The 2024 proxy season has come and gone. In recent years, environmental and social proposals were abundant and saw record high support among shareholders. But what about this year? In this episode we take you through our findings from the 2024 proxy season, what they mean for sustainable investing, and where the future is liking headed.

Host: Michael Disabato, MSCI ESG Research

Guest: Jonathan Ponder, MSCI ESG Research

Antimicrobial resistance is getting worse. Set to impact healthcare, agriculture and insurance, it’s a phenomenon worth paying attention to. On this episode, we take a look at whether there’s an investment case for fighting back against the superbugs.

Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Namita Nair, MSCI ESG Research

We periodically put out this report called the Net-Zero Tracker, and it examines the progress by the world’s listed companies toward curbing climate risk. This episode is a dive into the most important bits of our most recently published report.

Link to the Net-Zero Tracker: The MSCI Sustainability Institute Net-Zero Tracker

Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research

Guest: Sylvain Vanston, MSCI ESG Research

The social pillar has often been maligned as the ignored sibling of the ESG acronym. In its essence, the social pillar is a measurement of how a company, its employees, its products, and the community it operates in are supported and often challenged. For this episode, we show you why that all matters for measuring a company’s market performance.

Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research

Guest: Liz Houston, MSCI ESG Research; Xinxin Wang, MSCI ESG & Climate Solutions Research

It’s early days for sustainability-linked bonds, where issuers see their interest rates rise after missing sustainability targets. But instead of throwing in the towel after some initial setbacks, we talk about companies that have doubled down on their sustainability commitments.

Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Guilherme de Melo Silva, MSCI ESG Research

Good governance is foundational to effective capital markets, promoting accountability, transparency and sound decision-making aligned with investor interests. But how do those potential benefits translate into market performance? Well today, we answer that question for you! We answer the question: does governance even matter.

If you want to read the blog mentioned in this podcast, it can be found here: https://www.msci.com/www/blog-posts/corporate-governance-market/04784692180

Host: Mike Disabato (MSCI ESG Research)
Guest: Xinxin Wang (MSCI ESG & Climate Solutions Research)

Data from over 4,000 issuers, spanning nearly a decade revealed that companies with better MSCI ESG Ratings tended to have a lower cost of capital. It’s big news for investors and another step towards understanding the relationship between sustainability and financial performance.

Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
Guests: Jakub Malich & Anett Husi, MSCI ESG Research

Our demand for electricity is growing for the first time in decades. Nuclear energy is being proffered as the answer to our voracious energy-appetites. But are investors capable of propping up an industry with so much complexity and risk? This episode provides an answer.

Host: Michael Disabato, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Elchin Mammadov, MSCI ESG Research