“Keep investing in fossil if you want to change companies’ environmental policies and production processes.” Finance expert Jac. Kragt explains why large shareholders play an important role in the transition of non-sustainable industries.
This lecture is organized in collaboration with student organization Wervingsdagen, organizer of several career events at TU/e.
It was big news at the end of October: ABP, the Dutch pension fund for civil servants and teachers, and one of the largest pension funds in the world, was selling its €15bn-worth of holdings in fossil fuel companies, including Royal Dutch Shell. For the ABP board, it was a necessary and urgent change of course to contribute to minimizing global warming to 1.5C. While action groups and environmental organizations responded enthusiastically, critical voices were also heard.
This is one of the examples discussed about the impact that investors can have on the sustainability transition. Polluting and harmful industries - e.g. weapons, tobacco, and gambling - have been shunned by the large institutional shareholders for years. For environmental reasons, partly under pressure from their constituents and clients as well as from society at large, more and more investors want to get rid of their shares in the fossil industry. At first glance, this is an understandable and encouraging choice. However, the question is whether this strategy will lead to the necessary, significant acceleration of transition by the major global oil, gas, and mining companies.
Dr. Jac. Kragt is associate professor of Finance and lecturer for Sustainable Finance at the Tilburg School of Economics and Management (Tilburg University), and a supervisor in the financial sector. He will give an introduction on sustainable investing, explain different strategies that companies and organizations can choose, and discuss the impact of involved shareholding on the sustainability policy of companies. Here, you can read the opinion piece Jac. Kragt wrote about this topic in the Dutch newspaper NRC on 8 October 2021: Pension funds should continue to invest in oil and gas (English / Dutch)
Wervingsdagen Career Expo
This lecture is organized in collaboration with student organization Wervingsdagen. On Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 March, Wervingsdagen will organize their yearly Career Expo. Have a look at their website for up-to-date information about the event.
Please note: only book a ticket if you want to attend this program on campus. To watch the livestream via MS Teams, please do not reserve a ticket.
On campus: ticket reservation recommended
This program will take place on campus. Making a reservation via the website (black "order" button) is recommended to ensure you have a seat.
Via livestream: do not reserve a ticket
This program will also be streamed live via MS Teams. You can attend by clicking on this LINK TO LIVESTREAM. Students who want to register for SG&USE should login with their TU/e students email account and watch the entire program.
Please do not book a ticket if you want to watch the livestream.
SG&USE registration
On campus:
Please register your participation upon arrival when attending the program on campus. You can register by scanning your student card before the start of the program at the venue.
Online via livestream:
- Do not make a reservation if you want to watch the program online via the livestream.
- You can only register for SG&USE if you watch the entire program live via MS Teams and are logged in with your TU/e student email account (i.e., you can’t watch it at a later time) and if you complete an online SG&USE registration form within five minutes after the end of the program. Before the program starts, we will explain where and when you can find the link to the registration form. You will need to have your student ID number on hand because you'll need it to fill out the form. Please make sure your registration is done properly, otherwise we will not be able to verify that you were present.
More information about SG&USE can be found here.