Cedar Oxygen’s ESG Engagement

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria are a set of standards for a Lebanese company’s operations that Cedar Oxygen, as a socially conscious investor, is using to screen potential borrowers.

ESG’s growing prevalence among alternative finance firms, both as a factor in investment and lending decision-making, but also as a tool for risk mitigation and as part of a strategy for generating superior long-term returns, is relatively new.

Today, there is a growing recognition among alternative investment and credit funds that the long-term viability of their portfolio companies is very much tied to the welfare of their stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, customers and the communities in which they conduct business.

ESG-oriented investing has experienced a meteoric rise—global sustainable investment now tops $30 trillion.¹

Why strong ESG practices can offer our borrowers a competitive advantage?

Sustainability has been one of the most significant trends in financial markets for decades. Financial performance is one area that’s received significant if not the most, interest in research on ESG issues.

According to the report on how “sustainability can drive financial performance²”:

• Companies with strong sustainability scores show better operational performance and are less risky.

• Investment strategies that incorporate ESG issues outperform comparable non-ESG strategies

• Active ownership creates value for companies and investors

This report analyzed around 200 studies and sources on sustainability. They suggested that:

ESG = Less potential risk

Given the critical political, financial, social and health situation in Lebanon, ESG is more important now than ever. Stakeholders need to survive, and these stakeholders are represented in ESG. Through sustainability, Lebanese industries will be more resilient to changes and to crisis.

ESG proposition links to value creation in 5 essential ways.¹

Cedar Oxygen has identified specific aspects of the United Nations SDGs where it can make a positive impact on Lebanon.

An ESG compliant mission rests at the heart of Cedar Oxygen finance program defined as a segment of impact investing that seeks to improve the lives of low-income people across Lebanon and to fill in capital gaps required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

We encourage our borrowers to adopt more sustainable behavior and lead the way to other businesses. تنزيل العاب اون لاين Our ESG team will be working hand in hand with the borrowers to:

• Understand better the features and the benefit of ESG

• Identify and communicate the steps needed to resolve and mitigate the ESG issues; and

• Set long-term ESG targets and help our clients to achieve them.

For more assistance on how you can adapt ESG to your business do not hesitate to contact us and we would be happy to assist you. العاب قمار مجانا Let’s build together a better tomorrow for Lebanon.

¹Henisz W; Koller T; Nuttall R (2019). Five ways that ESG creates value. استراتيجية لعبة روليت McKinsey Quarterly

²“From the Stockholder to the Stakeholder: How Sustainability Can Drive Financial Outperformance,” University of Oxford, Arabesque Partners, March 2015.