Corporate participation in Pride - is it pinkwashing?

Pride in London took place at the end of June this year, with more than 30000+ participants in the parade and thousands more lining the streets along the route to spectate and cheer on. There were activities for the public and people partied on the streets in the bars and eateries all over the West End.

With Diversity and Inclusion being a key part of corporate social responsibility and ESG strategies, many companies backed their employees to take part in the parade. Participating companies include Playstation, Bloomberg, Expedia, Deutsche Bank and more, with many parade participants donning company clothing, or riding on floats and buses that displayed the organisation they belong to. To join the parade, companies must join the Pride in the City initiative (PiTC) where they pledge to foster an inclusive workplace and access training on LGBTQIA+ community issues. In this day and age, making employees feel comfortable at work could make the difference in retaining and attracting talent, after all, nobody wants to work where they are not welcomed!

In recent years there has been increasing scrutiny on companies engaging in Pinkwashing, and the PiTC initiative ensures that all participating organisations are dedicated to tackling issues that impact the LGBTQIA+ communities. Despite this, several organisations have decided to withdraw from the event as they believe that the PiTC scheme allows corporations to learn how to leverage engagement with the queer community to generate profit and promote their business rather than building safe spaces within companies and creating an accepting culture. Some even suggested that corporations entries are merely commercial and performative with the aim of pinkwashing their brand and increasing appeal to the queer community.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan at the front of the parade

Pinkwashing aside, the participants did an amazing job of showcasing what being LGBTQIA+ means with their glamorous outfits and well-decorated floats. It is great to see that people are embraced as who they are and I hope the event continues to grow and inspire others in the future.

Author: Mr. Arthur Ip, ICSD UK Chapter , Youth Ambassador

用大數據篩選房企ESG找出最佳標竿

筆者在前篇分享跨國機構投資者對ESG評級會如何影響它們投資各地房地產公司的策略。這篇嘗試參考各主要ESG評級網站所公開的房地產公司資料，闡明篩選投資目標房企公司的過程。

跨國機構投資者可以逐層遞進篩選（地域/地區房企物業類型公司）方式去降低投資風險。筆者以大數據倒推方式，把50個世界各地1,000多間房地產公司的市場地區、物業類型細分、僱員人數、市值水平、行業風險、管治能力及公司風險評分進行最佳標竿分析，得出以下「地區數目」分布（詳見表）：

房地產行業在多個ESG評級公司標準皆視為「偏低行業風險」，故此以上（A）和（B）的數值相若。至於（E）是（B）、（C）和（D）皆兼具的公司所屬地區數目，所以數值最少，但（C）的數目跟它幾乎一樣，反映評級公司視「優異管治能力」為關鍵因素。而（F）啟示了評級整體對19個同時有傳統房產公司和房託基金的地區有明顯較高機會（76%）獲得「最佳評價」，這可理解成一個地區的市場多樣化反映該地區的市場機制越趨成熟。

物業類型細分的標竿分析

筆者從這19個擁有最佳標竿房產公司/房託基金之地區，再從物業類型的角度細分分析，得出了幾點觀察：

一、「房託基金」較「房產開發」更高機會獲得標竿表現評級，大多數國家要求「房託基金」把約90%的營利回饋投資者以豁免支付利得稅，而且較一般上市公司披露更多運作資料；

二、「辦公商務」、「零售/商場」、「出租住房」、「物流倉庫」及「酒店休閒」皆比「銷售住房」有更多標竿評級的房產公司，因為前者全部皆是長期持有的物業投資，收益固定，符合ESG中「可持續業務」原則，締造經營者跟物業周圍環境/生態、其他持份者保持「長遠關係」的誘因；

三、從大數據角度來說，這些最佳標竿房產公司平均市值大概為615億元（非標竿公司為128億元；整個房地產行業平均為272億元），而每名僱員所「貢獻」的市值卻遠高於後兩者，分別為它們的10倍及2倍。

作者：譚善恆先生, 認可ESG策劃師, ICSD

UK ESG Watch: Neurodiversity is getting more attention

UK ESG Watch: Neurodiversity is getting more attention

What is Neurodiversity?

From Harvard Medical School:  "Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one "right" way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits.  The word neurodiversity refers to the diversity of all people, but it is often used in the context of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as other neurological or developmental conditions such as ADHD or learning disabilities."

In practice, today Tate Modern in the U.K., one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the world, provides "Quite Room" for the visitors in need to get away from the bustling environment (please see the attached photos).  

In addition, HSBC UK has become the first bank to introduce a daily ‘quiet hour’ across all of its UK branches to support customers with hidden conditions such as autism, dementia, and ADHD. Please see the details:

https://www.about.hsbc.co.uk/news-and-media/hsbc-uk-branches-introduce-daily-quiet-hour-for-customers-with-hidden-disabilities

The concept of DIVERSITY is expanding to many more different aspects of our lives.