New sustainable finance disclosure regulations came into force in Europe on March 10 as part of the EU’s push towards making the economy greener. The new Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, or SFDR, is expected to drastically change the scope of sustainable investing by providing greater clarity and transparency and increasing disclosure. Fund managers will now have to disclose environmental, social and governance risks in their portfolios, marking the first step in a vast EU plan to drive capital to meet sustainable goals. In the episode we talk to Nathan Fabian, Chairperson of the European Platform on Sustainable Finance and Chief Responsible Investment Officer at the Principles for Responsible Investment, or PRI, a United Nations-backed network of investors. He heads up the platform, a group of experts from industry, finance and civil society who advise the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, on the future of sustainable finance policy in Europe. Listen to a previous episode of ESG Insider to learn more about Europe's new green taxonomy for sustainable activities. another ESG push by the EU: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banks-big-green-eu-taxonomy-challenge/id1475521006?i=1000511776202

Investors, customers and employees are paying increasing attention to corporate diversity. That was true for gender in the wake of the #MeToo movement, and it has been increasingly true of race following the death of George Floyd in the U.S. But data is lacking, especially around racial and ethnic diversity. In this episode, we explore a first-of-its-kind diversity report that provides a much-needed window into corporate diversity. This new report is the result of an Illinois law that requires public companies headquartered in the state to report on the gender, racial and ethnic representation among corporate leaders and boards of directors. In March 2021, the University of Illinois used the disclosures from this law to publish the first report card evaluating how companies are faring on diversity. You can access the report here. We interview Illinois Speaker of the House Chris Welch, who sponsored the diversity law. He called the report “a goldmine of data.” Speaker Welch said this data will help drive informed decisions. It will also put companies on public notice. “These companies spend a whole lot of money on their brands,” he said. “Having this information out there, companies know that they can be publicly shamed. It shows where their values are, and their customers are paying attention.” You can listen to our previous interview with Speaker Welch, from October 2020, here.

Investors and banks have less than a year to comply with the European Union’s new taxonomy for sustainable activities. In this episode, we explore the challenges financial institutions face in applying the taxonomy to their portfolios — something the Biden administration is sure to be watching as it tackles its own climate goals. Starting in January 2022 investors must explain how they use the taxonomy to assess the sustainability of their investments. They will also have to disclose what percentage of their investments are in line with the taxonomy. The new regulation is expected to radically change how investors and companies report on their environmental performance.   We hear from Daniel Bouzas, a policy adviser at the European Banking Federation. We also talk to Hans Biemans, head of sustainable markets at Dutch bank ING Group, which took part in a recent study on how banks can apply the taxonomy to their lending.     Photo credit: Getty Images

Investor pressure is growing for companies and financial institutions to assess and disclose their exposure to climate risks such as wildfires, sea-level rise, hurricanes and other extreme weather events. But in a new report, a handful of climate scientists in Australia warn that many existing climate models are extremely nuanced and were not designed with a business-specific application in mind. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we explore the challenges of using climate models in physical risk assessments. We speak with two authors of the report: Tanya Fiedler, who is a lecturer in the discipline of accounting at the University of Sydney, and Andy Pitman, a professor at the University of South Wales. We also talk with Steve Bullock, Global Head of ESG Product Innovation and Analytics at S&P Global Trucost. Trucost assesses risks relating to climate change and natural resource constraints with aim of translating those climate models and other data into information companies can use. Steve says financial market participants need some insight into the magnitude of these risks so that they can begin to take action. "Given the urgent need for action, having a blurry photograph of risk exposure is certainly better than having no visibility at all," Steve tells us.

Over the last year, 30 of the world’s richest countries have poured an unprecedented $14.9 trillion into stimulus spending to help revive their pandemic-hit economies. Some hoped that this massive wave of spending would turbo-charge investment in greener industries, such as electric cars, efficient buildings and renewable energy. But has that actually happened?  In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we take a closer look at how much global stimulus spending has gone to fighting climate change or protecting the environment. The upshot, according to new research, is that stimulus measures are continuing to have a net negative impact on the environment, mainly because so much of spending is directed at more carbon intensive-industries such as transportation, agriculture and energy. Just 12% of overall stimulus spending is directed at the green economy.  We talk to Jason Eis, executive director of Vivid Economics, a British research firm. Eis says there are signs that the “greenness” of stimulus spending is slowly improving, thanks in part to President Biden’s plans to invest in a greener recovery.  Photo credit: Getty Images

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink made waves in the ESG world last month by pushing companies to plan for a net-zero emissions future. His annual letter also committed to taking more concrete steps within BlackRock to enable the decarbonization transition. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we dive into BlackRock’s own net-zero strategy. We talk to experts about what it means and how much further the world’s largest asset manager still needs to go. Fink has acknowledged that BlackRock has a carbon-intensive portfolio and is moving to change that. We'll hear from Kirsten Spalding, who leads the Investor Network at the sustainability-focused group Ceres. And we’ll also hear from Moira Birss, who is Climate & Finance Director at Amazon Watch. Her group is part of a network of NGOs and finance advocates that are pressing asset managers like BlackRock to align their business practices with a climate-safe world. Photo credit: Getty Images

Stakeholder capitalism — the idea that companies are responsible for their role in society in addition to making money for shareholders — has taken on new meaning thanks to COVID-19. It was the buzzword among major players in the ESG world like BlackRock CEO Larry Fink as well as heads of government at the Davos summit last week. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we dive into stakeholder capitalism — what it means and what people were saying at the World Economic Forum's annual Davos gathering, which was virtual this year.  You'll also hear an interview with the World Economic Forum's Project Lead for ESG, Emily Bayley. She describes the story behind a set of new stakeholder capitalism metrics that more than 60 major companies just agreed to use in their mainstream reporting, such as annual reports and proxy statements. 

New U.S. President Joe Biden has made climate change a priority and is setting the nation on a much more sustainability-focused path than his predecessor. Just days into his term, Biden had already has taken dozens of executive actions, including rejoining the Paris agreement on climate change and ordering a review of rules the Trump administration finalized in the last days of its term. In the latest episode of S&P Global podcast ESG Insider, we talk to experts about what the change of administration and the inherent regulatory uncertainty mean for sustainability-minded companies and investors. We hear from Josh Zinner, CEO of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. ICCR, a global coalition of institutional investors, engages with corporations on a wide range of ESG issues. Zinner said climate-minded investors take the long view and ignored the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda in the expectation that the pendulum would eventually swing back in their favor, which it now has under Biden. We talk to Alex Bond, one of the regulatory leads at the Edison Electric Institute, a trade group for investor-owned electric utilities in the U.S. Bond said the sector has been focused on climate for years and that utilities, like investors, take a long-term view. And we interview former bank regulator John Geiringer, who said that the tone in the financial sector was already shifting to take climate risk more seriously, even before the administration change.   Photo source: Getty Images

In this final episode of 2020, we'll talk with experts about what key ESG themes they expect to unfold in 2021. State Street Global Advisors’ EMEA Head of ESG Investment Strategy Carlo Funk outlines the firm’s ESG priorities for the year ahead, while proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis' Director of ESG Research Courteney Keatinge describes why COVID-19 will continue to be a key theme behind shareholder engagement in 2021. Trillium Asset Management CEO Matt Patsky talks about the continued need for robust data and how the incoming Biden administration could establish disclosure requirements. And we hear from Jeff Hales, who chairs the Standards Board at the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, or SASB. He talks about how COVID-19 altered the way companies and investors think about human capital management issues like worker mental health and paid sick leave. As a result, SASB is considering changing the way it measures human capital management in its industry-specific sustainability standards.   Photo credit: Getty Images/Nora Carol Photography

This special pre-Thanksgiving episode puts a spotlight on the meat industry that is supplying the turkeys and other poultry, pork, fish, and beef products many Americans will be feasting on for the holiday. The meat industry has been hard hit by COVID-19, as the pandemic has exposed frailties in everything from supply chains to production processes and associated greenhouse gas emissions levels to worker safety. In the episode, we talk with Jeremy Coller, the founder of the industry activist group Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return, or FAIRR, about these weaknesses. Coller also discusses progress his group and investors have made in convincing companies to tackle these risks, and the continued challenges the sector faces. Photo credit: Getty Images