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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International IR framework

International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC)
This report provides a summary of the International Integrated Reporting Framework. Integrated Reporting promotes a cohesive approach to corporate reporting by providing information about value creation, preservation, or erosion over the short, medium, and long term. Fundamental concepts, guiding principles, and content elements are detailed in this framework.
Research
1 January 2021

The Passives Problem and Paris goals: How index investing trends threaten climate action

The Sunrise Project
This report sheds light on the Passives Problem, highlighting the dangers of an excessively passive investment market. It argues that this trend is hindering progress on mitigating climate change and exacerbating the risks of market instability. The report suggests possible solutions to the problem and examines how investors can align with climate action.
Research
17 January 2020

Future of waste

UBS
This report examines the future of waste reduction, the environmental and financial impacts of waste, and investment opportunities in waste management globally. The report provides regional, country, and sector insights on companies most affected by waste and ways for mainstream companies to proactively manage waste and pollution.
Research
24 February 2020

Renewable energy and human rights benchmark report series

Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
The Renewable Energy and Human Rights Benchmark series assesses how leading renewable energy companies manage and respect human rights across their operations and value chains. The series provides a consistent, comparative framework to track corporate practices and accountability in the global energy transition.
Benchmark/series
18 September 2025

Beyond compliance in the renewable energy sector: Assessing UK and Australian Modern Slavery Act statements

Walk Free
This report assesses the statements of 60 renewable energy companies under the UK and Australian Modern Slavery Acts, identifying their compliance gaps. Though most firms disclose their modern slavery policy, few extend it beyond tier one, limiting worker protection. The report calls for improved guidance, supply chain transparency, and stronger government enforcement measures.
Research
20 September 2023

Rethinking climate change: How humanity can choose to reduce emissions 90% by 2035 through the disruption of energy, transportation, and food with existing technologies

RethinkX
This report examines how existing technologies in energy, transportation, and food could lead to a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. Using the Seba Technology Disruption Framework, they forecast disruptive changes and identify how markets could drive emissions mitigation.
Research
31 July 2021

Unused tools: How central banks are fueling the climate crisis

Oil Change International
This report dissects the role of central banks in fossil fuel finance and climate change, presenting 10 criteria for assessment and analysing 12 central banks worldwide. While there is increased recognition among global central banks of the severity of climate change, they continue to prop up fossil fuels and largely maintain an industrial structure that uncritically exacerbates the climate crisis.
Research
27 August 2021

Measuring what matters most: Seven systems transformations for benchmarking companies on the SDGs

World Benchmarking Alliance
This report provides guidance on developing benchmarks to transform systems towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It identifies seven critical transformations: social, agriculture and food, decarbonisation and energy, circular, digital, urban, and financial systems. These benchmarks aim to hold companies accountable and drive meaningful change across industries to support sustainable development.
Research
15 July 2019

Physical risk framework: Understanding the impacts of climate change on real estate lending and investment portfolios

Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
This report provides lenders and investors with a four-step process to assess the physical impact of climate change on their real estate and infrastructure portfolios. The report emphasises the importance of using insurers’ extreme weather models within this framework to estimate natural catastrophe risks.
Research
16 February 2019

Transition risk framework: Managing the impacts of the low carbon transition on infrastructure investments

Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
This report introduces a transition risk framework aiding investors and regulators in navigating risks and seizing opportunities in the low-carbon transition. It enhances comprehension of how transition risks impact financial performance in infrastructure investments, offering a transparent, adaptable, and robust methodology for assessing the financial implications of a shift towards a low-carbon economy.
Research
18 February 2019

In search of impact: Measuring the full value of capital

Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
This report outlines a sustainable investment framework, designed to empower individuals and organisations to better understand and make informed investment choices. The framework utilises six themes to communicate the impact of financial flows into the economy and contains theoretically grounded metrics that can be practically applied.
Research
28 August 2019

The comprehensive business case for sustainability

Sustainable businesses redefine the corporate ecosystem by creating value for all stakeholders, including employees, shareholders, supply chains, civil society, and the planet. Managing sustainability risks requires making investment decisions today for longer-term capacity building and developing adaptive strategies. Significant cost reductions can result from improving operational efficiency, and sustainable companies deliver significant positive financial performance.
Research
21 October 2016

Opportunity NOCs: How investors can jumpstart energy transitions in national oil companies

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
This report outlines how national oil companies (NOCs) must begin decarbonising to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, and how investors can influence and incentivise the energy transition. It shows that NOCs constitute half of the world’s oil and gas production and control two-thirds of global reserves, making them of great interest to investors.
Research
16 February 2023

The climate crisis is a child rights crisis: Introducing the Children's Climate Risk Index

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
The report highlights how one billion children are at extreme risk due to climate change with small island states and countries already facing existential threats. It is a call to action for businesses and governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and commit to sustainable practices.
Research
20 August 2021

Do socially responsible firms walk the talk?

This study evaluates U.S. firms that signed the Business Roundtable's stakeholder capitalism pledge. Despite claims of social responsibility, signatories performed worse on environmental, labor, and governance metrics than peers, both before and after signing. The results suggest these public commitments lacked substance and may have been strategic signaling.
Research
2 November 2023

An integrated framework to assess greenwashing

Climate Social Science Network (CCSN)
Companies, nonprofits, and governments are increasingly engaging in greenwashing despite regulations for misleading advertisements. This report provides a framework for detecting greenwashing in such claims for all actors, whether non-commercial or non-advertisements.
Research
16 September 2021
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