All Articles About Financial Services

BSR Insight Article: Not Just for Heavy Emitters: Why Climate Change Matters to Every Company

Marshall Chase, Associate Director, Advisory Services

Recently, BSR has fielded inquiries from a range of member companies asking how climate change is relevant to their business. The timing of these questions is obvious: With prospective climate change legislation and policy discussions in the United States and elsewhere, intensive international negotiations culminating later this year, and ongoing stakeholder interest, companies are scrambling to develop or boost their climate change strategies, assess their internal and supply chain emissions, and examine the potential risks and opportunities throughout their operations, value chain, and industry. Read more →

Posted: October 6, 2009 | Topics: Climate Change, Consumer Products, Energy, Environment, Financial Services, Food, Beverage & Agriculture, Information & Communications Technology, Media & Entertainment, Mining, Transportation

BSR Insight Article: Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices in Large Emerging Markets

According to a recent review by the Ethical Investment Research Service, Sustainable Investment Research Analyst Network, and the Social Investment Forum, corporate responsibility practices—especially those related to board practice, bribery, human rights, supply chain labor standards, health and safety, environment, climate change, and biodiversity—are gaining traction in companies based in emerging markets such as Brazil, China, India, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, and Taiwan. Read more →

Posted: September 15, 2009 | Topics: Financial Services, Investor Perspective

BSR Insight Article: The Value of Using Environmental, Social, and Governance Criteria in Mainstream Investing

Laura Gitman, Managing Director, Advisory Services

Many mainstream investors have begun to use environmental, social, and governance criteria (ESG) to inform their investment decisions. According to Thomson Reuters' 2008 survey of 25 global buy-side investors, 84 percent claimed to evaluate ESG criteria. And in a 2009 Responsible-Investor.com survey of 75 respondents representing more than US$28 trillion in assets under management, 60 percent said they use an ESG strategy for at least a portion of their assets, and 73 percent believe that asset owner interest has grown since 2008 as a result of stakeholder, political, and regulatory pressure, as well as risk management. Read more →

Posted: September 15, 2009 | Topics: Financial Services, Investor Perspective

Report: Sustainable Investment in China 2009

BSR's recently-released "Sustainable Investment in China 2009" is the first research of its kind on the topic, according the World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation, which commissioned the report. Available in a full-length version and as a shortened overview, the report surveys the sustainable investment (SI) landscape in China, identifies the challenges associated with the nascent field, and makes recommendations for speeding up the growth of the SI market. Read more →

Posted: September 11, 2009 | Topics: Financial Services, Investor Perspective | Download (PDF)

Report: ESG in the Mainstream: The Role for Companies and Investors in Environmental, Social, and Governance Integration

With Bloomberg launching a new environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data service for its stock data service subscribers, ESG data are becoming increasingly visible and available to mainstream investors and analysts, even if they're not specifically looking for it. Read more →

Posted: September 9, 2009 | Topics: Financial Services, Investor Perspective | Download (PDF)