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How Investors Integrate ESG: A Typology of Approaches

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.

ESGarp Scores: In Search of Reasonably Priced, Low ESG Risk Stocks

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.

Vehicles and Ventilators: An ESG Lens on Automakers Pivoting to COVID-19 Solutions

Automakers have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with widespread plant closures, stalling demand for vehicles and mounting tensions between corporate management teams and government bodies. On the upside, several auto companies have responded to the global health crisis by pivoting parts of their business models to supply the growing demand for ventilators needed for patients suffering from severe respiratory symptoms of COVID-19.

2020: The Year of the Flexitarian

The Economist named 2019 the year of the vegan; however, veganism is one part of a much greater trend away from animal proteins. While vegetarianism also continues at a steady growth rate, it is the flexitarian – i.e. traditional meat eater who makes a conscious effort to reduce their meat intake – that is having a notable impact on the market. This has been further accelerated by COVID-19 and the disruption to the fresh meat industry.

Exhibit 1 The COVID-19 sell-off and incipient recovery graph

Utilising ESG in the Covid-19 Recovery

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.

Future of Cement: Low-Carbon Technologies and Sustainable Alternatives

At a time when climate change has caught global attention and efforts are being made to meet the UN sustainable development goals, however concrete – the most widely used man-made material on earth – is a significant source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and often overlooked. Cement, a key ingredient in concrete, accounts for about 7% of global CO2 emissions and is the second-largest industrial emitter of CO2 after the iron and steel industry [i]. The cement production process is responsible for 95% of concrete’s carbon footprint. Under the International Energy Agency’s sustainable development scenario, cement producers will need to reduce their carbon intensity at an annual rate of 0.3% per tonne of cement produced up to 2030 [ii]. With carbon emission regulations tightening globally to meet the 2-degree scenario (2DS) targets, cement companies that fail to adopt low-carbon processes and improved energy efficiency could face risks in the form of potential fines from non-compliance and lost opportunity costs by failing to innovate processes.

Ford Foundation’s Social Bond

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.

Coronavirus: Are Companies Prepared to Take Care of Their Employees?

In April 2020, the International Labour Organisation (ILO)[i] estimated that in the second quarter of 2020 there will be a 6.7% decrease in working hours globally (approximately 195 million full-time employees), primarily in the sectors hardest hit by the Coronavirus pandemic: food service, manufacturing and retailing.

Tackling the Climate Crisis: Mobilizing the Transition

As we mark the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, we highlight the need for a collective effort in order to combat the impacts of climate change. In this blog, we explore the important role that investors play in mobilizing the transition to reduce emissions and how sustainable solutions can support this.

Climate Action, Human Health and Responsible Investing

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 Quest for Supply Chain Resilience: Where Business Sense and Thriving Rural Communities Meet

In this blog post we highlight the need for living income and living wages to build resilient supply chains and resistance to shocks such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. We explore the important role that investors play and how engagement efforts contribute to progress.

The Transition to Low-Carbon Steel Production

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.

Coronavirus: Human Capital Management During and After the Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has been sudden and significant. The transition from business as usual to crisis response has meant that daily routines are no long routine and future planning is in a state of constant revision. We are learning new ways to source essential goods and connect with people. The same applies to companies. While truly exceptional, the pandemic illustrates the importance of proactive business planning and robust risk management systems, with companies’ ability to respond to shocks and adapt to changing circumstances being tested profoundly.

COVID-19 and Beyond: Using sustainable finance to build social resilience

As our global community continues to endure an altered way of life amidst the on-going COVID-19 outbreak, it is only natural to ask what each of our lives, professional and otherwise, will look like on the other side. Once children and teachers go back to school and workers return to their offices, will our society have done everything it could have to mitigate the social and economic impacts of this crisis and will we have built in resiliency against future system shocks?

CII Conference Reflections: Emerging Social Issues to Watch for in 2020

Following the Council of Institutional Investors Conference, we highlight two emerging social issues that were top of mind for active investors, Cyberthreats and Human Capital & the Future of Work, and discuss how partnering on engagement can drive long-term value.

Coronavirus and the Localization of Supply Chains

One of the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will surely be a transformed understanding of supply chains. As we touched on in earlier posts[i] in our coronavirus blog mini-series, we expect the pandemic to catalyze a range of efforts by management teams to better understand the vulnerabilities of their supply chain. While executive teams closely track their tier 1 suppliers, many are unaware of the full scope of their global supply chain. Bain & Co recently estimated that up to 60% of executives have no knowledge of the items in their supply chain beyond the tier 1 level.[ii]

Pre-engagement study on labour rights in food supply chains

Labour rights issues in food supply chains are crucial matters to investors, both in terms of compliance with international human rights norms and national legislation, and from the material point of view of securing future supplies. With this background, GES, in collaboration with AP7, The Seventh Swedish National Pension Fund, conducted a pre-study to provide input for the development of a new engagement initiative.

5G and Industry 4.0: Enabling Efficient and Resilient Infrastructure

There is significant hype associated with the rollout of 5G networks, which is largely tied to the incredible data transfer speeds 5G capable networks can offer. However, speed is only part of the equation. Beyond speed, key attributes of 5G also include lower latency, reduced cost per gigabyte and larger connection volumes. 5G, unlike previous network technology, will be software-defined, enabling networking functionality to be flexible and adaptable over time.[i] As a result, 5G is anticipated to create a new digital backbone to power future infrastructure needs – a topic we explored in Sustainalytics’ report, 10 for 2020: Creating Impact Through Thematic Investing.

Responding to COVID-19 through Social Bonds

In the space of four months since the first cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in Wuhan, China, the virus has spread to 178 countries globally. As a consequence, nearly 3 billion people around the world are living with varying degrees of lockdown imposed by governments aiming to slow the spread of the contagion.

esg risk rating and corporate perspective

ESG Risk Ratings and the Corporate Perspective

In this webinar, Sustainalytics’ Sustainable Finance Solutions team shared insights from our recently published Sustainable Finance Guide. They also discussed our ESG Risk Ratings, how it is being utilized for sustainable finance and beyond, and how companies are leveraging their ESG Ratings for capital raising activities, marketing and communications efforts and internal benchmarking processes.