Global leaders in the Catholic and business community converged in Vatican City last week for the 3rd Rome Roundtable, cementing actions to make the world’s economy fairer and more sustainable.
Catholic Super CEO Frank Pegan, who represented the investment community at the meeting in his capacity as Chair of the Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC), said the premier global meeting sought to strengthen the notion of ‘co-operative globalisation’ to achieve more sustainable prosperity around the world.
“The strategy of co-operative globalisation, as endorsed by Pope Francis at the 2017 Rome Roundtable, seeks to build shared pathways between societies across the world. We discussed a range of practical ways we can work together towards global sustainable prosperity,” Mr Pegan said.
Key speakers included Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Petro Parolin, Bank of Italy Governor, Iganzio Visco, mining giant CEO of Anglo American, Mark Cutifani, and former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
A passionate advocate of responsible investment, Mr Pegan chaired a roundtable discussion on Investing to Address Climate Change as part of the two-day event.
“Our approach at Catholic Super is to make sure our investments take into account social, government and environmental factors. Here at the Rome Roundtable, we are encouraging that approach to be applied on a global scale,” he said.
The roundtable endorsed a new investment model known as ‘blended finance’, which uses a combination of public or philanthropic capital and private sector investment in projects aimed at achieving sustainable goals – such as addressing climate change – in developing countries.
“The investment community has a fundamental role to play when it comes to protecting people, profits and planet,” Mr Pegan said.
About Catholic Super
Catholic Super is an Australian industry superannuation fund, managing over $9 billion (as at 31 January 2018) on behalf of over 76,500 members and over 10,000 employers. Since 1971 they have provided support and guidance for their members, including financial planning, insurance, retirement, aged care planning and pensions. For more information about Catholic Super, visit their website csf.com.au or call 1300 655 002.
