It has been an astonishing year, one that none of us could ever have predicted and the remainder doesn’t look much more appealing with the festive season with our extended family and friends in jeopardy.
To lighten the mood, we wanted to find out from ESG investment professionals the achievements and lessons learned in 2020. We also asked how they will be making their festivities sustainable and their New Year’s resolutions to protect the planet and society.
We will be running this series in the lead-up to Christmas and hope you enjoy some light-hearted reading to get you in the festive spirit and also prompt you to think about your personal and professional sustainable goals for 2021.
In this article, we speak to Jean-Jacques Barbéris, director of the institutional and corporate clients division & ESG at Amundi.
What are your biggest personal and professional achievements this year?
2020 will end for me in the best personal way possible, with the arrival of my second boy – around the start of December. Being a father for the second time encourages me to do more, as an individual, but also motivates me to ensure that as an industry professional, I am helping the financial industry support a socially acceptable transition.
In ESG, what has had the biggest impact this year?
For me, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s pledge to achieving carbon neutrality in 2060 is a potential game changer – even more than the possible re-entry of the US into the Paris Agreement.
What is a major positive change that your business has introduced permanently as a result of the pandemic?
The pandemic has reinforced our ambition to develop more and more investment solutions that fully integrate social challenges into our strategies: In particular, I am really proud that we have launched the first global equity fund in the world dedicated to the reduction of social inequalities.
How will you be having a sustainable festive period?
No big change and no big surprise: It will be Christmas in France, taking the train and replanting a blue fir in our garden.
What is your go-to winter holiday routine? What’s your back-up plan for this year?
Traditionally we go to the village of Jura, in Switzerland, and visit my wife’s family. Sometimes we go to Sainte-Croix les Rasses for some cross-country skiing and mountain biking. If the borders remain closed, this year we will probably have a (socially distanced) family gathering in Burgundy.
What’s your sustainability New Year’s resolution?
Due to the crisis, I realised that I was travelling way more than I needed – and that was environmentally unacceptable. My New Year’s resolution is to reduce my travels, pre-Covid levels, by 80%. As I am preparing for a number of cycling races this year, I have also set a cycling target of 10,000 kms in 2021 on the cycling app, Strava (compared to the 7,500 – that I nearly achieved! – in 2020).
What’s your big prediction for next year in the ESG space?
As we are unfortunately entering into a massive social crisis, I expect that the ‘S’ factor will become more and more the area of focus of investors worldwide.
See also: –
A Sustainable Christmas with Patrick Thomas: Staycations, veggie diet and panic buying – ESG Clarity
