The 2025 Sustainability Conference in retrospection

On 3 April, the Institutional Sales Team at Erste Asset Management hosted its 12th annual Sustainability Conference at Erste Campus, bringing together institutional clients and leading experts to discuss pressing sustainability issues. Under the title “Sustainable Investments: How to avoid skating on thin ice with alternative investments”, Oliver Röder, Head of Institutional Sales, moderated the day's proceedings.

Thomas Kraus, member of the Executive Board, opened the conference and reminded attendees that EAM had been committed to sustainable investment solutions since 2001. Despite political headwinds, particularly from the USA, sustainability remains a key issue on the capital market.

The ESG narrative in the media: a perfect storm?

Oliver Heyden, Chief Strategy Officer at pressrelations, analysed the changes in the media's ESG narrative. Since 2022, critical voices have become louder, especially in the USA. However, companies are sticking to their ESG goals internally, driven by risk management and regulatory requirements.

Building on sustainability: (existing) properties with a focus on ESG

Beatrix Habeler, Head of Desk Real Estate at ERSTE Immobilien KAG, and Friedrich Mühlener presented strategies for increasing the value of existing properties through ESG measures. Energy efficiency and compliance with regulatory requirements are key issues here.

Microfinance: social impact and stable revenues

Martin Cech and Christoph Eckart, both senior fund managers and proven experts in microfinance and impact investing, focused on the social element of ESG. Microfinance gives low-income households access to financial services and has a positive impact on education and development in emerging markets.

Active ownership thanks to private markets

Manuel Bauer demonstrated how sustainability and ESG issues could be implemented in the private equity asset class. Direct equity investments facilitate targeted sustainable development with measurable impact through active ownership. Private equity investments offer the advantage of significantly greater influence. However, it is important to bear in mind the risks associated with this type of investment.

Expedition to the epicentre of climate change

A highlight and the conclusion of this year's conference was the presentation by Prof. Dr. Markus Rex on his impressions of a year-long research mission to the North Pole. He gave an impressive account of the drastic warming of the earth and how this was becoming increasingly apparent in the Arctic.

His central message was that “the ice will disappear as long as we continue to warm the climate, and the ice sheet will stabilise if we stabilise the climate system.” It is therefore up to us to actively combat climate change and thus preserve the ecosystems that are essential for our coexistence.

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Disclaimer

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