Resource Center

In November 2019, as part of the Sustainable Seafood Engagement, Sustainalytics visited Chile to learn more about the country’s rapidly growing aquaculture industry. Commercial salmon farming has developed quickly in Chile over the past two decades, and today the country is the second largest producer of seafood in the world. Although salmon is not a native species to Chile, the climate in the southern part of the country (zones 10 and 11) offers excellent conditions for farming activities. Farmed salmon now represents the country’s second largest export and the industry provides thousands of jobs for people living in some of Chile’s most remote communities.[i] Despite this economic success story, the industry also faces environmental and social challenges which may cause investor risk. These risks may become more pronounced in the future, as the sector now looks to expand deeper into biodiversity hotspots.

In this year’s edition of our 10 for series, we put an environmental, social and governance (ESG) lens on 10 investment themes that may offer investors an opportunity to create a positive social and environmental impact through the equity market. The trends we identify are driven by corporate initiatives to scale new technologies, improve social conditions, conserve ecosystems and mitigate climate change.

Review the second-party opinions for some of the green, social and sustainability bonds mentioned in our 500th SPO post. Learn more about the issuers, and the socially and environmentally focused projects and initiatives their bonds funded.

As the largest second-party opinion provider, Sustainalytics works with hundreds of the world’s leading issuers and investment banks to help them bring credible sustainability bonds and loans to market.

Climate bonds, loans or debt instruments are used to finance or re-finance projects that address climate change and are in line with achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Such projects include wind farms, solar plants, sustainable buildings, etc. and can be found in a multitude of sectors including shipping, agriculture, energy or forestry amongst others.

This engagement focuses on encouraging companies to improve the quality and economics of recycling practices, to shift strategic focus towards redesign and innovation and to increase the re-usability of products.

Sustainalytics’ Controversial Weapons Radar enables investors to identify private and public companies involved in weapons that can have a disproportionate and indiscriminate impact on civilian populations, sometimes even years after a conflict has ended.

Sustainalytics‘ Data Services enables investors to integrate our research directly into their internal or third-party systems. It integrates ESG research seamlessly into the system you currently use and know.

This thematic engagement is aimed at encouraging companies to define meaningful SDG strategies that align with their business plans. It aims to influence them to address their negative impacts and seek out opportunities to produce positive outcomes in line with the 2030 SDG agenda, while contributing to a more stable long-term operating environment for themselves.

An SPO provides potential investors with assurance that the use of proceeds for the bond or loan, as set out in the framework, are aligned to market practices.

Sustainalytics’ Carbon Risk Rating assesses the degree to which company value is at risk, driven by the transition to a low-carbon economy. Specifically, the Carbon Risk Rating measures a company’s unmanaged exposure to carbon risk.

The Country Risk Ratings measure the risk to a country’s long-term prosperity and economic development by assessing how sustainably it is managing its wealth. It can be used to support country assessments and help investors anticipate and manage emerging risks with an analysis of events happening in a country

Sustainalytics’ Corporate Governance Research and Ratings enable investors to monitor companies year round and assess their corporate governance structures, practices and behaviors.

Over two million children below the age of 18 work in hazardous conditions in the cocoa supply chain in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Ghana. This engagement is founded on investors’ expectations for some of the largest companies in the cocoa sector, and addresses the issue of child labor in cocoa.

Review the second-party opinions for some of the green, social and sustainability bonds mentioned in our 500th SPO post. Learn more about the issuers, and the socially and environmentally focused projects and initiatives their bonds funded.

Sustainalytics’ Global Access is our flagship platform for accessing our ESG research. The user-friendly interface includes functionalities that enable investors to read detailed company reports with qualitative analyses, screen companies on ESG criteria for security selection and product creation and run custom reports to communicate ESG performance. With the alerts functionality, clients can monitor their portfolios for ESG incidents and controversies.

It is anticipated that modern slavery will increasingly put companies at a competitive disadvantage through, for example, operational disruptions, compliance risks and loss of business due to damage to reputation. The engagement’s objective is to ensure high-risk portfolio companies adopt rigorous strategies on modern slavery.

Sustainalytics' Material Risk Engagement assists and protects companies with the highest unmanaged ESG Risks, Material Risk Engagement is change-oriented and has a long-term commitment to engagement.

This engagement focuses on sustainable management of water resources on the local level. The engagement targets companies across selected sectors that share the same water catchment in the Tiete (Brazil) and/or Vaal (South Africa) river basins.

Our EU Taxonomy Solution provides ESG research and data that assesses clients’ holdings and portfolio alignment to the EU Taxonomy. We currently offer a Taxonomy Data solution and a Managed Portfolio Service. The Managed Portfolio Service provides a portfolio-level alignment assessment and the Data solution provides company-level assessment along with the supporting underlying company-level data. Companies receive one of four assessments: Aligned (/With Warning), Partially Aligned (/With Warning), Not Aligned and No Evidence.