HESTA impact head sets up ESG shop

Mary Delahunty
MARY DELAHUNTY
HESTA - Head of Impact
DEPARTURE
HESTA
Date: 2 February 2022
Position: Head of Impact
By Elizabeth Fry

Former HESTA head of impact at, Mary Delahunty, has quit the $66 billion superannuation fund after almost a decade to set up an ESG consultancy.

More specifically, Delahunty's firm Seven Advisory aims to act as an intermediary to bridge the yawning gap between shareholder and consumer activism.

Seven Advisory will focus on authenticity, action, and accountability in business, she said, explaining that it was the right time to strike out on her own and improve her work-life balance.

Delaney has enjoyed a ringside seat watching the county's ESG efforts and she believes there is room for the big funds to do more.

"I think a lot of them are doing a fair bit, but there is a gap between the binary activist voice and what institutional investors are capable of achieving," she said.

"The loud and angry shareholder activists are driving a very good conversation on responsible investing, and they certainly expect more influence from ownership. But there is a huge difference between that and boycotting badly behaved companies."

Delahunty stressed the need for authenticity across the ESG spectrum and noted the high level of consumer cynicism.

"Consumers won't accept hollow words from companies especially when they see the brand as an extension of their own values," she said.

"If they are going to buy a sustainable product, they want to know the company has paid its workers properly throughout the supply chain and is living up to its diversity objectives.

"Consumers want to know everything about a business."

Delahunty said there were countless examples in companies where corporate words and actions don't match.

"Companies might proclaim to progress gender equality while cloaking sexual discrimination in NDAs or commit to a net-zero pathway while simultaneously funding lobbying efforts for more coal mines," she added.

"Stakeholders will recognise this and punish it," she warned.

"It is this integrity gap that the emerging consumers, either through their buying power or their investments, will not stand for and nor should they."

Delahunty said this was true of all stakeholders, including investors and employees, who need to see authentic actions across the whole spectrum of operations before they trust what the company proclaims..

Ultimately, the impact specialist wants to help both companies and investors understand their place in the system.

She cited HESTA's vision or theory of universal ownership. This theory states that funds ensure their investments work towards improving the world in which the investors live. "This is where you decide how you want the world to be before fitting companies into that vision," she said.

Meantime, Delahunty plans to work with universities on bringing ESG matters to commerce graduates.

Following her resignation, HESTA said the head of impact role has been split into the general manager, responsible investment, and the head of strategy.

"In 2022, we're growing our responsible investment team as we continue to develop our direct engagement program in collaboration with our internal Australian equities team," HESTA said.

"The general manager of responsible investment Kim Farrant leads the RI team, reporting to HESTA chief investment officer Sonya Sawtell-Rickson. Last year, we expanded our advocacy team, which is now led by the head of strategy Anna Claude."