ISS ESG

One of the key components of collaborating to halt and reverse nature loss is the need for clear and consistent metrics for reporting on nature and progressing towards collective nature positive goals. Indigenous leadership and perspectives are key to addressing environmental challenges, and investors need to understand the available tools, data and metrics to be able to act on nature. Join experts Marco Lambertini, Convener at Nature Positive Initiative, Nicole M. Forrester, Chief Regenerative Officer at WWF-Australia, Julia Leske, Managing Director, Senior Consultant ESG Strategy of ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services Stoxx, and Guy Michael Williams, Co-Chair of RIAA’s Nature Working Group and Director at ziranjiti as they discuss 'Finding nature's formula: What investors need to know about metrics and measurement' at the RIAA Conference Australia 2025! In this session: ?? Gain practical insights on the state of data metrics and measurements globally. ?? Explore how to leverage nature-related metrics to drive more sustainable and well-informed investment strategies to create long-term value. ?? Learn about how the industry can move forward with data that already exists and what is needed to start contributing to nature-positive outcomes. This session is brought to you by RIAA’s Nature Working Group. ? Don’t miss out! Early bird registration is closing soon so get your ticket now: https://lnkd.in/gxDwRt6K ? #RIAAconf2025 #nature #responsibleinvestment #sustainablefinance

The ISS ESG Governance QualityScore (GQS) Indices are sector-neutral indices of well-governed and responsible companies based on the ISS ESG Governance QualityScore, Norms-Based research, and Controversial Weapons research. The series tracks large- and mid-cap companies in the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific (ex-Japan). GQS is a data-driven assessment of corporate governance across four key categories: board structure, compensation, shareholder rights, and audit & risk oversight. In addition to a holistic assessment of corporate governance, all companies with verified failures to respect established norms on human rights, labor standards, environmental protection, and business malpractice, as well as verified involvement in controversial weapons are excluded. The chart shows the governance performance of the European index based on the sample metrics embedded within GQS. As shown, the European GQS index significantly enhances its parent universe’s metrics in board leadership independence, problematic pay practices exposure, and unequal voting structure. The index guideline for ISS ESG Governance QualityScore Index Series, is available at: https://lnkd.in/e4J_gheB. To learn more about this index and ISS ESG’s index offering, please visit: https://lnkd.in/eEFZiCm. The parent universe is Solactive GBS Developed Markets Europe Large & Mid Cap. #Sustainability #CorporateGovernance #HumanRights

EU ‘Omnibus’ Proposal to Scale Back Sustainability Laws Still Likely to Power Sustainable Finance The European Commission published in late February a package of legislative proposals to revise and simplify three pillars of EU sustainable finance: the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the EU Taxonomy, and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Although these proposals seek to reduce and delay the volume of expected sustainability reporting, corporate transparency is still set to increase. Further, the depth of mandated reporting in the EU may be leveraged by investors across their portfolios globally. The proposal limits mandatory reporting under CSRD to companies with more than 1,000 employees and at least €50 million in revenue or €25 million in assets. Mandated groupwide reporting for non-EU parent companies would be limited to those with EU subsidiaries that have €450 million of revenue (or branches with €50 million of revenue). Other companies, particularly those that are suppliers to those with mandatory reporting, might instead report in accordance with a slimmed-down voluntary standard originally developed for small and medium-sized enterprises. Read more of the analysis, authored by Joe Arns, CFA and Hector Paez M, at: https://lnkd.in/ex_Vb5bt Learn how ISS ESG Corporate Rating identifies ESG risks and seize investment opportunities at: https://lnkd.in/dA-eMs3 #Sustainability #SustainableFinance #Europe #Regulatory

ISS ESG Quarterly Engagement Update – Q4 2024: Gender Equality, Clean Water, and Life on Land among Top SDG Engagement Priorities as ISS ESG Launches Second Cycles of Thematic Engagement ISS ESG’s Quarterly Engagement Update series highlights key trends that emerge through activities conducted on behalf of participating investors under ISS ESG’s Collaborative Engagement Services. These services allow investors to participate in cost-effective joint outreach and dialogue with companies on material sustainability-related themes. ISS ESG facilitated engagement on behalf of signatory investors with a total of 184 companies across 219 topics. ISS ESG conducted engagements with 55 companies under Norm-Based Engagement, the Thematic Engagement solution facilitated engagement with 130 companies, and one company was engaged with both solutions. Among the environment-related engagements facilitated by ISS ESG in Q4 2024, the most frequently discussed topics were net zero, water, and biodiversity. Among social topics, most of the engagements focused on gender equality, followed closely by labour rights norms. Read more of the analysis, authored by Shweta Shah, Sujay Pan, and Lo?c DESSAINT, at: https://lnkd.in/e2Z5fjZh Learn more about ISS ESG’s Thematic Engagement Solution at: https://lnkd.in/gK4Rpus6 #Sustainability #NetZero #GenderEquality?

Four Days to Go – Paris Innovation Forum is Almost Here!? ? The countdown is on! In under one week, ISS STOXX leaders and industry professionals will connect at our Annual Paris Innovation Forum—an event you won’t want to miss!? ? ?? Date: Tuesday, 11th March 2025? ?? Registration: 8:30 CET (Breakfast and lunch provided)? ?? Conference Start: 9:00 CET ? ?? Location: Paris, France? ? What’s coming up:? ? ? Thought-provoking discussions on sustainability, climate, net-zero engagement, indices, and more? ? Exclusive networking opportunities with top professionals? ? ?Featured Speakers:? *Nathana?l Neveu, ESG Analyst, MAIF? *Mathilde Krief, CESGA?, ESG Data Specialist, Mirova? *Luisa Florez, Head of ESG Research, OFI Asset Management? *Léonard Pirollet, Head of ESG Regulation & Strategies, La Banque Postale AM? *Yun WAI-SONG, Head of Sustainable Investment, SCOR? ? Time is running out - register now:?? https://lnkd.in/e3GKTZda? ? #ParisInnovationForum #Governance #Sustainability #Indices?

The Latest in ESG and Stewardship Regulation – March 2025 Wondering about the latest regulatory developments related to ESG and stewardship worldwide? Read our latest ESG Financial Regulation Bulletin, authored by Noam Cherki, Hugo Gallagher, and Karina Karakulova, at: https://lnkd.in/e8PVyTdz #ESG #Regulatory #Sustainability?

We are pleased to announce ISS STOXX is continuing its valued partnership as a Principal Partner of our Nature Working Group. ISS STOXX coming on board for a second year as a Principal Partner reconfirms their commitment to the Nature Working Group’s objective of supporting members to consider and respond to nature-related risks and opportunities in their responsible investment programs and business operations. Estelle Parker, Co-CEO of RIAA shared, “RIAA warmly welcomes this renewed partnership, which makes the work of our Nature Working Group possible. We had an incredibly successful year last year, which included the completion of a comprehensive and world-leading Nature Investor Toolkit by industry experts. ISS STOXX’s ongoing support will mean we can further leverage and build upon this work, and continue to educate and upskill Australia’s largest investment firms to manage nature-related risk and identify opportunities on behalf of their beneficiaries and members.” Till Jung, Global Head of ESG at ISS STOXX said, “ISS STOXX values the opportunity to once again support RIAA in this work. Investors are setting their baselines for nature strategies in their portfolios, and we are pleased to serve as a critical resource to help RIAA members better understand nature-related investment strategies and stewardship initiatives.” Julia Leske, Managing Director, Senior Consultant ESG Strategy at ISS STOXX added “Corporate activities inevitably impact on nature and these impacts have major effects on the systems economic activities depend on, such as a stable and predictable climate, sustainable water resources and functioning land systems. Through the Nature Working Group, RIAA offers a discussion forum on the concepts and ways for investors to navigate this specific realm of risks and opportunities across existing and future investments.” Read the full announcement: https://lnkd.in/gxXsxa2x Join RIAA today and unlock the valuable opportunities offered by our working groups. For more information about our Nature Working Group, view the link in the comments. ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services, ISS ESG #nature #responsibleinvestment #partnership #workinggroup

Live from Environmental Finance - Natural Capital Investment EMEA Conference in London! It’s been a fantastic day of engaging discussions on nature, biodiversity, and sustainable finance. Earlier in the day, our colleague Giorgio Cozzolino, CFA shared insights on the TNFD and the future of nature and biodiversity reporting panel. It is great to connect with so many industry leaders driving positive change. #NatCap25 #SustainableFinance #Nature Alex Paladino Berrak F. Dogruer Ben Newsom Richard Redfern Joel Y. Pamela Kalu Clarissa Persico Alejandra Alonso Felipe Hawkins Isobel Burke

Supervisory authorities are starting to intervene in cases of greenwashing, imposing fines and other penalties on companies with sustainability-related actions or communications that do not reflect their underlying sustainability profiles. ESG ratings and data providers can help investors to avoid misleading sustainability-related claims by filtering out irrelevant or non-representative data and assisting investors to focus on the claims’ essential aspects. Find out more about anti-greenwashing regulation and sustainability claims by downloading ISS ESG’s Actionable Insights: Top ESG Themes in 2025 report: https://lnkd.in/e2uSCRz5 #Greenwashing #Ratings #Regulatory

Digital Sequence Information: What is it and the Implications for the Pharmaceutical Industry Digital Sequence Information (DSI) is a placeholder term that refers broadly to the digital use of genetic resources and its derivatives. This includes the details of an organism’s genetic data, which determine its characteristics and unique traits. DSI enables swift analysis and comparison of genetic data, greatly accelerating the identification of potential drug targets and the development of new therapies. DSI also enables researchers to develop transformative therapies without the need of physical samples. Additionally, pharmaceutical and biomedical companies’ use of DSI has broader environmental and social implications. In particular, efforts to share DSI’s benefits equitably while preserving biodiversity may have implications for sustainability-focused investors. Read more of the analysis, authored by Debaprasad S. and Tanay Gunjikar, at: https://lnkd.in/eAUf32_W Learn how ISS ESG Corporate Rating identifies ESG risks and seize investment opportunities at: https://lnkd.in/dA-eMs3 #Sustainability #Pharmaceutical #Biomedical