Library | ESG issues

Social

The social pillar in ESG (environmental, social, and governance) assesses a organisation’s impact on people and society. It covers labour practices, diversity and inclusion, human rights and community engagement. Prioritising social responsibility not only benefits society but also mitigates risks, strengthens reputation, and creates long-term value for businesses and investors.

Refine
Resource type
Sustainable Finance Practices
ESG issues
SDGs
SASB Sustainability Sector
Finance relevance
Asset Class
Location
TAG
1100 results
REFINE
SHOW: 16

State of the artisanal and small-scale mining sector series

The World Bank
This series provides an overview of the artisanal and small-scale mining sector, examining its structure, operating context, and governance considerations. It explores economic, social, environmental, and regulatory dimensions to support informed analysis, comparison, and ongoing assessment of developments across the sector over time.
Benchmark/series
23 April 2024

Global rights index series

International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
This benchmark series provides an annual, country-level assessment of how governments and employers respect internationally recognised labour rights. It offers a consistent framework to compare workers’ rights protections across regions and over time, supporting analysis of legal conditions, enforcement practices, and systemic risks affecting working people.
Benchmark/series
27 May 2025

International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

Other
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is a global trade union federation representing national union centres worldwide. It advocates for workers’ rights, democracy, and social justice through research, policy advocacy, and campaigns. ITUC publishes the Global Rights Index and engages with governments, employers, and multilateral institutions on labour standards globally issues.
Organisation
1 research item

Wales' wellbeing economy journey

Centre for Policy Development (CPD)
This case study details the 15-year policy journey in Wales to embed sustainable development into government functions, starting with the Government of Wales Act 1998. Developed legislation along the way established clear accountability mechanisms, including the Future Generations Commissioner, to ensure public bodies actively contribute to seven defined wellbeing goals.
Case study
27 August 2022

Advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment: Target setting guidance for banks

United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)
This guidance outlines how banks can set and implement measurable targets to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment across leadership, portfolios, financial inclusion and ecosystems, aligned with the Principles for Responsible Banking and Women’s Empowerment Principles.
Research
13 December 2024

Mobilising investment for climate adaptation

Institute of Actuaries of Australia
This report assesses Australia’s escalating climate risks and argues for scaling adaptation investment. It recommends improved valuation methods, a nationally coordinated adaptation investment framework, and diversified public-private financing mechanisms to reduce long-term economic damage and enhance resilience.
Research
21 November 2025

Limited accountability and awareness of corporate emissions target outcomes

The study analyses 1,041 corporate emissions targets ending in 2020, finding limited accountability. Thirty-one per cent of targets disappeared and 9% failed, with minimal disclosure, media attention or market penalties. By contrast, target announcements improved media sentiment and ESG scores, raising concerns for future climate targets.
Research
21 January 2025

Climate and catastrophe insight series

Aon
The Climate and Catastrophe Insight is an annual research series that provides a consistent global view of natural disaster activity and climate-related catastrophe trends. It examines impacts on people, assets and economies to support risk assessment, resilience planning and long-term decision-making.
Benchmark/series
23 January 2026

The visionary CEO’s guide to sustainability series

Bain & Company
The Visionary CEO’s Guide to Sustainability is a series of annual research reports examining how senior executives integrate sustainability into core strategy, operations, and decision-making. The series explores leadership responses to evolving environmental, regulatory, technological, and market pressures, with a focus on practical execution and long-term business resilience.
Benchmark/series
9 September 2025

Net Zero Asset Managers' target disclosures series

Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM)
The Net Zero Asset Managers Target Disclosures is a reporting series that tracks how participating asset managers set, disclose, and update net zero targets over time. It provides a consistent, initiative-wide view of commitments, disclosure practices, governance arrangements, and methodological approaches across reporting years.
Benchmark/series
31 July 2024

Plastic promises scorecard series

As You Sow
The Corporate Plastic Pollution Scorecard is a benchmark series that assesses how large consumer-facing companies address plastic packaging responsibility. It reviews corporate policies, commitments, disclosures, and practices across key areas of packaging design, reuse, recycled content, transparency, recycling support, and producer responsibility, enabling consistent comparison over time.
Benchmark/series
12 June 2024

Climate change and news audiences report series

Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
This is an annual research series examining how audiences access, trust, and interpret climate change news. It analyses news use, attitudes, and perceptions across multiple countries, tracking changes over time to inform journalism practice, media strategy, and public understanding of climate-related information.
Benchmark/series
4 December 2025

Sustainable Finance Roundup January 2026: Geopolitics, Energy Transitions, and Systemic Risk

This month’s sustainable finance article roundup examines a landscape increasingly shaped by geopolitics and climate risk, as near-term fragmentation, energy security, and affordability pressures collide with intensifying long-term threats from climate change, biodiversity loss, and water stress. The works featured analyse how these dynamics are reshaping capital allocation, disclosure, and resilience planning, demonstrating the growing need for sustainable finance to integrate geopolitical risk with real-economy transition.
Article
2 February 2026

Corporate climate responsibility monitor series

NewClimate Institute
The Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor is a recurring research series that independently assesses the transparency, integrity and credibility of corporate climate strategies. It evaluates how major global companies set, disclose and implement emission reduction targets, using a consistent methodology to enable year-on-year comparison across sectors.
Benchmark/series
1 July 2025

Canadian pension climate report card series

Shift: Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health
The Canadian Pension Climate Report Card is an annual benchmark series assessing how major Canadian pension funds manage climate-related risks and align investment and stewardship practices with climate science. It applies a consistent, comparative framework using publicly disclosed information to evaluate governance, targets, engagement and integration over time.
Benchmark/series
24 January 2026

Global landscape of climate finance series

Climate Policy Initiative
Global Landscape of Climate Finance is a recurring benchmark series produced by Climate Policy Initiative that provides a consistent overview of global climate finance flows. It examines sources, instruments, uses, and geographic distribution of finance to track progress and comparability across years.
Benchmark/series
27 August 2025
PREV
3 of 69
NEXT
Join or sign in to use Alma, Altiorem’s AI Agent. While the Altiorem library is free, Alma is exclusive to paying subscribers.