For institutional investors, ESG-related initiatives are ultimately about managing risk. As noted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a poor environmental record may make a firm vulnerable to legal or regulatory fines/sanctions; socially, the mistreatment of workers and dissatisfied employees may lead to higher absenteeism, lower productivity, and weaker client servicing/relationships; and weak corporate governance may incentivize and/or enable unethical behaviors related to pay, accounting irregularities, and even fraud.¹ For all these reasons and more, identifying and addressing material ESG-related issues germane to a corporation is a quintessential exercise in risk management – for the management of that company, for investment managers thinking about holding that security in their investment portfolio, and for asset owners concerned whether the manager is acting in accordance with fund policies.

It’s hard to miss recent news headlines about the “global energy crisis.” Resilient global demand and a lack of sufficient available supply have created an energy crunch that has pushed up global energy prices. Soaring oil, natural gas, and coal prices are happening just as the winter heating season approaches in the Northern Hemisphere and as rising inflation poses an increasing risk to global economic growth.

When it comes to tackling climate change, there is some consensus around what needs to be done—but solving for the how is much more complicated. In some ways, the urgency around this question has intensified amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. While extremely concerning from a humanitarian perspective, the conflict has also accelerated the thinking around energy security and energy independence.