Library | ESG issues
Environmental
The environmental pillar in ESG (environmental, social, and governance) assesses an organisation’s impact on the planet. It includes issues such as climate change, biodiversity, waste management and water management. Strong environmental practices help businesses reduce risks, comply with regulations, and drive long-term sustainability.
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Unlocking textile circularity in the EU: From challenges to opportunities
This report examines barriers and enablers for scaling up textile recycling in the EU. Combining literature reviews with 20 stakeholder interviews, it identifies technological, financial, and regulatory constraints. Recommendations include supporting demand-side measures, funding sorting technology research, and strengthening value chain collaboration to achieve circularity targets.
Generative debunking of climate misinformation
This research introduces 'generative debunking' using large language models to combat climate misinformation. By synthesising psychological best practices with computational tools, the study develops three models using the 'truth sandwich' approach. Expert evaluation indicates that structured prompting and retrieval-augmented generation significantly improve the identification and explanation of logical fallacies.
Measuring what matters: A practical framework to integrate health into urban climate action
This report introduces a practical framework for integrating health co-benefits into urban climate monitoring. It details a five-step process for selecting robust indicators across air pollution, active travel, and sustainable diets. The framework helps cities justify climate policies, enhance accountability, and strengthen public support through evidence-based decision-making.
Leveraging co-creation for city-level climate action and health co-benefits: Policy lessons from citiES 2030
This report explores how evidence-informed co-creation supports city-level climate action and health co-benefits. Using the citiES 2030 platform as a case study, it details the development of practical health indicators and provides recommendations for policymakers, cities, and researchers to strengthen urban climate governance and implementation.
Who pays for growth? Evidence from data centers and the grid
This research examines the impact of data centre expansion on US electricity prices. Findings indicate that entry between 2010 and 2024 increased average retail rates by 2.7%. These costs are concentrated among investor-owned utilities and pronounced in deregulated markets or regions with limited spare capacity.
Cultivating investment: Resilient agriculture can pay off for food companies
Extreme weather and climate change are destabilising agricultural supply chains, eroding traditional risk-management effectiveness. This report demonstrates how investing in regenerative agriculture builds resilience, potentially safeguarding $500 million in annual profits. It provides a framework for companies and investors to mitigate financial risks and secure long-term value.
Maritime chokepoints and the global economy: Evidence from the Strait of Hormuz
This research examines the global economic consequences of maritime disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Utilising Portwatch data, the analysis demonstrates that traffic shocks act as stagflationary forces, significantly increasing energy prices, reducing global industrial production, and tightening financial conditions through widened corporate and sovereign bond spreads.
Living with fire and water: Resilience financing for natural infrastructure
This report proposes a resilience-financing architecture to fund natural infrastructure. By wrapping catastrophe bonds with government credit enhancement, it creates a spread to finance landscape-scale mitigation. This mechanism aims to preserve insurability, reduce systemic climate risk, and convert unpriced contingent liabilities into structured, capped financial positions.
Crosswalking SBTN freshwater requirements with CSRD water disclosures
This report compares the SBTN freshwater framework with EU CSRD and ESRS requirements. It identifies areas of alignment, such as materiality assessments and basin-level analysis, while highlighting differences in scope. SBTN provides the scientific foundation for setting targets that support mandatory reporting obligations under European standards.
The business case for science-based targets: Corporate insights on the value of science-based targets for nature
This report examines the strategic value of science-based targets for nature. Drawing on insights from early adopters across diverse sectors, it identifies six key business benefits, including protected revenue and enhanced credibility. It outlines a structured approach for organisations to manage environmental impacts while future-proofing operations against regulatory shifts.
Analysing the EU policy mix for the built environment from a sufficiency perspective
This research assesses the integration of sufficiency principles into European Union building policies. Analysing 16 policy documents, it finds that while measures for reducing consumption and environmental sustainability are prevalent, social dimensions and behavioural changes are often neglected. It recommends prioritising building renovation over new construction to meet sustainability goals.
Situation analysis of the worst forms of child labour and education status in agricultural and other rural areas of Myanmar
This report examines child labour and education in rural Myanmar. It highlights how poverty, conflict, and natural disasters, including a 2025 earthquake, drive child labour. It provides strategic recommendations for the ARISE project to improve education access, strengthen livelihoods, and eliminate hazardous work for children.
Sustainability or strategy: Bridging the gap between climate change and long-term value creation
FCLTGlobal research identifies a significant gap between corporate climate commitments and long-term business strategies. Analysing the world’s 100 largest companies, the report introduces a Conversation Guide to help organisations integrate climate transition planning into core value creation, capital allocation, and risk management to build investor trust and resilience.
From voluntary to binding: Integration of sustainability standards and initiatives in public mining governance
This report examines the integration of sustainability standards and initiatives (SSIs) into public mining governance. Through surveys and case studies in Brazil, Madagascar, and Sweden, it demonstrates how voluntary standards complement mandatory regulations to address environmental, social, and governance risks, supporting policy formulation, implementation, and transparent reporting.
Locked in and priced out: How coal power contracts fuel debt and delay the energy transition
This report examines how rigid power purchase agreements for coal power in India, Indonesia, and Pakistan create unsustainable debt and delay the energy transition. It highlights how these contracts lock in expensive, polluting energy and proposes policy solutions including payouts, technology swaps, renegotiation, and litigation.
Air pollution and learning
This NBER working paper examines the impact of air pollution on 10 million US high school students. It finds that moderate pollution levels reduce annual learning by 19 per cent. Disadvantaged students experience three times more harm, significantly widening racial and socio-economic achievement gaps.