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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The accountability framework operational guidance series
The Accountability Framework Operational Guidance series provides practical guidance for companies on implementing responsible agricultural and forestry supply chains. The series covers environmental protection, human rights, workers’ rights, Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ rights, supply chain management, reporting, remediation, and compliance with voluntary commitments and applicable law.
The progress report: Climate risk reporting in the U.S. insurance sector series
This benchmark series assesses the quality and comprehensiveness of climate risk reporting by U.S. insurance companies against the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework. It tracks industry-wide reporting practices, disclosure maturity, governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics over time to evaluate progress in climate-related financial risk disclosure.
Annual snapshot series
This benchmark series provides annual snapshots of the Climate Leaders Coalition, tracking how New Zealand businesses are progressing on climate action. It outlines signatories’ commitments, emissions management, climate risk and resilience efforts, collaboration initiatives, and leadership activities supporting the transition to a low-emissions economy.
Navigating global risks in the Pacific 2026
A Pacific-focused commentary drawing on the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2026, examining how geopolitical fragmentation, digital transformation, climate volatility and workforce pressures are reshaping operating environments across Australia, New Zealand and the broader Pacific region.
A guide to the New Zealand emissions trading scheme: 2026 update: Design, evolution, and current state
This guide outlines the design, evolution, and current state of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme as of March 2026. It covers sectoral coverage, unit supply, price controls, free allocation, forestry, and emissions trends, including recent legislative changes to agricultural obligations and the 2050 biogenic methane target.
State of the Industry: Cultivated meat, seafood, and ingredients series
This benchmark series is an annual State of the Industry series that provides a global overview of the cultivated meat, seafood and ingredients sector. It tracks commercial developments, investment activity, scientific and technological progress, consumer insights, and government and regulatory developments, assessing the sector’s progress towards large-scale commercialisation and adoption.
The hidden benefit of ESG
This study examines 2,386 U.S.-listed firms from 2016 to 2021 and finds a causal link between higher ESG scores and fewer financial statement restatements in the post-2019 Business Roundtable Statement period. The findings position ESG as a rational risk management tool and challenge the premise underlying anti-ESG legislation.
State of the Sovereign Transition 2025
The State of the Sovereign Transition 2025 assesses 85 countries on climate targets, policies and finance using the ASCOR framework. Most have set net zero targets, but near-term ambition and transparency remain inadequate. Progress is concentrated in low- and middle-income countries, while the US has seen significant policy retreat.
Five differentiators of outperforming family-owned businesses in India
McKinsey analysed about 300 publicly listed Indian family-owned businesses to identify five differentiators of top performers: core operational excellence, effective generational transition, portfolio diversification, talent and culture, and robust governance. FOBs contribute more than 75 percent of India's GDP and outperform non-family-owned businesses on revenue growth and shareholder returns.
Passing the baton: Creating value through CEO succession at family businesses
This McKinsey report analyses CEO succession at family-owned businesses, drawing on 200 publicly traded and 170 private FOBs globally. It finds that succession on average erodes shareholder value, but top-performing FOBs can achieve the opposite by applying 11 critical practices spanning five foundational and six distinctive areas.
Voice without influence? Global investor voting rationale disclosures in Korea
This study examines whether global institutional investors’ voting rationale disclosures influence Korean firms’ gender diversity and climate-related policies. It finds stronger investor focus on board gender diversity than climate risk, limited influence on large firms, greater impact on smaller firms’ emissions reductions, and evidence that voting rationales affect the credibility of sustainability reporting.
Sustainability-related disclosure guidance
New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority guidance on sustainability-related disclosure for financial product issuers. Covers fair dealing obligations under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, addressing greenwashing and greenhushing risks, with practical guidance on clear claims, substantiation, consistent messaging and third-party management.
Beyond net zero: The rise of transition plans and what they tell investors
This Sustainable Fitch report examines the rise of corporate transition plans, driven by regulatory requirements and investor demand. It reviews six mainstream transition planning frameworks, finding alignment on core principles but variation in detail, and analyses around 40 entities, revealing strong Scope 1 and 2 targets but patchy Scope 3 commitments and limited transition revenue.
From fragmentation to insight: Why data convergence matters for scaling impact
This report examines the need for data convergence in impact investing to address fragmentation. It advocates adopting a structured, Theory of Change-based data model to standardise information across portfolios. Such a structure enhances interoperability, streamlines data management, and enables advanced analytics, ultimately improving decision-making and scaling impact effectively.
Productivity and decent work: Achieving synergies between social and economic dimensions at the enterprise level
This research brief examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility and human resource management in enhancing enterprise productivity and decent work. It provides an overview of current literature, explores how aligning social and economic dimensions creates synergies, and identifies key gaps for future research to support sustainable development.
Sustainable finance and corporate law: Lessons from the US
This report analyses the trajectory of sustainable finance and corporate law in the US. It focuses on the SEC's proposed climate disclosure rule and California's state-level reporting mandates, examining the political and institutional challenges these initiatives face and the implications of a federalist approach for corporate compliance.