OVERVIEW

The most common question in March among ESG professionals was: will Coronavirus have a positive or negative effect on sustainability issues? Well, on the one hand, there is certainly a front of great concern linked to the cut of resources and commitments towards sustainability, fears that have materialized in the cancellation and postponement of the COP 26 to a later date. On the opposite side, it seems that investors begin to ask about the reactions of companies on the social front (employment, welfare etc.). And there is a clear boost in investments in the Esg direction. This is demonstrated by ETicaNews’ recent analysis with the major asset managers operating in Italy, which shows an important shift in investments towards sustainable products.
Very important news on the Esg data front. The market for ESG information collected from companies continued to grow by 20-30% in 2019. And the approach has changed: from simply quantitative to more qualitative.
Important messages also arrived on the judiciary at the end of March. In particular, news came from Germany of the first lawsuit won by a company against an ESG rating provider. The effects of such a measure are enormous, both for advisors and for companies, for which a multiplication of internal responsibilities is looming. Basically, every ESG information becomes price sensitive.
On the regulatory and regulatory front, the result of Esma’s second monitoring of European non-financial declarations deserves reflection. European market authority highlights several weaknesses: climate-related information is still lacking, operational impacts and an adequate understanding of “double materiality” are lacking.