Sustainability Now – Details, episodes & analysis

Antimicrobial resistance is getting worse. Set to impact healthcare, agriculture and insurance, it’s a phenomenon worth paying attention to. On this episode, we take a look at whether there’s an investment case for fighting back against the superbugs. 

Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Namita Nair, MSCI ESG Research

We periodically put out this report called the Net-Zero Tracker, and it examines the progress by the world’s listed companies toward curbing climate risk. This episode is a dive into the most important bits of our most recently published report.

Link to the Net-Zero Tracker: The MSCI Sustainability Institute Net-Zero Tracker 

Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research

Guest: Sylvain Vanston, MSCI ESG Research

Maybe a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,  but that’s not going to fly for sustainability funds in the EU. On this episode we break down ESMA’s latest fund guidelines and discuss their place in a regulatory landscape with all kinds of moving pieces. 

Host: Bentley Kaplan,  MSCI ESG Research
Guests: Meggin Eastman & Simone Ruiz-Vergote, 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=100002979498471
• Global Coal Exit List: https://www.coalexit.org/

Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research
Guests: 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 Research
Guest: 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 Research
Guest: 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 Kaplan
Guests: 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 Disabato

Guests: 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 Disabato
Guests: 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 Kaplan

Guests: Nigel Fletcher, Carrie Wang, Yu Ishihara; MSCI ESG Research