Library | ESG issues

Governance

The governance pillar in ESG (environmental, social, and governance) refers to the systems, policies, and practices that ensure an organisation is managed responsibly and ethically. It includes issues such as board structure, reporting & disclosures, shareholders & voting, and risk management. Strong governance reduces risks, enhances trust, and supports long-term business sustainability.

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Measuring companies’ environmental and social impacts: An analysis of ESG ratings and SDG scores

This study compares ESG ratings with SDG scores across major providers. It finds little correlation. SDG scores align with investor exclusions and EU Taxonomy assessments, while ESG ratings largely measure financial risk exposure, not real-world environmental or social impacts.
Research
4 April 2025

Climate risk self-assessment survey series

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
This series presents APRA’s Climate Risk Self-Assessment Surveys, which review how APRA-regulated entities approach governance, risk management, metrics, targets and disclosure of climate-related financial risks. It provides a consistent, periodic view of industry practices and alignment with prudential guidance over time.
Benchmark/series
12 November 2024

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Government Sponsored / Multilateral Organisations
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a United Nations specialised agency coordinating global cooperation on weather, climate, hydrology and related environmental services. WMO sets international standards, publishes authoritative climate and weather reports, supports early warning systems, and strengthens climate resilience, risk management and scientific data sharing worldwide, across governments and communities.
Organisation

Climate fiduciaries: part II – the duty of even-handedness

This article explores the fiduciary duty of even-handedness and its implications for climate-aware pension fund investing, focusing on emerging legal challenges in Australia and Canada. It argues that unmanaged climate risk may breach trustees’ obligations to act equitably across generations, particularly where younger members bear disproportionate long-term harm.
Article
28 January 2026

Systems-informed stewardship part I: Reshaping sustainable and impact finance through systems thinking

This article introduces systems thinking and explains how it is reshaping sustainable and impact finance by addressing interconnected systemic risks like climate change and inequality. It outlines four emerging applications; from systemic risk management to systems-informed stewardship, highlighting the implications for investors’ roles, tools, and decision-making.
Article
26 January 2026

Directors’ duties navigator: Climate risk and sustainability disclosures series

Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative
This is a series of legal and governance primers examining directors’ duties and corporate disclosure obligations in relation to climate and sustainability risks. It provides jurisdictional analysis and practical guidance to support board oversight, risk management and reporting as regulatory and market expectations evolve.
Benchmark/series
1 January 2026

Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security: A national security assessment

UK Government
This UK national security assessment finds global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse pose high risks to food security, economic stability and geopolitics. Degradation is widespread, with potential ecosystem collapse from 2030–2050, intensifying migration, conflict, supply chain disruption and strategic competition without decisive intervention.
Research
19 January 2026

The i-frame and the s-frame: How focusing on individual-level solutions has led behavioral public policy astray

The report argues that behavioural public policy has over-emphasised individual-level (“i-frame”) solutions, often aligning with corporate interests and weakening systemic reform. It contends that structural (“s-frame”) interventions, alongside institutional changes in research and policy design, are necessary to address entrenched social and economic problems effectively.
Research
26 September 2025

Global climate highlights series

Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S)
This benchmark series provides a recurring, standardised overview of global climate conditions, produced using consistent observational and reanalysis datasets. It tracks changes across key climate indicators to support comparability over time and inform assessment of longer-term climate trends within a recognised reference framework.
Benchmark/series
14 January 2026

State of finance for nature 2026: Nature in the red: Powering the trillion dollar nature transition economy

United Nations Environment Programme
UNEP’s State of Finance for Nature 2026 finds global finance remains heavily skewed towards nature-negative activities. In 2023, US$7.3 trillion harmed nature versus US$220 billion for nature-based solutions. Meeting Rio Convention targets requires more than doubling nature investment by 2030.
Research
22 January 2026

Online Climate Scenario Analysis Narrative Tool

Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF)
An interactive climate financial risk tool developed by the UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment to support scenario analysis. It enables users to explore climate transition and physical risk pathways for financial decision-making, stress testing, and research, with a focus on climate-related financial impacts.
Online tool/database

Portfolios on the ballot

The Shareholder Commons
Portfolios on the Ballot (POTB) is a tool by The Shareholder Commons that tracks shareholder proposals with potential system-wide economic impacts. It supports portfolio-level analysis of proxy votes, focusing on long-term market, social, and environmental risks relevant to diversified investors.
Online tool/database

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)

Government Organisations & Departments
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is a federal department advancing sustainable development of Canada’s energy, minerals, forests and earth sciences. It delivers research, data, policy and tools on climate change, clean energy, critical minerals and resource efficiency, supporting evidence-based decision-making by governments, industry and the public across domestic and international contexts.
Organisation
1 research item

Free Float Analytics

Free Float Analytics
Free Float Analytics provides a global dataset ranking board directors and management by influence and performance across publicly traded companies, using proprietary metrics drawn from social science and analytics. It supports institutional investors and advisors in evaluating governance dynamics and proxy decisions, without offering investment advice.
Online tool/database

Open Land Contracts Database

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
OpenLandContracts.org is an online, searchable repository of publicly available contracts and related documents for large-scale land, agriculture, forestry and renewable energy investments. It provides full texts and annotated summaries of key social, environmental, fiscal and operational terms to support analysis, comparison and transparency.
Online tool/database

Impact Thinking Canvas

Valuing Impact
The Impact Thinking Canva is a simple, printable framework to structure impact valuation projects, helping organisations define objectives, map impact pathways, identify key data needs and align stakeholders early in the process. It guides impact measurement and data collection at the start of an impact valuation exercise.
Online tool/database
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