• Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
Skip to content
SustMeme Banner logo - The Word on Sustainability: Economics, Environment + Social Equity

SustMeme

THE WORD ON SUSTAINABILITY: Economics, Environment & Social Equity

  • Home
  • About
    • Commissions
  • Channels
    • Built Environment Channel
    • Circular Economy Channel
    • Climate & Energy Channel
    • CSR & Business Channel
    • Transport & Mobility Channel
    • Channel Sponsorship
    • Editorial Archive
  • Top 500s
    • User Guide
    • Sponsorship
    • Built Environment Top 500
    • Climate & Energy Top 500
    • #GreatLakes500
    • Building Services Top 500
    • CSR & Business Top 500
  • Magazine
    • Editorial Programme: Long-form Features & Series
  • Events
    • Webcast Series: Energy & Renewables with Eaton
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
August 3, 2021 Jim McClelland

Divestment: Are meat and plastic the new coal?

New writing… Exploring issues around divestment, ethics and sustainability, my first article for SHAPES ask whether meat and plastic are about to follow in the dirty footsteps of coal, as both private individuals and global institutions increasingly choose to make their money align with their values.

To date, fossil fuels have been the primary target for divestment — with coal considered Planetary Enemy No 1. Now, the divestment drive is gathering pace and scope, as environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria continue to go mainstream. The questions my editorial piece asks is what is forecast to come under fire next? What is effectively set to become the ‘new coal’?

It is not all meat and plastic, I should add, only the worst kinds — namely, the factory-farmed and single-use varieties, that are socially and environmentally unsustainable. The argument is that, as the cash starts to exit and avoid these commodities and markets, they become financially unviable and economically unsustainable. The so-called ‘assets’ behind animal cruelty and marine pollution become liabilities on the balance sheet.

In the divestment world, the business case for factory-farmed meat and single-use plastic is fading and failing, fast.

SHAPES was set up as a space for analysis, as well as a meeting place for expressing different views, opinions and ways of understanding our world. You can read the article in full, plus check out my introductory video, by clicking the link below:

Follow the money: Why meat and plastic are the new coal

(Please note, the article is also available in translation in both Spanish and Portuguese.)



SUSTMEME: Get the Susty Story Straight!

Share this:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInEmailShareSubscribe
A. News Topics: CSR & Business
CoalDivestmentEnvironmental Social and GovernanceESGEthical InvestingFactory farmingResponsible InvestmentSingle-use PlasticSustainable Investment

Post navigation

Previous Post:Hope not hype: Holding out for a net zero hero
Next Post:Green incentives: ‘Future of Payments’ in The Sunday Times

Subscribe to SustMeme

SustMeme logo with strapline — 'The Word on Sustainability: Economics, Environment + Social Equity.'

Recent Posts

  • Weighing scales with notes and coins on one side and on the other a crumpled piece of white paper with I.O.U. written in red. Sustainability + Justice = SUSTICE
  • View from behind TV cameras at back of room towards stage at Davos conference panel session. Davos redefined for the ‘turbulent Twenties’
  • Based on the work of Bocken et al. (2016), graphic depicts four flows to achieve circular objectives: narrow, slow, regenerate and cycle. How can we close the global Circularity Gap?
  • Vertical stripes going blue (L) to red (R) show global warming over time. Climate anxiety, wellbeing and business risk
  • Illustration shows flow of emissions in and out of fossil-free steel plant. Is a fossil-free future within reach for steel?
  • Double page spread of Chemical Recycling article from report in The Times Chemical Recycling and the ‘Future of Packaging’
  • Graph showing sudden and dramatic decline in Ethereum energy consumption this year. Crypto: ‘Future of Fintech’ in The Sunday Times
  • Artist's impression shows street view of Agile Homes design to create 15 new affordable eco homes on the city-centre roof of Emmaus Bristol. What is the future for 21st-century housing?
SustMeme Magazine is published by McClelland Media Ltd.

Sign up to SustMeme

Subscribe FREE and join the SustMeme Community!

Receive a weekly update and notification of calls for comment to feature in articles and news.

Plus, show your support for independent journalism on sustainability issues. Thanks!

Share this:
CopyFlipboardHacker NewsLineMixPinterestPrintRedditTumblrVKXingYummlyBufferMessengerPocketSMSTelegramWhatsApp