ESG Now: Recent Episodes
MSCI ESG Research LLC
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) news and investment research brought to you weekly covering major market trends and new research insights. With topics ranging from climate impact on investment portfolios, corporate actions, trending investment topics, and emerging ESG issues, host Mike Disabato of MSCI ESG Research walk through the latest news and research that is top of mind for MSCI ESG Research clients and partners. MSCI ESG Research products and services are provided by MSCI ESG Research LLC, and are designed to provide in-depth research, ratings and analysis of environmental, social and governance-related business practices to companies worldwide. ESG ratings, data and analysis from MSCI ESG Research LLC are also used in the construction of the MSCI ESG Indexes. MSCI ESG Research LLC is a Registered Investment Adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and a subsidiary of MSCI Inc.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Antibiotic resistance ‐ the ability of germs to defeat the drugs designed to kill them ‐ is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time; but as the crisis grows what will happen to the companies that produce antibiotics (0:54)? And then Mario Lopez‐Alcala tells us which companies are slowing the transition to a deforestation free supply chain in South America (10:17), all through an ESG lens.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: SoftBank decided all the wild and crazy founders its Vision Fund is investing in need some rules of operation (0:37), and then Siyu Liu warns us about all the data streaming‐companies must now protect (16:07), all through an ESG lens.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Ken Bertsch, the executive director of Council of Institutional Investors and an all‐knowing proxy god joins Ric Marshall and Mike Disabato to discuss the new rule by the SEC to limit shareholder engagement (0:37), and then we get two hot takes by our analysts on Boeing and Saudi Aramco (12:23), all through an ESG lens.
Investors have witnessed an exodus from the private prison industry but what is the core function of a private prison ‐ is it to help prisoners? Is it to help the government? Or is it to help investors? In act 1, we look at how the growth of the 80s helped build the prisons of the 2000s (2:55). In act 2, we discuss how private prisons became interwoven into our society. In act 3, we discuss the issue of incentives for private prison operators and what friction is caused by their misalignment (9:42). In act 4, the final act, we discuss the broader implications for investors that invest in private sector companies that provide a public service (28:33), all on record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The Attorney General of New York alleges that Exxon first calculated the risks posed by climate change but then freaked out and suppressed the data, an accusation that might change how companies disclosure their data on climate risks far into the future (0:46), and then our cartography expert Gillian Mollod discusses new data on sea level rise and how it might affect the real estate market (11:04), all through an ESG lens.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: A SPECIAL GUEST joins us to discuss how shareholders should deal with Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg as the founder continues his PR campaign (1:42), and then Meggin Eastman discusses the relevance of Intel's plan to release pay and gender pay data (13:22), all through an ESG lens.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: There are power cuts throughout South Africa after its largest utility Eskom has a number of generating units break down which has threatened the country's economy (0:41), and Andrew Young gives us a quick update on the issue with private prisons as a business model (10:45), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: 3M and DuPont failed to disclose their findings on the hazardous impact and proliferation of PFAS (0:40), and Hong Kongers are leaving Hong Kong for everywhere but the U.S.(10:11), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The Council of Institutional Investors recommendation that investors check their CEOs pay packages (0:42), and then we discuss the continuing physical risk to real estate posed by climate change (12:52), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The different tools available to investors to address ESG risks (0:39), and Thomas Cook collapses into liquidation stranding hundreds of thousands (10:09), all on the record.
Those Facebook workers are actually contractors (1:16), it is not just Facebook because everyone uses temporary workers in vital company roles (2:00), this is bifurcating the workforce and some are taking advantage (4:30), if you want to see how this can affect a society just go to Japan (9:32), this might be a canary in the mine for other countries (14:14), and investors are beginning to take notice (17:12), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The United Auto Workers go on strike at GM (0:57), and Australia rejects a coal mine due to long‐term health effects (10:58), all on the record.
Note! This is a re-released version with one detail corrected about nuclear power generation. Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Nuclear energy and its role in the low-carbon future (0:42), and California rules contract workers are employees for app-based companies (11:58), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Companies selling data have difficulties keeping data private (0:43), and Germany bans glyphosate usage (9:06), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Johnson & Johnson's brand wavers as the opioid crisis comes home (1:10), and the fashion industry tries to lower its waste (11:09), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The Singapore Health Board partners with Fitbit (0:54), and Meggin and Ric discuss the Business Roundtable's anti-Friedman claim (17:49), all on the record.
Is new stuff the best way to lower our emissions(3:36), maybe not because everything new uses everything old (7:40), well then should investors do something about it (12:00), because cement and fossil fuels are closer than you would think (15:15), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Shell builds a petrochemical facility (0:41), and Matt and Ric quickly try to understand WeWork and the purpose of disclosures (13:44), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Walmart's CEO must address gun sales at his stores (0:44), and the CMO of L Brands resigns amid company turmoil (8:58), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Capital One does not know who is in your wallet (0:38), and NGOs call Cargill the worst company in the world (10:25), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Equifax is fined a record USD$800 million after its 2017 data breach (0:36), and subprime auto loans area threaten both the auto industry and drivers (8:01), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Texas landowners sell their water to oil companies in the desert (0:53), and companies get pulled into social movements (11:22), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Vedanta loses a mine, but is it Vedanta's fault (1:10), and Slack's direct listing works but does it obscure risks (7:18), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Tesla announces record delivery of cars (0:58), and Wayfair's labor walkout is the new CEO problem (5:03), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: San Francisco bans the use and sale of e-cigarettes (0:44), and poultry processors are accused of collusion in chicken prices (9:11), all on the record.
Karl Marx's biggest meme was a labor innovation (2:42), but also an investor problem (4:48), but someone should tell South Korea (6:42) because the tech model has labor problems (11:00) and Jack Ma and Richard Liu poked the bear (13:11), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Facebook announces its crypto solution in Libra (0:33), and Canada's Trans Mountain pipeline is approved (8:28), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Raytheon/UTC could have a human capital problem (1:11), and Ocado's vertical farm is a sustainability love story (8:25), all on the record.
One story this week with ESG glasses: GE, Siemens, and Philips get caught in a corruption scandal in China, so who cares about it most? (0:42), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Renault/Fiat could end up confusing investors (0:42) and Malaysia rethinks its recycling strategy (6:26), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: McDonald's contends with a discrimination lawsuit (0:47) and Overstock.com's CEO contends with fallback from his stock sale (5:41), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: the US-China trade war has a weird ESG twist (0:45) and Amazon's robot boxing investment (5:45), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: swine fever is disrupting the global pork market (0:44) and Zillow targets inefficiency with iBuying (7:15), all on the record.
Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Norsk Hydro's subsidiary pays NASA for false metal testing (0:58) and Marriott looks to AirBnB for inspiration (7:36), all on the record.
ESG critics and detractors might be right as we look at three big criticisms one by one: there's not enough good data (2:43), there's too much useles data (7:32), and the ESG rating built from the data are meaningless (11:07), all on the record.
One story this week with ESG glasses: Umicore saw its earnings drop and blamed undercutting competition for cobalt (0:37), but the problem might be child labor at artisinal mines (2:12), all on the record.
Two stories with ESG glasses: Amazon employees are turning to shareholder activism to change the company (1:27), and did Jack Ma poke a sleeping employee giant by calling 12 hour work days a blessing (5:47), all on the record.
Two stories with ESG glasses: Saudi Aramco may be oversubscribed, but the disclosure might be the bigger deal (0:47), and the regulators are coming for social media in the UK (4:28), all on the record.
Two stories with ESG glasses: what exactly is the investor angle for Burger King's Impossible Burger play (1:34), and what does it mean that Wells Fargo can't find a new CEO (4:16), all on the record.
Two stories with ESG glasses: are the efficiency gains of AI at McDonald's worth the data risk (1:19), and what does it mean for Purdue to settle some opioid litigation for the industry(5:26), all on the record.
Two stories with ESG glasses: is Paul Ryan on the board of Fox Corp a good idea (1:35), and how the next tech disruption might be social and not technological (3:25), all on the record.
The cocktail of hyper transparency and societal change makes for vulnerable leaders (3:25), but predicting who's next may be a bridge too far (5:15), but investors have solutions to limit the pain (7:18), all on the record.
Two stories with ESG glasses: is the Boeing problem software, or automation (1:48), and how with the Uber and Lyft IPOs, one is not like the other (6:26), all on the record.
Two stories with ESG glasses: Nordea and money laundering (3:48), and the toilet paper conundrum (7:00), all on the record.
We all pay for corruption, maybe without knowing it (2:12), or maybe in ways that are obvious (3:48), but investors are finding out corruption isn't just an emerging market problem (7:04), all on the record.
Companies pick their peers, and it matters, and sometimes investors aren't happy (2:49), even if directors are protected (4:16), but not from shareholders with power (6:20), all on the record.
It's Halloween, and that means ghosts need not apply (2:55), shareholder value might get eaten by zombies (7:33), and your creation might be a monster (12:03), all on the record.
Modern ESG investing is a choose your own adventure, especially when soda meets marijuana. Path 1: Invest your values (1:47), Path 2: Invest for the money (6:02), Path 3: Invest for impact (9:33), all on the record.
For more than 3,000 years, you've been ESG investing, in four chapters. Chapter 1: Your religion is also your financial advisor (1:36), Chapter 2: Financial outcomes are secondary considerations (3:06), Chapter 3: We find out what you really know (4:51), Chapter 4: The milk spills (6:37), all on the record.
A task force chaired by a billionaire has sent investors looking for advice on climate from unlikely sources that may just have them joining a gang. The TCFD (0:00), learning from... oil and gas? (4:00), don't forget renewables (6:32), to divest or engage (8:41), all on the record.
Could the data you provide your dishwasher some day be more valuable than the dishwasher? Internet of Things (0:00), hacking and Hackers (2:55), the GDPR (4:00), Cambridge Analytica (7:06), converging IoT and social media data (10:06), all on the record.
Thinking of Tesla, how should an investor balance good governance with visionary brilliance? Atari and Tesla (0:22), checks and balances (2:32), overgovernance at Apple (4:13), Google's golden shares (5:38), and the Tesla "problem" (9:10), all on the record.
Student debt is huge in the US, but as an investor, is it a good bet? The trend of consumer finance (1:44), Navient stands out (3:38), the reckoning is... robots?(5:35), and it might actually be a skills crisis (8:30), all on the record.
Longtime PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi... or one of few women CEOs?... steps down. We talk to Meggin Thwing-Eastman about why that matters. 'Another female CEO done' (0:36), board diversity and employee productivity (1:44), diversity as an investment theme (3:40), more data (6:17), and a little game (9:47), all on the record.
Environmental, social, and governance investing related news, research, and trends. In this episode, we start at the beginning... of 2018. We revisit our conversation with Linda-Eling Lee from January as she walks us through the major ESG trends of this year. Emerging markets (1:48), carbon and asset allocation (4:10), fixed income and ESG (6:30), how much disclosure matters, or does it (9:28), and the Year of the Human (12:49) are discussed.
Environmental, social, and governance investing related news, research, and insights. The MSCI ESG Research podcast series, ESG Now, officially launches soon. In this teaser episode, one of the hosts, Matt Moscardi, asks his family what they think he does for work exactly (before turning to an expert to get a real answer).