CSRHub Blog Research on ESG metrics and comments on sustainability best practice

The Russian Federation has a huge influence on world events. It is a powerhouse in many natural resources industries and has strong tech and manufacturing businesses.

However, very little information has been available on the sustainability performance of Russian companies. Some of the country’s largest entities are privately or government controlled. Those that are publicly traded have not yet been forced to disclose much data on their ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) performance by Russian regulators. While Russian citizens appear to have interest in these issues, they are not supported yet by media and have not been allowed to create mass groups such as the Green parties of Europe.

CSRHub CTO and Co-Founder, Bahar Gidwani, will be speaking at the 2021 BattleFin Ensemble & Discovery Days event, happening virtually on March 9th and 10th.

CSRHub recently added Covalence’s ESG ratings to its ESG data aggregation system. Covalence contributed ratings on more than 9,200 companies.

Founded in 2001 in Geneva, Switzerland, Covalence helps investors integrate ESG factors while controlling greenwashing with its AI-powered scoring system and data feeds. The Covalence approach is based on a diversity of sources of information and relies on web monitoring and artificial intelligence together with human analysis. They compare ESG data publicly reported by companies to online narrative content reflecting the perceptions of stakeholders such as the media and NGOs. This approach allows users to track inconsistencies, monitor changes and benefit from timely alternative data.

Hundreds of companies violate US federal, state, and local laws each year. Do these transgressions affect how these companies are rated by ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) experts? Using an excellent data set called Violation Tracker from Good Jobs First, we show there is a 52% correlation between the change in number of violations over a 15 month period and the change in our Leadership Ethics rating. This result suggests that corporate ESG managers need to keep an eye on their company’s legal problems. It may also indicate that those who use ESG ratings in their investment process could predict future changes in some areas of ESG ratings, based on violation patterns.

Last week, the New York State Senate voted to divest fossil fuel investments from its $266 billion pension portfolio. Co-sponsor Liz Kueger offered this rationale: “Fiduciary and moral responsibility require the process of divestment to begin now. The writing on the wall could not be clearer: fossil fuel producers are a bad long-term investment.” The Fossil Free movement is deservedly celebrating this major accomplishment.

Does Corporate Behavior Relate to a Nation’s Soft Power?

We have compared data on nations’ soft power from Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index with their ESG (environment, social, governance) ratings from CSRHub. A number of soft power indicators correlate well with the views of the other sources available to CSRHub. We also compared the soft power scores with the aggregate ratings of the perceived ESG performance of companies in these countries. The correlation here was poor. We share several reasons why corporate sustainability ratings may relate to a nation’s soft power score.

This is the second of a series of articles about the connection of supply chain and ESG, written by Sean Harley CEO and co-founder, LUPR Inc., and Bahar Gidwani CTO and co-founder CSRHub. Republished with permission from Lupr's website.

Are organizations responsible for the actions of their suppliers? While some executives might say no, in 2010 BP CEO Tony Hayward discovered that the courts—as well as the court of public opinion—say otherwise. The rig that famously exploded, killing 11 people and ultimately pouring millions of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, was actually operated by one of BP’s suppliers. But no one was impressed when Hayward tried to shift the blame to BP’s suppliers.

This is the first of a series of articles about the connection of supply chain and ESG, written by Sean Harley CEO and co-founder, LUPR Inc., and Bahar Gidwani CTO and co-founder CSRHub. Originally published on Lupr's website.

There was a time when all shareholders really cared about was returns. Was it doing a good job serving its markets? Likewise, consumers had a narrow focus as well. Were they getting the best product for the price?

In recent years, though, shareholders, consumers and much of the rest of the public have begun to recognize that how a company operates is also vitally important. Is the organization harming the environment? Do they treat their employees well? Are they ethical and transparent? And so forth.

That movement led to focusing the effort on operations and inspecting the suppliers as well. And thus, these issues need to be on supply chain managers’ radars, too…and ESG addresses them.

Join us at the upcoming virtual US and Europe ESG Integration Forums happening December 2nd - 4th.

CSRHub is excited to partner with IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary for the 2020 ESG Integration Forums in Europe and the US.

The events will feature investor relations, governance, and risk and compliance experts in a series of discussions that explore underlying factors that have driven the rise of ESG during the pandemic.

The virtual event's topics include: artificial intelligence, navigating climate risks, how the future of work will impact ESG integration, materiality matters, social and human capital trends, generating decision useful data for investors, reinventing ESG reporting and much more!

The ESG Integration Forum Europe will take place on December 2nd. To view the agenda, click here.

The ESG Integration Forum US will take place December 3rd and 4th. To view the agenda, click here.

As a partner for this year’s event, we are excited to offer you a special member’s discount. Use the code CSR25 to receive 25% off the ticket price! Book your place now for the European Forum and the US Forum.