Longwave Summer ESG Impact Newsletter
Summertime and (hopefully) the living's easy. We're right in the sweet spot of enjoying the heat of summer while having plenty more beach days ahead. It's the time of year when you can slow down, breathe deep and really enjoy all the little moments.
In this issue of the ESG newsletter, you'll find:
Summer sustainability tips (that involve ice cream!)
Spotlight on Riverkeeper
Brandon talks about fossil fuel divestment
Photo credit: Longwave's own Brennen Ramos from his June trip to the Adirondacks.
Green Living
Farmer's Markets: Support your local farmers while enjoying all the tastes of summer. Buying local also means that your food doesn't travel as far, requiring less chemicals for preservation.
Meatless Mondays: Meat consumption is one of the single largest ways to help decrease greenhouse gas emissions. When it's 90 degrees and humid, you can skip the BBQ and make a summer salad with some of the great new plant-based options and all the summer veggies you can find.
Eat more ice cream cones: Yes, you read that right. Since this is peak ice cream season, choosing a cone is a waste-free way to enjoy your favorite treat. No bowl, no spoon, all treat.
Reusable water bottle: Before you leave the house, is your checklist "keys, phone, wallet and water bottle?" BPA-free plastic or stainless steel are great for on the go - it's an easy way to meet your hydration goals and keep the planet healthy too.
Longwave in the Wild
The Longwave team spent 3 days together for learning, food and fun. Capping off the experience was an afternoon volunteering at God's Love We Deliver. This amazing organization provides nutritional meals to medically vulnerable populations. We kale'd it!
Non-Profit Spotlight: Riverkeeper
The Hudson Valley in the summer is spectacular. Keeping it vibrant and beautiful is part of the essential work that Riverkeeper does. Their annual sweep removes tons of debris from the shoreline, they partner with lawmakers to create legislation to protect the water from pollutants and work tirelessly to preserve the quality of our drinking water.
In 1966, a group of concerned fishermen banded together to form the Hudson River Fisherman's Association. They appointed a "Riverkeeper" to patrol the river for pollution. The patrols continue to this day, both literally and figuratively, with the goals of fighting contamination, maintaining the quality of New Yorker's drinking water and finding sustainable solutions. Jeff was recently appointed as Chairman of the Advisory Board and in keeping with JSA's tradition, Longwave is proud to support Riverkeeper.
Know What You Own
One of the most common question we're asked when discussing Longwave's ESG portfolios is around exposures to carbon and fossil fuels. Logically, when people hear about ESG investing they focus on the E (environmental) portion of the acronym. Climate tends to be the most compelling issue amongst impact oriented investors. With that in mind, we wanted to share thoughts about fossil fuel exposure in our portfolios as well as how we are positioned.
To start, there is no such thing as “Fossil Fuel Free” portfolios or investments. That phrase is a marketing term used to express the fact that a fund or portfolio does not directly own or lend to legacy fossil fuel companies. What it does not mean is that they do not have exposure to dirty energy. Virtually every company has a carbon footprint of some kind and the longstanding debate is about who is responsible; the maker of the fuels, the end user, the grid operators, the transporters? The answer is proportionally all of them, so there is no getting around carbon exposure. What we do as investors is tilt ourselves towards better actors who have carbon neutral commitments and clean energy practices. We can own and participate through proxy voting in companies to make them cleaner. We can also influence the cost of energy production through capital allocation. If we stop lending to legacy energy that increases borrowing costs for development and production of fossil fuels. Alternatively, if we support direct lending to greener energy it will bring borrowing costs down and make those projects more feasible and competitive.
Within Longwave's ESG oriented portfolios, we make a very aggressive commitment towards reducing our carbon footprint and fueling green energy innovation (pun intended). For example, we do not hold any legacy fossil fuel names like Exxon, Shell, BP in any of our ESG portfolios. What you will see are companies like Siemens which are leading the green energy transition by building wind turbines. We are intentional in what we own and make sure that we are more exposed to the future of energy rather than the past. If you'd like to delve further into what you own, please let us know and we'd be happy to review your portfolio together.
Investments are subject to risk, including the loss of principal. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are a set of non-financial principles and standards used to evaluate potential investments. The incorporation of ESG principles provides a qualitative assessment that can factor heavily into the security selection process. The investment’s socially responsible focus may limit the investment options available to the investor. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
