Resource Center

Research shows that Property & Casualty insurance underwriters are not accurately pricing climate risks, and US government policy and program decisions are proving to be unsustainable. In our most recent blog, Justin Cheng talks about the resulting premium pricing corrections in the wake of intensifying extreme weather events. With this trend, a significant number of US homeowners are unable to obtain property insurance while taxpayers take on the increased cost of climate risk.

Corporate culture is not automatically positive, and elements of a company’s culture may provide certain benefits or disadvantages to a firm’s competitiveness. When acknowledged, corporate culture can be used as a tool to drive better business outcomes and manage conduct and compliance risk. Our discussions with companies show that corporate culture can have a dominant effect and influence behaviour over and beyond stated company policies and programs.

This Customer Spotlight showcases how Windstream Holdings used insights gained from Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Ratings and ESG Performance Analytics processes to enhance its ESG profile, expand company ESG initiatives, and improve ESG reporting and disclosures in line with industry leading practices.

EARTH DAY 2021: Why should investors care about deforestation and how can it can be taken into account within an investment portfolio?

The sustainable finance market has seen an exponential increase in size and activity in recent years. Innovative offerings such as green, social, and sustainable bonds, green and sustainability-linked loans (SLLs), and most recently sustainability-linked bonds, have contributed to the market’s incredible growth. In 2020, boosted by varied financial needs and mainstream recognition of environmental, social and governance (ESG) parameters, global sustainable debt capital surpassed US$700 billion, a 30% increase compared to 2019. Part of this capital was channelled towards tackling the effects of COVID-19 as government agencies, supranational bodies and corporates borrowed money to support areas most affected by the pandemic, such as healthcare. This shift in fund usage in 2020 resulted in the rapid growth of social bonds and a commendable first year for sustainability-linked bonds.

Given the accelerating trends in sustainable supply chain management, integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations throughout the supply chain will be a key priority for companies in 2021 and beyond.

It’s well known that inequalities between men and women still exist in the workplace. Women are less likely to fill senior leadership positions (29% in North America), earn less (81 cents per dollar in the US) and own fewer businesses (39% of businesses in the US) than men.

Update - 3 March, 2021: To help investors comply with the new requirements of the SFDR, Sustainalytics launched the PAI Data Solution that maps our research to the 60 indicators defined by the regulator. This new dataset will enable investors to consider the PAIs in their investment decisions as well as supporting disclosure requirements. Visit our website to learn how we can help with you SFDR compliance journey.

With climate change and social justice concerns increasingly dominating headlines, environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors are no longer treated as trivial issues confined to a company’s CSR department. ESG is now central to a company’s financial performance and reputation.

Good environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance is not just about meeting investor demands. From revenue generation and raising capital to talent acquisition and employee retention, strong corporate ESG performance can influence key aspects of a company’s operations.

What are Sustainability Linked Bonds? Sustainability Linked Bonds (SLB) are a forward-looking performance-based instrument. The Bonds financial or structural characteristics (such as the coupon rate) are adjusted depending on the achievement of pre-defined sustainability targets. The adjustment can be in both directions, e.g. an increase in coupon rate if targets are not met or a decrease in coupon rate if targets are met. Key difference with Green/Social/Sustainability Bonds is that the proceeds can be used for general corporate purposes.

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.

As the social and economic challenges of 2020 continue to unfold and markets remain in flux, the resilience of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing marks a silver lining. In the context of today’s bear market, investors are demonstrating their preference for sustainable funds over traditional ones, with Q1 2020 seeing a global influx of USD 45.6bn, compared to outflows of USD 384.7bn for the overall fund universe. Europe has continued to account for the majority of this inflow into sustainable funds, while the U.S. has picked up pace with a 100% y-o-y increase, the highest regionally. Furthermore, Morningstar reported that 89%, or 51 out of 57, of its sustainable indices outperformed their market peers in Q1 2020. For ESG practitioners, this may not come as a surprise as experience has shown that companies with robust corporate cultures and sustainable business practices are best-positioned for long term resilience and growth, leading to stickiness of ESG investments.

Sustainalytics´ ESG Performance Analytics provides companies with an in-depth assessment of their ESG Risk Rating compared relatively to a select number of industry peers.

A Sustainability Linked Loan is focused on incentivizing sustainability improvements among corporate borrowers by linking the terms of the loan to their overall sustainability performance targets. SLLs can be used for general corporate purposes as the terms are tied solely to the borrower’s ESG-related performance.

To take advantage of the demand for ESG-related disclosure and communicate their sustainability achievements to internal and external stakeholders, many forward-looking companies are leveraging ESG information in their capital raising activities and marketing efforts.

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.

Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs) are a forward-looking performance-based instrument, for which the bond’s financial or structural characteristics (such as the coupon rate) are adjusted depending on the achievement of pre-defined sustainability performance targets.

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.

There is broad recognition that achieving international climate goals will require a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from carbon-intensive sectors. The issuance of a Transition Bond may attract a more diverse pool of investors and help companies fund projects aimed at decarbonizing operations and supporting the progression to a low-carbon economy.