Adoption - BlackRock's Big Problem
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The Solution: Adoption

Adopt a global baseline climate standard for ESG

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) funds should not include companies contributing to the climate crisis. BlackRock’s messaging emphasizes sustainability, but its ESG funds still include fossil fuels, forest-risk commodities, and companies that undermine human rights.

Remove unsustainable investments from ESG funds

While BlackRock has made some progress in this area, its ESG risk integration still focuses on the portfolio impacts of climate change, rather than the carbon footprint of its investments.

BlackRock needs to assess its overall climate exposure and its role in driving climate change.

The company’s current ESG product screens are too low. It needs higher standards and uniform applications across different geographies.

ESG integration in BlackRock’s active funds is not transparent. Overall fossil fuel exposure and hard ESG exclusions must be clear. All ESG funds must have minimum exclusions and reflect a portfolio that doesn’t drive the climate crisis

Swift reforms will lower climate risk

Research shows clients increasingly want to invest in ESG funds and assume they are climate friendly. However, BlackRock’s ESG products still fuel climate destruction.

ESG funds have become a booming, mainstream industry – but they need to be better.

In a Morningstar poll, 72% of investors said they were interested in ESG investments.

In Oct. 2020, BlackRock’s top ETF seller was the “sustainable fund” ESGU – which includes Exxon, Chevron, and 22 other fossil fuel companies.

In the first 10 months of 2020, net inflows for the global EFT industry totalled $540 billion – up 36% from the same period in 2019.

Why we need a global baseline

Forests are disappearing

BlackRock is the world’s largest investor in forest destruction, including the Amazon Rainforest, where billions of trees produce oxygen, absorb carbon and provide a home to countless bird and animal species. Behind nearly every company that cuts and burns forest, you’ll find BlackRock.

Climate change is a complex issue that demands integrated action. This is just one of three core problems that BlackRock must address now.

Who we are

We are a global network of NGOs, social movements, grassroots activists, finance researchers, and shareholder advocacy organizations. We’ve come together to push asset managers like BlackRock to align their business practices with climate solutions, instead of continuing to fund climate destruction.


FAQs

Answers to common questions about how BlackRock and the finance industry fuel climate change and environmental destruction.

What types of ESG funds are currently available, and what are the impacts of these ESG products?

We applaud BlackRock’s stated commitment to sustainability.

But Larry Fink and the financial industry must recognize that small steps and talk are not enough. Our future depends on bold, decisive action. Asset managers have the power to make immediate changes – and the responsibility to implement these feasible solutions.

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