ESG Insights

 

Keep up to date with the most important developments and trends across the global sustainability landscape.

Research & Insights

RESEARCH

Pull Your Weight

An ESG Performance Score Weighted Strategy Evaluation.

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Clean energy in emerging markets
Damilola Ogunbiyi on Clean Energy in Emerging Markets

Anticipating COP28.
ESG Policy digest
ESG Policy Digest: November 2023

In October 2023, there was a noticeable uptick in ESG policy developments worldwide.
Climate Disclosure Laws California
Climate Disclosure Laws with Increasingly Long Arms

How the new Emissions Disclosure requirements in California and the EU will apply to companies worldwide.
SFDR Consultation
SFDR Consultation: Paving the way to formalise EU fund labeling?*

*An unnecessary overhaul, or much needed reform?
global ESG policies, october 2023
ESG Policy Digest: October 2023

In the dynamic landscape of global ESG policies, September 2023 witnessed pivotal developments across continents.
Tipping the scales - global warming
Tipping the scales

Is the clean energy revolution really keeping 1.5 alive?
Policy Digest September - Policy Development
ESG Policy Digest: September 2023

This month’s policy digest highlights salient sustainability-related policy developments in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
ESG Policy Digest: July

Global sustainability reporting is entering a promising era of alignment following the issuance of the IFRS S1 and S2 standards last month.
Challenging road ahead

*Analysis of EU Taxonomy reporting reveals the vast majority of companies remain unaligned to sustainable outcomes.
Are markets ready for ISSB?

*Bridging the gap between current sustainability reporting practices and ISSB requirements.
Beyond 1.5°C

*A sense of urgency.
ESG Policy Digest: June

With the 30th June SFDR PAI reporting deadline looming, June 2023 has proven to be a decisive month for the evolution of ESG regulation globally.

The next ESG reporting challenge

emerging markets and multi-national conglomerates
Surprise Package

*The Regulatory Reckoning of ESG Ratings, Shaping the EU Taxonomy and Defining Transition Finance
Scope 3

*Is the magic number
ESG Policy Digest: May

Last month, the EU Parliament proposed stringent minimum requirements for verifying and communicating green claims, explicitly banning carbon offsetting-based claims.
SFDR Implementation Countdown: Global Implications for Asset Managers

Sustainability is no longer a niche concern but a crucial aspect of modern business practices.
The role of nature in the corporate climate transition

with WWF-UK CEO Tanya Steele
ESG as common sense

Pioneer Georg Kell on the future of ESG, with a view from the past
The ESG Policy Digest: April

Following a long and protracted run up to sustainability reporting deadlines, standard-setting bodies and regulators alike are introducing clarifications and phasing in implementation to ensure proportionality of compliance burden.

The ESG Data Market

A US Perspective
The ESG Policy Digest: March

In March, the IPCC released its sixth assessment report which illustrates a critical need to accelerate climate policy action due to a ‘rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all’.

Net-Zero Industry Act

What You Need to Know
Sustainable investing

According to UBS’ Amantia Muhedini
The Next Frontier in Sustainability Reporting

*Preserving Biodiversity
ESG policy digest

Regulatory developments that shape the future of ESG and Climate
The ESG Policy Digest: February 2023

In the fleeting month of February it may be easy to overlook a flurry of regulatory activity that signals the continuity and confluence of ESG in policymaking matters.
ESG Quick Takes 10 – Making an impact through climate VC investing

With EIP’s Peter Fox-Penner.
The ESG Policy Digest: January 2023

2023 marks a considerable shift in priorities at the intersection of politics and business. 
The Global Regulation Race

*A Year of ESG Regulations in Review
COP27

*What it means for corporates and the financial sector.
Sustainable Finance Regulatory Update: December 2022

In 2022, policy became a vehicle to reorient capital flows through multiple routes, at different levels – international and domestic.
ESG Quick Takes 9 – Sustainability goals: a decade of delivery.

How Google Cloud is helping corporates with their sustainability journey
Sustainable Finance Regulatory Update: November 2022

COP 27 set the stage for lofty climate change aspirations to be realized.
ESG Quick Takes 8 – COP27 Debrief: What investors should know.

COP27 meetings in Egypt just wrapped up last week, and much has been discussed.
COP26

*and its global implications.
Sustainable Finance Regulatory Update: October 2022 

In less than a week, we will find out who hit the snooze button on these timebound commitments and who was able to make the grade.
Mind the carbon gap

*Estimating corporate emissions using machine learning.
Always check the label

*Why ESG and climate funds are not always what they seem.
Sustainable Finance Regulatory Update: September 2022 

World leaders and the private sector converged at Climate Week New York to discuss insights on finding growth in challenging times.
Uncharted waters

*The status quo of water-related corporate disclosure.
One Draft at a Time

*Can the ISSB Establish a Global Baseline in Sustainability Reporting?
Fifty shades of green

*SFDR through the lens of ESG Book. Portfolio Level Solutions
Sustainable Finance Regulatory Update: August 2022

U.S. President Biden's approval of a landmark bill providing funding for climate and energy innovation over the next decade
ESG Quick Takes 7: US Climate and Energy Policy is behind

In this episode, we talk about the inflation reduction act which was approved in August 2022.
ESG Quick Takes 6: Investing on a Net-Zero Emissions Budget is Impossible

In this episode, we put the ambition of decarbonising the world in context of the recent US Supreme Court’s decision to curb the power of the EPA.
Heating Up: the SEC Rules on Climate Disclosure

*Placing the latest climate disclosure policy initiatives in context.
ESG has the ‘S’ Factor

*The Rise of Socially-Driven Design.
Sustainable Finance Regulatory Update: July 2022

This month’s regulatory roundup indicates continued concerns around sustainability issues extending beyond the ‘E’ in ESG.
ESG Quick Takes 5: All the Problems with ESG Investing

For episode 5 of our ESG Quick Takes podcast, we explore ESG from a capital market perspective.
Machine Learning Models Don’t Work

*Without Good Design.
Sustainable Finance Regulatory Update: June 2022

In this month’s regulatory roundup, the EU comes one step closer to finalizing mandatory corporate sustainability disclosure rules and setting quotas for women on corporate boards.
ESG Quick Takes 4: Decarbonizing heavy industry

For our first Quick Takes, we look into how we talk about climate change, and how that changed over time.
Beyond The Acronym

*A Guide on Navigating Global Sustainability Standards and Frameworks.
Life in Plastic

*Not Fantastic.
The Rise of Chemical Pollution.
More Than A Buzzword

*Assessing the financial transparency effects of corporate gender diversity.
2022 Update
ESG Soup

*Simplifying Sustainability indicator Mapping.
Spotlight on the EU Taxonomy

Why 2022 is a critical year for the roll-out of the EU Taxonomy
ESG Quick Takes 3: Can crypto be sustainable?

Exploring clean energy solutions for crypto miners and exchanges.
Why the language of climate change is evolving

The power of words in the net-zero transition.
Should ESG data be a free public good?

The case for open access for all.
The Proof is in the Textual Pudding

Finding financial signals in language data

Why ESG Data is Changing

Sustainability scores are no longer sufficient. The future of ESG data is customisation.
Throwing the net-zero baby out with the bathwater?

Why it’s time we engaged in a more grown-up conversation about the practicalities of a successful climate transition.
At The Crossroads

We are fast running out of time to avoid climate catastrophe. Why is more not being done?
Temperature Score

Less than a quarter of the world’s biggest companies are on course to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050