Tobacco causes more than eight million deaths every year – and many of us are far more complicit in the problem than we realize.
World No Tobacco Day 2022: Realizing environmental and public health co-benefits
Our meditation on World No Tobacco Day 2022 is guided by a sober observation in the World Bank Group (WBG) Climate Change Action Plan 2021-2025 that the collective responses to climate change, poverty, and inequality are defining choices of our age. More so now because of the devastating combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic…
Why people should consider not investing in the tobacco industry
Dr. Bronwyn King, Founder and CEO at Tobacco Free Portfolios, and Maxime Carmignac, Managing Director Carmignac Gestion Luxembourg – UK Branch, explain what the Tobacco-Free Finance Pledge is, what supporting this initiative means, and why investors should favour divestment for this sector.
The case for divestment from tobacco
Holding tobacco companies in pension portfolios has largely been to provide stable income regardless of market conditions. While these companies have always been subject to ethical concerns, the inherent sustainability risks hadn’t been properly challenged until recently.
To the COP26 Summit in Glasgow
To the COP26 Summit in Glasgow: Moving to “Tobacco-Free Finance” is Good for Public Health and the Environment Climate change is one of the greatest risks and development challenges of our time. Under the UK Presidency, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) is being held in Glasgow on 31 October – 12 November 2021,…
Philip Morris International (PMI) Offer for Vectura Group plc
The signatories of this letter encourage you to consider both the business risks and the moral conflict of the proposed takeover. Tobacco companies should not profit from treating the illnesses their products cause. In addition, we believe Vectura’s future commercial viability as a company dedicated to improving respiratory health would be seriously jeopardised should the…
Canada’s second largest pension plan signs The Pledge
Caisse de depot et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has made the decision to withdraw from the tobacco industry. Tobacco is a public health issue that has serious consequences on the environment and on society, and we believe it is not an activity that is sustainable over the long term.
CalPERS made $856M through its tobacco exclusion
Californian public pension giant CalPERS has made $856m through its exclusion of tobacco since 2017, amounting to about 0.2% of the $389bn fund’s current assets, according to the latest analysis by investment consultant Wilshire Associates.
Alecta Announced Tobacco-Free Position: USD 90B
As a long-term investor, Alecta said its investments need to be focused on companies that are well-managed and have a business model with a long sustainability date.
UK’s Largest Private Pension Fund to Exit Tobacco
The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which oversees more than 68 billion pounds (USD 84 billion) of assets, will begin selling its holdings in these industries within two years and will exclude any further investment, according to a statement on Monday from USS’s main investment manager and adviser.