Many institutional investors strive to demonstrate alignment with client specific preferences and stated investment mandates across portfolios, including benchmark driven, values based, and faith aligned strategies.
Product Involvement Research provides granular, company level data across 27 product and business activity areas, covering defense, energy, health, consumer products and environmental activities, using consistent definitions and transparent assessments of involvement type and level. With comprehensive global coverage and ongoing updates, our research can support portfolio screening, universe construction, governance reviews, and client reporting across institutional workflows.
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Key Benefits
Policy-ready, company-level coverage at scale
Access research on 20,000+ public and private companies giving consistent visibility into issuer involvement across widely used product and business activity categories.
Consistent, clearly defined research methodology
Standardized definitions and a systematic data collection process supports consistent application of exclusion criteria across investment portfolios.
Granular classification across multiple involvement types
Understand how companies derive revenues from production, distribution, retail and supporting services, enabling more precise screens.
Dedicated product involvement research expertise
Access to our team of thematic experts focused on product and business activity research.
Updates integrated into investment workflows
Ongoing updates delivered through API, FTP, Global Access, Morningstar Direct, Snowflake and other enterprise channels, ensuring product involvement data remains current as portfolios evolve.
Aligned with Morningstar Direct screening tools
Product involvement research is aligned with fund-level screens available in Morningstar Direct, enabling efficient portfolio review and client reporting.
Use Cases
Screen portfolios to support implementation of investment mandates and benchmark requirements, including climate related strategies such as Paris Aligned and Climate Transition benchmarks.
- Tobacco
- Thermal coal
- Metallurgical coal (coming June 2026)
- Oil & Gas
- Controversial Weapons
Apply product involvement screens to support client specific and values-based investment mandates, including faith-aligned strategies, using consistent company level and fund-level research:
- Abortion (Operations and Production)
- Contraceptives (Production)
- Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Fetal Tissue
- Military Contracting
- Adult Entertainment
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Fur and Specialty Leather
- Gambling
- Oil and Gas
- Palm Oil
- Tobacco Production
- Pork
Provide clear visibility into exposure to specific products and business activities to inform investment committee discussions, product governance reviews, and internal decision-making across investable universes.
Support ongoing portfolio oversight and client reporting by clearly identifying exposure to specific products and business activities.
Enable informed engagements on values-based themes of interest.
Utilize data on fossil fuels, tobacco, and thermal coal to strive to meet your EU compliance needs.
Sample Product Involvement Report
Product involvement reports clearly identify the nature and extent of a company's involvement across a range of product and business activities, with concise summaries explaining how each company is involved.
Controversial Weapons Radar
Many investors are seeking to avoid investment in controversial weapons in order to align their portfolios to their values. In some cases, international agreements and national legislation ban the usage of some weapons in war.
This data enables investors to identify private and public companies involved in such weapons, with up-to-date information on company involvement in the development, production, sale or maintenance of controversial weapons. Investors can help ensure portfolio alignment with relevant regulation, client mandates, and internal policies aimed and managing reputation risks.
Areas of Involvement
Nuclear Power
Thermal Coal
Oil Sands
Arctic Drilling
Shale Energy
Oil and Gas
Oil & Gas Retail*
Metallurgical Coal*
*Coming Soon
Palm Oil
Pesticides
Genetically Modified Plants & Seeds
Tobacco
Alcoholic Beverages
Cannabis
Adult Entertainment
Pork Products
Gambling
Life Ethics*
*Our Life Ethics research includes product involvement screening for abortion, contraceptives and human embryonic stem cell & fetal tissue.
Riot Control
Military Contracting
Small Arms
Controversial Weapons*
*More comprehensive research available through the Controversial Weapons Radar service.
Predatory Lending
Animal Testing
Whale Meat
Fur & Specialty Leather
Private Prisons
Why Sustainalytics?
A Single Market Standard
Consistent approach to ESG assessments across the investment spectrum.
Award-Winning Research and Data
Firm recognized as Best ESG Research and Data Provider by Environmental Finance and Investment Week.
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ESG products and services that serve the entire investment value chain.
30 Years of ESG Expertise
800+ ESG research analysts across our global offices.
A Leading SPO Provider
As recognized by Environmental Finance and the Climate Bonds Initiative.
Defense Research
Create a robust defense policy with our Controversial Weapons Radar and Arms Trade Research.
Learn More
Global Standards Screening
Identify companies in breach of the UN Global Compact to support your norms-based screening strategy.
Learn MoreMorningstar® Sustainability LeadersSM Index Family
Pure exposure to exemplary ESG companies .
Morningstar® Sustainability Dividend Yield FocusSM Index Family
High Income generating equity investments focused on total returns with reduced ESG Risk.
Morningstar® Global Market SustainabilitySM Index Family
Best-in-class equity index that features reduced ESG risk profile with low to moderate tracking error.
Morningstar® Societal Development IndexSM
Developed and emerging market companies that align with one or more of the UN SDGs.
Morningstar® Minority Empowerment IndexSM
Companies that are committed to racial and ethnic diversity as demonstrated by relevant programs and policies related to diversity, community development etc.
Related Insights and Resources
ESMA Fund Naming Guidelines: Early Insights Into Rebranding Activity and Portfolio Impact
This article looks at how the universe of open-end and exchange-traded funds in scope of the ESMA fund naming guidelines has changed since their introduction in May 2024, through analysis of rebranding activity and assessed the impact of the requirements.
The EU Omnibus: What the Proposals Mean for Sustainability Reporting Among Companies and Investors
On February 26, 2025, the EU Commission published the omnibus packages on sustainability and investment simplification. This article examines the EU Omnibus and its impact on the CSRD, the CSDDD, and the EU Taxonomy Regulation.
Regulating 'Forever' Chemicals: Examining Company Readiness and Investor Risk
Chemical companies face growing pressure to phase out some of the most hazardous substances from their product portfolios. Learn how well companies manage related risks and what upcoming regulations could mean for them and their investors.