Firm Furthering its Commitment to Provide a Variety of Sustainability Information to Investors

February 3, 2021, Toronto – Sustainalytics, a Morningstar Company and a globally-recognized provider of ESG research, ratings and data, today published on its website its list of the top 20 most sustainable countries based on its Country Risk Ratings. Sustainalytics’ Country Risk Ratings combine ESG and economic indicators, providing fixed income investors with a forward-looking assessment of country risk to conduct in-depth sovereign credit risk analysis and portfolio analysis. In July 2020, Sustainalytics made publicly available on its website its high-level ESG Risk Ratings, and the addition of its top Country Risk Rating scores builds on its commitment to make sustainability information more accessible to investors.

“More fixed income investors are evaluating ESG information in addition to traditional credit factors to obtain a more comprehensive view into the risks facing countries,” said Manna Neghassi, Sustainalytics’ Manager of Country Risk Ratings. “With our most sustainable countries list, Sustainalytics aims to enhance investor knowledge by highlighting the overall risk rating and ESG scores on top performing countries.”

Below is information on the top five most sustainable countries based on the firm’s Country Risk Ratings.

Most Sustainable Countries

Based on Sustainalytics’ Country Risk Ratings, Norway comes in first out of 172 countries with a score of 9.48. Norway leads the world in wealth per capita and ranks second in its ability to manage its wealth in a sustainable manner. The country’s wealth score is 100 and its ESG Factor Score, a measure of how well a country manages its wealth, is 71.23 due to its excellent performance in governance such as control of corruption, rule of law and government effectiveness.

After Norway, Luxembourg (10.98), Switzerland (11.08), Australia (11.36) and Iceland (11.67) round out the top five most sustainable countries, respectively. These countries rank among the highest nations globally in the amount of per capita wealth and management of wealth. Each of these countries score above 70 out of 100 in their management of their natural and produced capital (environmental), institutional capital (governance), and they all scored above average in the management of their human capital (social).

Additional Information about Sustainalytics’ Country Risk Ratings

For institutional investors who need to identify and assess the ESG risks facing countries and how these risks might impact their credit analysis, Sustainalytics’ complete Country Risk Ratings cover 172 countries and are based on 40 indicators. Sustainalytics’ methodology captures a country’s ability to manage wealth through an ESG lens – a view which may not be directly captured in sovereign credit ratings. The firm also just recently introduced Country Risk Ratings reports to provide investors with easy to interpret country scores, comparisons based on income and regional groups, and historical trends.

To learn more about Sustainalytics’ list of the most sustainable countries and its Country Risk Ratings, please visit here.

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About Sustainalytics, a Morningstar Company
Sustainalytics, a Morningstar Company, is a leading ESG research, ratings and data firm that supports investors around the world with the development and implementation of responsible investment strategies. For more than 25 years, the firm has been at the forefront of developing high-quality, innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of global investors. Today, Sustainalytics works with hundreds of the world’s leading asset managers and pension funds who incorporate ESG and corporate governance information and assessments into their investment processes. Sustainalytics also works with hundreds of companies and their financial intermediaries to help them consider sustainability in policies, practices and capital projects. With 17 offices globally, Sustainalytics has more than 800 staff members, including more than 300 analysts with varied multidisciplinary expertise across more than 40 industry groups. For more information, visit www.sustainalytics.com.