Last Updated July 26, 2024
Markets rise and fall, and investment trends come and go. While these short-term fluctuations have an impact on a company’s day-to-day stock valuation, they do not accurately reflect the long-term investment potential of an organization.
When investors want to lock in a company’s future stability and growth potential, one of the best measures available is the company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) profile.
This regularly updated post will serve as your hub to find the latest news and trends around ESG, and what business leaders need to know.
What Is ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance)?
ESG is a framework for evaluating a company’s long-term health and prosperity as defined by its environmental, social, and governance behaviors. While each component is evaluated individually, investors are looking for strong performance in all three areas:
- Environmental: Management of an organization's direct and indirect environmental impact.
- Social: Assessment of an organization’s relationships with its employees, customers, suppliers, partners, and communities as well as the social impact of its operations on the surrounding area.
- Governance: How a company’s leadership and the board of directors run the organization, including business ethics and oversight of environmental and social impacts.
ESG Trends and News
ESG investing is becoming a standard practice around the world, primarily driven by a mix of investor demand and increased regulation.
Other key drivers of ESG adoption include consumers becoming more conscious of the environmental and social impacts of their purchasing decisions, stakeholders exerting pressure on companies to enact more sustainable practices, and a demonstrated correlation between strong ESG performance and financial outperformance over the long term.
With so much changing in the ESG landscape, keeping up with news and trends is more important than ever. Check this space regularly, as we’ll update it on a routine basis to capture important developments in this fast-changing market.
ESG Engagements in 2024
Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, June 25, 2024
Discussing emerging trends in ESG engagements in 2023-2024, this piece highlights increased corporate climate change risk disclosure, growing focus on Scope 3 emissions reporting, rising investor interest in biodiversity issues, enhanced director accountability for ESG oversight, and increased activism around workers' rights and social issues.
UK Financial Institutions Triple Clean Energy Investments to $2.3 Billion, New Report Reveals
The City of London, June 4, 2024
A new report from the Climate Policy Initiative and The City of London discusses the progress and challenges in financing the transition to net zero, emphasizing the crucial role of private capital and financial services firms in implementing climate commitments to meet global climate goals.
States to Drive Mandatory Climate Reporting Forward in U.S. in Absence of SEC Rules: Sustainable Fitch
ESG Today, July 15, 2024
A report from Sustainable Fitch shows new state-level climate reporting regulations in the U.S., particularly in California, New York, and Illinois, along with federal contractor requirements, are likely to mandate climate-related disclosures for thousands of companies, even as federal-level climate action faces challenges.
Power and utilities: US Deals 2024 midyear outlook
PWC, June 19, 2024
Abigail Gampher, Legal Analyst at Bloomberg Law explains how the delays in the SEC's climate rule and various state legislative proposals are creating uncertainty in the ESG regulatory landscape, driving corporations to seek legal guidance on ESG regulation and associated risks to their reputation.
Mid-year status report on this year’s ESG predictions
Thomson Reuters, July 8, 2024
Thomson Reuters provides a mid-year update on six key ESG trends in 2024, highlighting increased corporate focus on sustainability reporting, growing pressure on private companies for disclosure, continued politicization of ESG issues, rising importance of biodiversity, escalating focus on supply chain sustainability, and the persistent challenge of greenwashing claims.
Amazon Claims It Achieved 100% Renewable Energy Target In 2023—Here’s What It Means
Forbes, July 10, 2024
In what would be a major ESG feat. Amazon claims to have matched all its 2023 electricity consumption with renewable energy purchases. Experts question the details and transparency of this achievement, as the company's overall carbon footprint has increased since 2019 despite a decrease in carbon intensity.
ESG Resources and Additional Reading
Want to explore the topic of ESG more in-depth? We’ve pulled together some resources to get you started.
- ESG: Your Guide to Next-Level Sustainability (Ebook)
- Gain a deeper understanding of what ESG is and why it has become a key framework in evaluating the health and resiliency of a business’s operations.
- Guide to Creating an ESG Action Plan (Guide)
- A thorough guide on how to create your own ESG action plan. This ebook includes examples of completed action plans and a template for laying out your own action plan.
- Unpacking the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Its Implications for US-Based Companies (Antea Group Blog, June 3, 2024)
- The CSRD represents a new era of transparency and accountability in corporate sustainability. Since its proposal by the European Commission in 2021, the CSRD has marked a significant shift in the ESG regulatory landscape.
- Getting Ahead of the Curve: Preparing Your Business for ESG Regulations (Antea Group Blog, April 29, 2024)
- Our experts discuss current ESG reporting trends, their timelines and commonalities, and share useful insights to prepare for compliance.
- A Business Guide to Sustainable Finance (February 20, 2024)
- Learn how sustainable finance can be central to your business strategy, with practical advice on sustainable finance vehicles, resources, and tools.
- The Crucial ESG Topics to Focus On Right Now (Antea Group Blog, January 16, 2022)
- ESG casts a wide net. In this post we explain how to prioritize and strategize successfully.
- How to Use ESG Risk Analysis to Identify Investment Opportunities (Inogen Alliance Blog, January 13, 2023)
- Learn how ESG risk analysis relates to profitability, and why a strong ESG rating correlates with a good investment opportunity.
- Core Principles of a Circular Economy (Inogen Alliance Blog, May 22, 2024)
- Businesses often lack clarity around the difference between CSR and ESG, often driven by regional variations in understanding, policies, and practices.
- Rethinking EHS (Inogen Alliance Podcast)
- Host Phil Dillard and guests discuss how the key to a sustainable future lies in our ability to coordinate global efforts built on the foundation of local expertise.
- ESG Pre-Screening Assessment Tool (Inogen Alliance)
- Assess ESG progress, test sustainability maturity, and enhance initiatives with our free global ESG Pre Screening tool.
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