have started to look for more sustainable ways to make long-term profit instead of quick returns. In addition, it is becoming a risk for actors to invest in something that might be unethical, environmen-tally harmful, or against the latest international standards due to growing awareness among the global community. Hikima (H): The question of how to raise the general pub-lic’s awareness is indeed key to expanding ESG investment, which is something Japan needs to promote further. Behind asset owners there is always the general public, including pension participants and the beneficiaries of investment funds, who are supposed to be more sensitive about where and how their assets are directed. Asset owners are those who design investment policies based on their missions and philosophy, while asset managers are the ones who make investment decisions in accordance with said policies. To make this investment chain both more solid and focused on ESG factors, and to give asset managers sufficient in-centive and motivation to steer towards ESG investments, investor education for those who contribute their money to asset owners is essential. I mean the kind of investor education that provides insights into the power of finance and investments to change the world for the better or for the worse, not the type that addresses only investment technique. R: Younger generations have a different understanding of “sustainability” to that which we had decades ago. They will have much higher standards than we do in solving various social and environmental issues. This change is a reflection of society. Especially after the global financial crisis, inves-tors and consumers have started to place more importance on trust, leading to the revision of conventional economic models. Investors are interested in learning how they can access reliable data and trustworthy information, which is where education comes in. They are becoming more and more de-manding, but will also be good, long-term partners to in-vestee companies. Good ESG practices will be highly valued in both the consumer and investor markets, helping compa-nies stay ahead in the global competition. In the beginning, everything was on a voluntary basis but eventually regula-tions were introduced to set specific requirements for ESG investments in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sus-tainable Development. Some companies that are lagging behind in this field do not welcome legislation. Those that are already advanced, however, can enjoy a competitive advantage. All in all, I feel that legislating ESG investments is a good move, because it will boost competi-tion and make companies aware that observing ESG prin-ciples is not only green, environmentally friendly, or socially meaningful, but also beneficial for themselves, their inves-tors, and society as a whole. In the past, Rimmel’s cutting edge-research programs, in-cluding “Accounting for Sustainability-Communication Through Integrated Reporting,” have received funding from Handelsbanken research foundations as well as from the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Foundation. He is active in a number of bodies including the European Accounting Association, British Accounting & Finance Association, and Center for Social and Environmental Accounting Research.Gunnar RimmelPublic Awareness of ESG FactorsA symposium entitled “ESG investment and integrated reporting in EU” was held at Sophia in May 2019. Taking its name from the way that it considers environmental, social, and gov-ernance factors in assessing the sustainability and ethics of business operations, ESG invest-ment is becoming increasingly popular both in Japan and across the globe. Two of the event’s speakers, Dr. Gunnar Rimmel and Professor Masafumi Hikima, discuss the past, present, and future of an approach to financing that may benefit the greater social good.Special Talk18

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