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Modern Slavery

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.

Plastics and the Circular Economy

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.

Climate Transition

Climate risk management is one of the overarching challenges facing members of society, including investors. Investors are striving to understand and integrate the financial impact of climate-related risks and opportunities in investment decisions.

Material Risk Engagement

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.

Localized Water Management

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.

Arms Trade Research

Sustainalytics’ Arms Trade Research enables investors to identify all publicly-listed companies that sell arms to sanctioned countries or countries where there is a high risk of violence against civilians. Our Arms Trade Research can help manage the reputational risks associated with investing in companies that supply arms to controversial regimes. Download the brochure to find out more.

ESG Risk Rating

Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Ratings, our next generation ESG ratings, are designed to help investors identify and understand financially material ESG risks at the security and portfolio level.

Sustainable Products Research

Sustainable Products Research enables you to identify companies that are involved in a range of products and services that derive revenue from sustainable products and services.

Country Screening

With Sustainalytics‘ Country Screening, you can screen countries across UN, US, EU sanctions and 40 international norms and conventions to comply with client mandate, regulations, and investment policies.

ESG Voting Policy Overlay

New regulations and stakeholder pressure are creating the need for investors to demonstrate their commitment as responsible owners that view corporate accountability as a means to achieving greater long-term value. In Europe, the Shareholder Rights Directive II requires transparency around voting and engagement and, in North America, voting is considered part of investors’ fiduciary duty with engagement being a natural extension thereof. This underlines the need to align voting and engagement activities.

Controversies Research

Sustainalytics’ Controversies Research uses smart technologies to monitor more than 60,000 media sources and 200,000 news items on a daily basis to identify companies involved in ESG-related incidents. Leverages this research to support investment decisions and manage reputational risks.

Thematic Engagement

The purpose of Thematic Engagement is to influence companies to proactively manage specific ESG risks and opportunities, as well as enabling the participating investors to play an active role in addressing material, shared sustainability challenges through raising sector and systemic standards in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda.

Human Rights Radar

Sustainalytics’ Human Rights Radar provides information on companies that operate in volatile regions where grave human rights violations are taking place. Our research helps investors better understand the nature, impact and extent of companies’ activities as well as how well they are managing relevant risks. Download the brochure to learn more about the product.

Product Involvement

Sustainalytics' Product Involvement research helps identify companies involved in a range of products, services and business activities for screening purposes. Each activity is accompanied with a concise summary of the way the company is involved in the relevant product or activity.

Taxation 2.0

Focused on 20 companies in the technology and pharmaceutical sectors, this engagement aims to create awareness among companies on tax avoidance and to encourage companies to approach tax as a corporate governance and risk management issue.

Feeding the Future

Agriculture is estimated to account for one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 80 percent of deforestation, 70 percent of water use and 78 percent of ocean and freshwater pollution. This engagement theme aims to contribute to a more sustainable trajectory for the future of food.

Global Standards Screening

Sustainalytics’ Global Standards Screening product provides an assessment of a company’s impact on stakeholders and the extent to which a company causes, contributes or is linked to violations of international norms and standards. Download the brochure to learn more about how Sustainalytics identify the Global Sustainability Signatories.

Impact Metrics

Sustainalytics’ Impact Metrics is a set of company-level metrics that provide a useful measure of impact. Each metric can be used to report on at least one theme in our new Impact Framework and for at least one of the 17 SDGs.

Plastics - A Material Issue for Investors

The plastic waste issue is currently one of the fastest growing environmental topics on the political and business agenda. Plastic is a vital product to the global economy; however, the way it is being produced and managed is unsustainable, especially at the use and after‐use phases. The carbon footprint and emissions associated with plastic production along with the issue of the environmental and potential health impacts of plastic waste are a matter of growing concern for investors. In light of the environmental, social and financial challenges, the linear “take, make and dispose” approach cannot continue. The alternative is a circular economy approach, which focuses on maximizing resource value, making resource use more efficient and extending product value during use.

South Africa and ESG Risk

A Case Study On November 1, 2019 Moody’s cut its rating outlook for South Africa from “Baa3 stable” to “Baa3 negative,” putting the country’s bonds on the cusp of junk status after several harbingers of a potential downgrade.[i] Earlier this year, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund cut their 2019 growth forecasts for South Africa to around 0.8%, while the Institute of International Finance warned that the country’s public debt could grow to 95% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2024.[ii] The other two big credit rating agencies (CRAs) – Fitch and S&P – downgraded South Africa’s credit rating to sub-investment grade back in 2017, citing a deterioration in the country’s public finances.[iii]