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In this report, the first in Sustainalytics’ new Portfolio Research series, we offer analysis about where investors can get the biggest “ESG bang for their buck” as they navigate the COVID-19 market recovery.

This year, we mark Earth Day under a pandemic. To date, casualties of the novel coronavirus include more than 170,000 deaths, ongoing disruptions to healthcare systems and a deep economic downturn. As we face the first global recession in a decade, Earth Day – the theme of which this year is climate action – serves as a reminder for investors to reflect on how their investment activities relate to social and environmental health concerns.

The highly anticipated final report by the TEG (Technical Expert Group) on the EU Taxonomy was published in early March, followed by a stakeholder information session. You can read our blog post on last fall’s developments here.

Monday’s rout of the global equity market has left investors reeling. Major benchmarks including the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the DAX were down well over 7%. In Canada, the commodities heavy TSX Composite shed over 10%.

In the second installment of our ESG Risk Ratings white paper series, we assess the unmanaged ESG risk of 42 Internet Software and Services (ISS) companies. In addition, the report offers a comprehensive ESG risk analysis of the subindustry and concludes with a case study of Facebook.

In 10 for 2019: Systemic Risks Loom Large, we offer a forward-looking view of significant ESG issues that could affect global investment portfolios in 2019. Applying Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Ratings framework, we identify a selection of subindustries with high levels of unmanaged risk and profile 10 firms with leading ESG management practices and low levels of unmanaged ESG risk.

The proposed Taxonomy is a classification tool to help investors and companies make informed investment decisions on environmentally friendly economic activities. It is a list of economic activities, which defines performance criteria for six environmental objectives.

Finding your path in the upcoming ESG regulations: A spotlight on EU Taxonomy and Disclosures The Taxonomy is a classification framework, part of the EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan, designed to determine whether an economic activity is environmentally sustainable.

Food production is a leading contributor to global GHG emissions, deforestation, water stress and biodiversity loss, and the sector is increasingly under scrutiny to mitigate its environmental footprint. A failure to manage related impacts and adapt to changing consumer trends could result in material business risks or missing out on opportunities. Land and forest investments could become stranded assets. Sustainalytics will also provide a preview of its new thematic engagement, Feeding the Future.

We are excited to share that Sustainalytic’s CEO Michael Jantzi, participated in a clean finance podcast hosted by Canada Clean50 as part of their #CleanReset initiative. In the company of fellow leading clean finance experts, the dialogue is an insightful overview of how Canada’s current position on ESG regulation may impact financial sustainability for large Canadian corporations.

Understand how Sustainalytics' research and data can assist benchmark administrators in implementing the EU Climate Transition Benchmarks and EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are playing an increasingly important role in shaping the sustainability roadmaps of investors, governments and civil society groups. In Sustainalytics’ thematic research report, 10 for 2020: Creating Impact Through Thematic Investing, we present investors with ten ESG investment themes that can positively contribute to advancing the SDGs.

Overlaying Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Ratings onto the FTSE AW Index, we found that 24 percent of the benchmark’s market cap was rated as having high to severe levels of ESG risk. In addition, over the course of Q4 2018 the negligible to low ESG risk companies outperformed the benchmark by 55 basis points. Our sample portfolio containing 300 best-in-class ESG performers would have returned 77 basis points more than the benchmark in Q4.

Sustainalytics is committed to developing additional products and services to help investors meet other requirements related to the EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan.

Econopolis combines financial analysis with its qualitative evaluation of management and macro-economic themes to construct a portfolio that it believes will be competitive and sustainable in the long term. Their qualitative approach to ESG presented them with two challenges: How can they measure their ESG performance against that of other leading responsible investors? And, how can they reassure clients that their approach is credible?

This report, Gaining Ground: Corporate Progress on the Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability, evaluates how well 613 of the largest, publicly traded U.S. companies are integrating sustainability into their business systems and decision-making. The report— a collaboration between Ceres and Sustainalytics—assesses corporate progress across the four strategic areas first outlined in 2010 in the Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability: Governance, Stakeholder Engagement, Disclosure and Performance.

Placing its clients’ interests centre stage, ABN AMRO understands the importance of delivering optimum service and offering transparent and simple products, while remaining at the forefront of technological developments and innovative solutions for client convenience. As part of its fiduciary duty and as a bank that commits to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, ABN AMRO has a detailed plan for ESG integration, engagement and sustainable investing.

ING Wholesale Banking (WB) is the commercial banking business of ING Bank N.V. Using a forward-looking financing approach that incorporates environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations, ING WB provides banking services for large, multinational corporate clients, banks, insurance companies and other institutional investors.

The first half of 2020 saw $200bn in sustainable bonds issued globally with green bonds accounting for nearly half of that. As more companies commit to achieving net-zero emissions and as the world shifts to a low carbon economy, the CEO Investor Forum and Sustainalytics welcome industry experts to weigh in on the state of the sustainable finance market during this one-hour virtual event.

GES has engaged the cocoa industry for many years to increase its effort in tackling the issue of child labour. As a part of its long-term engagement, GES published its second public report on the issue, including investor expectations and a corporate benchmark of leading cocoa and chocolate companies.