ESG Research and Resource Center

This report, How Investors are Integrating ESG: A Typology of Approaches, classifies ESG integration approaches along three dimensions: management (who is integrating ESG), research (what is being integrated), and application (how the integration is taking place). The authors then used the typology to identify six prevailing approaches of ESG integration in the market today.

The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to further amp up the market’s interest in ESG investment research. It’s not just that ESG funds and indices have generally outperformed their non-ESG counterparts since the COVID-19 sell-off began in mid-February.[i] It’s also that the pandemic itself has drawn attention to ESG issues ranging from biodiversity and habitat loss to employee relations and supply chain management.

In this report, the first in Sustainalytics’ new Portfolio Research series, we offer analysis about where investors can get the biggest “ESG bang for their buck” as they navigate the COVID-19 market recovery.

This year, we mark Earth Day under a pandemic. To date, casualties of the novel coronavirus include more than 170,000 deaths, ongoing disruptions to healthcare systems and a deep economic downturn. As we face the first global recession in a decade, Earth Day – the theme of which this year is climate action – serves as a reminder for investors to reflect on how their investment activities relate to social and environmental health concerns.

The highly anticipated final report by the TEG (Technical Expert Group) on the EU Taxonomy was published in early March, followed by a stakeholder information session. You can read our blog post on last fall’s developments here.

Monday’s rout of the global equity market has left investors reeling. Major benchmarks including the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the DAX were down well over 7%. In Canada, the commodities heavy TSX Composite shed over 10%.

In Sustainalytics’ thematic research report, 10 for 2020: Creating Impact Through Thematic Investing, we present investors with ten ESG investment themes that can positively contribute to advancing the SDGs.

With our third ESG Risk Ratings white paper, we explore how investors could potentially apply the ESG Risk Ratings to their investment processes. Below are some key takeaways from the white paper. To learn more, register for our regional webinar using the buttons at the bottom of the page.

In the second installment of our ESG Risk Ratings white paper series, we assess the unmanaged ESG risk of 42 Internet Software and Services (ISS) companies. In addition, the report offers a comprehensive ESG risk analysis of the subindustry and concludes with a case study of Facebook.

Finding your path in the upcoming ESG regulations: A spotlight on EU Taxonomy and Disclosures The Taxonomy is a classification framework, part of the EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan, designed to determine whether an economic activity is environmentally sustainable.

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.

In 10 for 2019: Systemic Risks Loom Large, we offer a forward-looking view of significant ESG issues that could affect global investment portfolios in 2019. Applying Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Ratings framework, we identify a selection of subindustries with high levels of unmanaged risk and profile 10 firms with leading ESG management practices and low levels of unmanaged ESG risk.

The proposed Taxonomy is a classification tool to help investors and companies make informed investment decisions on environmentally friendly economic activities. It is a list of economic activities, which defines performance criteria for six environmental objectives.

Food production is a leading contributor to global GHG emissions, deforestation, water stress and biodiversity loss, and the sector is increasingly under scrutiny to mitigate its environmental footprint. A failure to manage related impacts and adapt to changing consumer trends could result in material business risks or missing out on opportunities. Land and forest investments could become stranded assets. Sustainalytics will also provide a preview of its new thematic engagement, Feeding the Future.

We are excited to share that Sustainalytic’s CEO Michael Jantzi, participated in a clean finance podcast hosted by Canada Clean50 as part of their #CleanReset initiative. In the company of fellow leading clean finance experts, the dialogue is an insightful overview of how Canada’s current position on ESG regulation may impact financial sustainability for large Canadian corporations.

Understand how Sustainalytics' research and data can assist benchmark administrators in implementing the EU Climate Transition Benchmarks and EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are playing an increasingly important role in shaping the sustainability roadmaps of investors, governments and civil society groups. In Sustainalytics’ thematic research report, 10 for 2020: Creating Impact Through Thematic Investing, we present investors with ten ESG investment themes that can positively contribute to advancing the SDGs.

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.

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.

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