ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.
Listen "Ep 1: Eoghan Gill from Sustainalytics on ESG ratings"
Episode Synopsis
Welcome to the very first GSI Podcast from Global Systematic Investors, presented by financial journalist and author Robin Powell.
In this episode we’re going to look at ESG ratings. What exactly are they? How do ratings agencies form conclusions? And, how reliable are those conclusions from the investor’s point of view?
Our guest is Eoghan Gill from Sustainalytics, one of the biggest and most highly respected ESG ratings agencies.
if there’s a specific subject you’d like to hear Eoghan talk about, here's a breakdown of the interview, including time codes, so you can skip straight to the answer you're looking for.
+++
What exactly is an ESG ratings agency? 2.15
How many different agencies are there? And who are the major players? 3.52
Who are Sustainalytics and in what ways do you differ from the other major agencies? 4.59
Can you give an overview of Sustainalytics’ approach to ESG risk ratings? 5.55
Sustainalytics recently changed its methodology from ESG ratings to ESG risk ratings. What motivated this change and why is the new methodology an improvement? 7.08
Could you explain what “product involvement” means? 9.16
Typically, how regularly is a company reviewed and assigned its ESG risk scores? Are there circumstances when this is done more frequently? 12.18
Why do the data providers come up with such widely differing views over the same company? 14.00
Perceptions of what constitutes an ESG stock change over time, and sometimes quite quickly. For example, the Ukraine crisis has changed the way some people think about the weapons sector. 16.37
Does the fact that ESG ratings often diverge across ratings providers undermine their usefulness to investors? 18.09
To what extent are we seeing the opinions of different ratings agencies being aggregated? 20.06
How does Sustainalytics deal with vastly differing ESG regulatory reporting requirement imposed on companies – esp. developed markets vs emerging markets (but even within developed markets)? 21.58
Would you expect ratings to converge across providers in the future as ESG disclosure requirement increases and standards evolve? 23.50
What impact, if any, does an ESG data provider have in changing corporate behaviour? 25.26
How do you know that the answers a company gives you are true? Are they not just telling you what you want to hear? 27.38
Is there any evidence to link ESG investing with long-term out-performance or even under-performance? 29.59
+++
Music used:
Inspired by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3918-inspired
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
In this episode we’re going to look at ESG ratings. What exactly are they? How do ratings agencies form conclusions? And, how reliable are those conclusions from the investor’s point of view?
Our guest is Eoghan Gill from Sustainalytics, one of the biggest and most highly respected ESG ratings agencies.
if there’s a specific subject you’d like to hear Eoghan talk about, here's a breakdown of the interview, including time codes, so you can skip straight to the answer you're looking for.
+++
What exactly is an ESG ratings agency? 2.15
How many different agencies are there? And who are the major players? 3.52
Who are Sustainalytics and in what ways do you differ from the other major agencies? 4.59
Can you give an overview of Sustainalytics’ approach to ESG risk ratings? 5.55
Sustainalytics recently changed its methodology from ESG ratings to ESG risk ratings. What motivated this change and why is the new methodology an improvement? 7.08
Could you explain what “product involvement” means? 9.16
Typically, how regularly is a company reviewed and assigned its ESG risk scores? Are there circumstances when this is done more frequently? 12.18
Why do the data providers come up with such widely differing views over the same company? 14.00
Perceptions of what constitutes an ESG stock change over time, and sometimes quite quickly. For example, the Ukraine crisis has changed the way some people think about the weapons sector. 16.37
Does the fact that ESG ratings often diverge across ratings providers undermine their usefulness to investors? 18.09
To what extent are we seeing the opinions of different ratings agencies being aggregated? 20.06
How does Sustainalytics deal with vastly differing ESG regulatory reporting requirement imposed on companies – esp. developed markets vs emerging markets (but even within developed markets)? 21.58
Would you expect ratings to converge across providers in the future as ESG disclosure requirement increases and standards evolve? 23.50
What impact, if any, does an ESG data provider have in changing corporate behaviour? 25.26
How do you know that the answers a company gives you are true? Are they not just telling you what you want to hear? 27.38
Is there any evidence to link ESG investing with long-term out-performance or even under-performance? 29.59
+++
Music used:
Inspired by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3918-inspired
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
In God we trust