Resource Center

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.

Collecting and processing personal data has become one of the most significant drivers of financial value in today’s economy. But as the upside of personal data grows, so too does the downside risk associated with data security, management and privacy.

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.

Sustainalytics believes that natural gas has an important role to play in the energy transition, and therefore is an appropriate target for transition finance.

Based on our analysis, we find that investors in the FTSE Emerging Index are exposed to over 14 percent more unmanaged ESG risk than those in the FTSE Developed Index. The ESG risk gap between these indices is largest on the issue of data privacy and security. In addition, investors in select equity markets, such as China, may face a trade-off between chasing higher economic growth and mitigating portfolio ESG risk.

This four-part guide focuses on key areas of sustainable finance, offering companies, corporate investment banks and investors a better understanding of market trends and important developments.

This four-part guide focuses on key areas of sustainable finance, offering companies, corporate investment banks and investors a better understanding of market trends and important developments.

Solutions for closing the food gap are likely to come from both production innovations and changes in consumption trends: on the one hand, it is essential that we increase the supply of food, while on the other, there is real potential for a reduction in demand for certain commodities.

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.

The Water Stewardship and Risk Engagement combines both scale and detail, and covers the food and beverage, mining and garment sectors, which are associated with a high level of water risk. This engagement links water policy and practices in these three sectors to the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all)

Since 2012, GES together with the Polish Association of Listed Companies, a self-government organization of companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, has been involved in an educational project ESG analysis of companies in Poland aimed at increasing disclosure and transparency of reporting on non-financial indicators.

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.

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.

In 10 for 2018, we focus on the ESG issues we anticipate could pose significant risks for investors. The ESG issues in focus fall into four broad themes: water management, climate change, consumer protection and stakeholder governance. Learn more about the stories behind these issues below.

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?

An estimated 40 million people are currently oppressed by modern slavery and companies are under increasing pressure to manage this issue to mitigate operational disruptions as well as compliance and reputational risks. Sustainalytics, FSI and Suncorp tackle this issue on Sustainalytics’ Perspectives on Modern Slavery – Australia webinar.

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

Sustainalytics hosted an online panel discussion about recent trends, company engagement and developments in modern slavery, along with a preview of Sustainalytics’ thematic engagement on modern slavery.

An increasing number of financial institutions integrate sustainability considerations such as environment, social and governance factors into their investment decisions and product development. Increased customer awareness, regulations, and growing evidence of the long-term benefits of considering sustainability in investment decisions has led to a significant growth in the sustainable finance field.

The world is changing faster than it ever has. As a result, companies are facing increasingly complex and numerous challenges. They need to adapt faster, and in this process, the board has a crucial role to play. A new vision of the board is needed to help start a process today that will result in them being better prepared for tomorrow’s challenges.