CORPORATE RESEARCH
Impact
We expanded the Corporate Research in 2022, to offer in-depth analysis and launched a new periodical, The Transition Files, containing a variety of different articles as well as occasional company deep dives. The inaugural edition focused on topical issues in Oil and Gas Transition and Considerations for Companies, including thoughts on valuation and climate targets.
This included an article, Shell – Conundrum: A tale of two strategies which examined the financial and valuation implications of a wind-down vs BAU strategy. The Journal was well received by senior portfolio managers and decision makers at top institutions.
Last year, we launched coverage of the major European coal companies with a summary note and detailed notes critiquing the transition plans of: RWE, Uniper, CEZ and PGE. Analysing coal fleets in detail, we found none of these companies are Paris-aligned. Alongside these notes, we published a thematic overview of coal in Europe: EU coal: The good, the bad and the ugly, where we evoked major transition issues, the impact of commodity prices and implications.
Our efforts sparked a productive dialogue with RWE and, just three weeks later, the company announced plans to significantly accelerate the closure of their coal operations (moving the date from 2038 to 2030), in coordination with the German Government. Our report played a role in pushing the company to take swift and decisive action on decarbonisation.
We also published company notes on some of the largest Asian power and utilities companies. CLP, Tenaga, and Adani have very significant coal fleets and new build plans. Our research highlighted the transition risk those companies face, through detailed analysis. Followed by a note on J-Power, focusing on the company’s domestic coal production. This sparked measurable and engagement from Japanese Investor Relations. Furthermore, we negotiated an agreement to disseminate our research via AIGCC, with relevance for their investor database, who hold shares held in the companies analysed.
Looking Ahead to 2023
We have an ambitious 2023 launch schedule that will cover key European and US oil and gas, and power and utilities companies. Our team aims to publish transition analyses on major companies, as well as relevant sector market capitalisations. We will focus on transition plan analysis but also produce company focussed deep dives as our audience have found them to be highly impactful. It is our aim to provide a reference on the energy transition for leading investors and institutions.
