Oceanwood Capital, an activist hedge fund headquartered in London, called on European leaders to re-think their country’s travel policies in a radically new way. The goal is to reduce carbon emissions in the fight against climate change, and the method is to make a conscious decision to switch from the wasteful use of flying to the more environmentally friendly railroad.
The fund operates the Channel Tunnel and manages at least $1.3 billion in assets. The fund contacted ministers in France, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium, in an effort to persuade them to adopt the use of rail for passenger and freight in place of short-haul flights and cross-Channel ferries.
“The key conclusion from our investment research is the catastrophic carbon inefficiency of short-haul passenger aircraft and cross-Channel ferry transport,” Oceanwood wrote in a letter to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, of the UK.
The move by Oceanwood comes at a historic time when investing is beginning to re-focus its goals away from pure profit-seeking towards a more socially responsible type of money management. Known as ESG for environment, social, and governance, the philosophy maintains that excellent financial results can combine with taking responsibility for our actions. Activists investors such as Oceanwood and Christopher Hohn’s TCI have pushed companies under their auspices to improve their records on pollution, transparency and giving back to their communities.