Analysis: Regulators Turn Spotlight On Company Sustainability Ratings

Regulators look forward to improving consistency and transparency in the industry as trillions of dollars of investments are influenced. Many investors believe that calculating ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings are opaque and environmentalist leading to further concern that companies get an ESG rating from certain organizations that they don't deserve. In recent years, climate change and issues such as diversity have become the bigger focus for investors. Sustainable assets made up $35.3 trillion or more than a third of all professionally managed assets in five of the world’s biggest markets. The conflict is that the asset managers who are the users of ESG ratings that the sector is not clear enough how it works and how a particular rating is arrived at. Many believe it to be the most important but least well-developed area in terms of analysis within finance. World leaders have backed creating a new International Sustainability Standard Board later this year which is expected to publish its first batch of corporate climate disclosures next year.