Sustainability Now

A spate of auditor resignations for real estate developers in China have prompted whispers of economic contagion. The real estate market in China is really important and if it were to collapse, then the world might go with it. We discuss what ESG has to do with the looming, potential crisis, and how the problems we are already seeing in the market could be fixed with better company governance processes.Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG ResearchGuests: Yan Zhou, Sophia Chang, and Miranda Carr; MSCI ESG Research

This week we saw a landmark win for labor as Amazon workers on Staten Island voted to unionize. The decision and others like it at Starbucks and REI gives us a chance to explore unions from an ESG perspective. Then, we touch on some of the important findings in the recently published IPPC Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change report. IPCC Report: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG ResearchGuests: Liz Houston and Chris Cote, MSCI ESG ResearchResearcher: Gabriela De La Serna

As Russia invaded Ukraine, endless briefing documents were thrust in front of company directors. Navigating supply chain disruptions, sanctions and a humanitarian crisis is not supposed to be easy. And as the war continues, investors will find that not all boards are equal. And war aside, Boeing’s board will be navigating a crisis of its own, following the fatal crash of a 737-800 in southern China. Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG ResearchGuests: Harlan Tufford & Umar Ashfaq, MSCI ESG Research

Coal is a complex topic: it's the main factor driving up global energy-related carbon emissions, yet it is a cheap and stable fuel source millions rely on for their energy and livelihoods. So, why does it have such staying power? And why has 2022 seen so many planned coal expansion projects? We discuss such things in our first story. Then, we give you the MSCI ESG Research hot take on the new proposed requirement by the SEC that companies will need to reveal detailed information about their greenhouse gas emissions. This is a major development in how the SEC addressed climate disclosure in the financial markets.Episode Reading List: Net Zero Tracker: https://www.msci.com/research-and-insights/net-zero-tracker?utm_medium=social&utm_term=ESG%2CNet-Zero&utm_content=100002979498471Global Coal Exit List: https://www.coalexit.org/Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG ResearchGuests: Sylvain Vanston and Linda-Eling Lee, MSCI ESG Research

ESG MORAL CONUNDRUM: Can defense companies (which are also the weapons companies) make a positive contribution to ‘social sustainability’ and so should be consider social impact companies? I may not have a good answer but I go through the data so you can decide. Then, we discuss a Chinese ride sharing company that left Russia right before Putin invaded Ukraine because of market difficulties (i.e. not enough profit) and then decided to go back AFTER the Ukraine invasion. We discuss why.Host: Mike Disabato; MCSI ESG ResearchGuest: Bentley Kaplan; MSCI ESG Research

We begin this episode with an update on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Western companies have begun an exodus from Russia as sanctions and atrocities mount.  Yet, some are deciding to stay. The decision behind why is ultimately one that can be explained by examining their board of directors. We do this, with a focus on one of company specifically: Danone. Then, we discuss the growing problem of child labor in cocoa harvesting. And the attempt by Nestlé to use money and enhanced mapping technology to combat its prevalence. It sounds bleak, but it is a great story about how technology is allowing for better transparency in our world's supply chain. Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG ResearchGuest: Cole Martin, MSCI ESG Research

As a country and its people reel, we look at some of the early implications of the conflict in Ukraine. We’ll take you through Russia’s shifting ESG risk profile, the moral dilemma facing social media platforms and the implications for climate change.Host: Bentley KaplanGuests: Bhaveer Shah, Andrew Young & Antonios Panagiotopoulos; MSCI ESG Research

As the Russian escalation in Ukraine continues, Germany has decided to suspend certification of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline that would have doubled Russia’s natural gas export capacity to Germany. We discussed what this move means for the energy mix of Western Europe and what companies are exposed to the pipeline’s construction. Then, we discussed the equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine: which company has distributed the most vaccines to lower income countries and which company has distributed the least, and why it matters.Host Mike DisabatoGuests: Elchin Mammadov and Namita Nair; MSCI ESG Research

Tensions continue to rise between Russia and Ukraine. The crisis is complicated because of the dependence of the West on Russian natural gas. We discuss how that dependence plays out and what could happen to companies’ carbon targets if Russia cuts off its supply of natural gas. Then, we discuss the proliferation of online gambling in the US.Host: Mike DisabatoGuests: Elchin Mammadov and SK Kim; MSCI ESG Research

As banks feel the heat over financed emissions, we look at current disclosures and the challenge of putting out credible numbers. Then we sift through recent and colorful electric vehicle start-ups that hit public markets with some SPAC-merger magic.Host: Bentley KaplanGuests: Nigel Fletcher, Carrie Wang, Yu Ishihara; MSCI ESG Research