Rate the Raters is a benchmark series by the ERM Sustainability Institute tracking corporate perceptions of ESG rating agencies. It examines quality, usefulness, trust, and engagement with ESG raters across regions and industries, offering a longitudinal view of the evolving ESG ratings landscape for companies and investors.

Sustainable Fitch maps its framework and entity-level ratings to the Bloomberg MSCI Global Green Bond Index, covering 88% of index bonds. While index constituents show stronger framework quality and ICMA alignment than the broader market, many high-quality and transition-relevant bonds sit outside the benchmark due to financial eligibility constraints.

WBA's analysis of 400 major financial institutions finds that transition planning is emerging but capital allocation to low-carbon solutions and fossil fuel phase-out commitments remain marginal. Only two institutions demonstrate robust fossil-fuel restrictions, and low-carbon activities account for an average of just 2.7% of total financed activities globally.

This report by Do Harvey outlines an ethical framework for AI usage, highlighting environmental impacts, security risks, and bias concerns. It advocates for transparent, client-opt-in adoption underpinned by human oversight, and summarises five modes of AI use to guide teams in making values-aligned, informed decisions.

The 2026 State of the Sustainability Profession report by Trellis Group surveys more than 500 professionals at companies with at least $1 billion in revenue. Most large businesses are maintaining sustainability commitments despite political headwinds, though investment has slowed, communications are being scaled back and professionals report growing dissatisfaction.

This Chatham House paper examines four trends — rising defence and dual-use investment, the growth of 'patriotic tech', the push for sovereign AI, and concerns over an AI valuation bubble — that could multipolarise the global AI race, and offers recommendations for private sector preparedness.

The EBA's final report amends the 2016 Product Oversight and Governance (POG) Guidelines to incorporate ESG features and greenwashing risks for retail banking products. Key changes include requirements for manufacturers and distributors to prevent greenwashing, extended scope to non-bank consumer credit providers, and an application date of 11 January 2027.

This report analyses publicly disclosed data from 2,972 companies across 11 sectors, revealing a significant gap between AI adoption and governance maturity. Only 13 per cent align their strategy with a formal framework, and few demonstrate adequate worker protections, ethical impact assessments, or training data oversight.

The 2025 RDR Index Big Tech Edition ranks 14 major technology companies on governance, freedom of expression, and privacy. Microsoft leads overall with 50%, followed by Alphabet at 49% and Meta at 47%. Scores are also assessed across eight thematic lenses, including algorithmic transparency, security, and targeted advertising.

Ranking Digital Rights' 2026 Telco Giants Edition scores 12 major telecom companies on governance, freedom of expression, and privacy. Telefónica leads overall with 57%, while Ooredoo ranks lowest at 14%. Historical data from 2017 to 2026 shows varied progress, with scores dipping in 2020 due to new indicators.

The TISFD Framework (Beta Version 0.1) presents draft disclosure recommendations for businesses and financial institutions on people-related impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities. Building on ISSB, GRI and ESRS standards, it covers governance, strategy, and impact and risk management pillars, with metrics and targets to follow in future iterations.

This report examines illicit financial flows linked to deforestation in Brazil and Cameroon, estimating trade mispricing losses at US$289 million per year in Cameroon and US$214 million in Brazil. It finds that financial and land ownership secrecy enables illicit deforestation and recommends public beneficial ownership registries and supply chain transparency measures.

This BreakFree Suisse research note examines Swiss institutional investors — including UBS, SNB, Zurich Insurance, and others — holding billions of dollars in US ICE contractors Palantir, AT&T, Geo Group, and CoreCivic. The report argues these investments conflict with the investors' stated human rights policies and ESG commitments.

This study examines how biodiversity and ecosystem service loss affect sovereign creditworthiness across 23 countries. Using ecological-economic modelling, it finds that a partial ecosystem collapse could generate US$162 billion in additional annual debt servicing costs globally, highlighting that sovereign credit ratings are systematically underpricing nature-related financial risks.

Free NZ tool to check and compare KiwiSaver funds against ethical issues of concern using publicly available data and portfolio analytics.

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.