The No. 1 ESG challenge organizations face: data
The foundations of a strong ESG program are built on data. Data-rich organizations operate more efficiently, more decisively and with greater foresight than their peers — and this is particularly true in a complex, evolving area like ESG. An organization that is able to fully integrate ESG into corporate strategy, with a symbiotic relationship between day-to-day business and ESG goals, will find itself in a much stronger position than its peers.Read more
Pharma scores poorly in ‘environment’ in ESG ratings
The National Pension Service’s investment in ESG companies reached 32.2 trillion won ($27.3 billion) as of the end of 2019.
Also, local banks such as KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank use ESG criteria to review corporate loans and interest rate benefits.
Especially after the outbreak of Covid-19, the social category of ESG — such as global supply chain management, contribution to local communities, and workplace safety – has become more important.
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Should investors jump on to ESG bandwagon?
There has been an increasing awareness around climate change among the larger public and it’s no more a discourse among the scientific, academic and research crowd. Governments on their part have been dilly-dallying the actions to adhere to previously agreed upon framework, but politics have always been the spoiler. Ever since the Paris Agreement, the corporates have also slowly swung into action as various stakeholders began to question the modus operandi. We’ve seen activism across the spheres of judiciary and shareholders also in coming out with concrete action plans in addressing this growing concern. Read more
ESG metrics trip up factor investors
“The starting point in the industry is that people believe ESG is a source of outperformance and, if it was [using the data in the same way as a factor-based approach], it would be a logical approach to follow,” he says. However, research has shown that the correlation between a high ESG metric and outperformance declines over time, he points out. Read more
