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The Important Group of ESG Rankers for Institutional Investors Expands to a Significant Player -- Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) -– Traditional Governance Focus Expanding to Encompass Environmental & Social QualityScores for 1,500 Public Companies Coming in January… Expanding to 5,000 in Q2 A significant new player is now entering the mix of the growing number of organizations providing institutional investors with ESG rankings and data. At G&A Institute, we've been tracking the growth of these organizations (such as MSCI, Sustainalytics, RobecoSAM, Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, and others) and work with our clients to help managements understand, optimize and utilize these important intelligence points coming from the rapidly-growing number of investors considering ESG. Founded in 1985 as Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., ISS is the world’s leading provider of corporate governance and responsible investment solutions for asset owners, asset managers, hedge funds, and asset service providers. Institutional investors today rely on ISS' expertise to help them make informed corporate governance decisions, integrate responsible investing policies and practices into their strategy, and execute upon these policies through end-to-end voting. Among the issues monitored, analyzed and perspectives and opinions offred to the investors by ISS: board room makeup; qualifications of individual board candidates standing for election; CEO compensation; separation of the posts of chair of the board and chief executive officer; proposed transactions such as merger or acquisition; shareholder rights; transparency and disclosure of board and C-suite activities; “over-boarding by directors”…and more. Over the decades ISS has been a powerful and very visible force in annual corporate proxy voting issues, offering advice to the client base to help the institutions exercise their fiduciary duties, including the mechanics of the voting process during the annual electoral season. Consider the influence of ISS in the capital markets: 117 global markets covered; 40,000 corporate meetings reviewed; on behalf of 1,700 global institutional investor clients. Now, “E” and “S” along with “G” issues are coming into sharp focus for ISS – due to the demand of its institutional clients - and included in the QualityScore process. Tune in now to an important development that significantly expands the influence of ISS and communicates new dimensions of “G” (governance) into the ESG space (E=environmental, S=social, societal issues). The E and S QualityScore builds on ISS’s market-leading Governance QualityScore, which provides a measure of governance risk, performance, disclosure and transparency in Board Structure, Compensation, Shareholder Right, and Audit & Risk Oversight. The E&S QualityScore, says ISS, provides a measure of corporate disclosure practices and transparency to shareholders and stakeholders. This is the Disclosure and Transparency Signal that investor-clients seek, and is a resource that enables effective comparison with company peers. ISS had been an independent organization, then was acquired by MSCI, and later divested, becoming a unit of the P/E firm Vestar Capital; it was purchased by Genstar Capital in October 2017. To rebuild the firm’s ESG capabilities lost as a result of the 2014 spinoff from MSCI, ISS in September 2015 acquired Ethix SRI Advisors, one of Europe’s leading ESG analytics and advisory firms with offices in Scandinavia. In January 2017, ISS also acquired IW Financial, one of the leading ESG analytics firms in the United States (based in Maine), and in June of 2017 acquired the climate investment data unit of Zurich-based South Pole Group. ISS’s initial expansion beyond “G” to include Environmental and Social issues in the QualityScore, which will be announced on January 18, covers companies in six industries: Autos and Components; Capital Goods; Consumer Durables & Apparel; Energy; Materials; and, Transportation – roughly 1,500 companies in all. Public company managements have been invited to respond to the new “E&S” data verification process for their company (the period ends January 12th). In 2Q the program expands to include 3,500 more corporate entities in other industries (the total corporate universe in focus by mid-year will be 5,000-plus public companies). These ratings will be a critical part of a company’s ESG profile for the rapidly expanding number investors with Assets Under Management (AUM) that are considering ESG in their investment decision-making. This number, as of the latest 2016 US SIF survey includes US$8.72 trillion out of $40.3 trillion total AUM in the United States. This is now $1-out-of-every-$5 in the U.S. capital markets --and globally the numbers are even more striking with the latest GSIA report showing even larger percentages and rapid expansion in every other part of the world. The G&A Institute team will be communicating much more detail about this important new initiative by ISS in the weeks ahead, through our various communications channels. For more information, contact EVP Louis D. Coppola at: lcoppola@ga-institute.com or ISS at ESGHelpdesk@Issethix.com There are details here on the ESG QualityScore: For those interested in the Quality Score for Core Corporate Governance Practices in Focus:https://www.issgovernance.com/file/products/1_QS-2017-Methodology-Update-27Oct2017.pdf Information on ISS Corporate Solutions is here: https://login.isscorporatesolutions.com/galp/login
Our Top Story For You... Connecting Sustainable Development Goals and Materiality
About Sustainability: Progress Is Being Made - We See Forward Momentum! For Your Attention: The Editors' Scans US SIF Names Kim Coble Chief Operating Officer FOOD WASTE: France’s war on waste makes it most food sustainable country Living Sustainably: Understanding funding for a stronger community Fashion in 2018 | 08. Sustainability Credibility Source: Food Servive Equipment & Supply - In the foodservice industry, sustainable and cost-cutting initiatives often focus on the sourcing of ingredients, energy-efficient equipment and the like. Foodservice operators and suppliers can look beyond the kitchen, however... Source: Investment News - Investment News' December ESG section wasn't just a "feel good overview" to close out the year. You've probably seen that every financial news outlet in every corner of the industry is focused on sustainable investing as the next... Source: Sustainable Brands - Does the phrase “sustainable small business” refer to a small business that contributes to environmental sustainability or to a small business that will last? The answer is both. Sustainability trends for 2018 5 Sustainable Business Predictions for 2018
Our Focus This Week on A Range of ESG Topics & Issues – More Things to Think About… Cuomo Promises Progress on Clean Energy, Environment in 2018 President Trump Seeks to Open Most U.S. Coastal Waters to Oil Drilling
News for You From the Corporate Sector -Both Positive & Negative - Headlines The number of packages Amazon shipped via their Prime service in 2017 is staggering Intel responds to the CPU kernel bug, downplaying its impact on home users Did Philip Morris just quit smoking? The Chevy Bolt is crushing the Tesla Model 3 (GM, TSLA) President Trump Seeks to Open Most U.S. Coastal Waters to Oil Drilling Sears to close another 100 stores on top of 250 already targeted The Tesla Model 3 Makes The Future Feel Normal Macy's and J.C. Penney Deliver Post-Holiday Gifts for Investors
News & Opinion: Asset Managers, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Pension Funds The Dow Jones industrial average tops 25,000 for first time, continuing its history-making rise Pension Fund Members Don't Know Their Plans Are Underfunded: Study Pension costs are threatening public services all over California. It has to stop.
Trump Administration News / Affecting Directions on Governance and ESG 4 Attacks on Sustainable Business Launched by the Trump White House Over the Holidays |
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G&A Institute Sustainability Update™ You And The 21st Century Company — All About Iteration, Innovation & Disruption! _________________________________________
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G&A Institute is the Data Partner for the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) in the USA, UK and Republic of Ireland. We identify, receive, collect, analyze, database, and communicate about every report issued in any of the 3 countries. Over the past 6+ years, G&A analyzed 6,000-plus sustainability reports in this pro bono role and databased 100+ important data points for each report. Find out more @ G&A's What's A Data Partner _________________________________________
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The Sustainability Highlights eNewsletter is prepared by Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. based on continuous monitoring of trends and developments in Sustainability and ESG. Governance & Accountability Instiute is the “Sustainability Headquarters™” for clients in the corporate, investment, public and social sectors. Based in New York, G&A is a for-profit consulting organization providing a range of value-added strategies, services and resources related to ESG & sustainability to clients in the corporate and capital markets communities.For G&A's full range of services, click on each of the links below: For more information, contact Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. | |||||||||||||||||
Critical ESG Issues Management
