Climate protection through capital investments

Do climate-friendly capital investments help protect the climate? To answer the question, adelphi polled the Investor Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility departments of all the companies listed on the DAX, MDAX and TecDAX indices. It also spoke to a number of selected European rating agencies.

The results show that climate-friendly and sustainable investors influence individual companies and the market as a whole in a number of different ways. Some companies, for example, report that they have sharpened their climate protection strategies and sustainability policies as a result of pressure from investors. Moreover, many CSR departments have gained a more influential position within their company in responding to the needs and wishes of investors. The study did, however, also show that the impact has affected only a relatively small number of companies. Most companies, especially the smaller ones, are little influenced by climate-friendly and sustainable investors, if at all.