Claim OwnershipSustainability Now
Subscribed: 591Played: 11,232
Subscribe
© 2026 MSCI ESG Research LLC
Description
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 sustainability issues, hosts Mike Disabato and Bentley Kaplan of MSCI ESG Research walk through the latest news and research that is top of mind for the week.
326 Episodes
Reverse
Sustainable investors are redrawing their red lines. As defense spending rises, the definition of “controversial weapons” is being reexamined — from nuclear value chains to AI-enabled systems in the kill chain. Where those lines fall could reshape portfolios. Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI Research & Development Guest: Mike Disabato, MSCI Research & Development
The 2026 World Cup is bringing the world to North America this summer. But the stadiums hosting the biggest sporting event on the planet face a problem no amount of ticket revenue can solve: the climate they were built for isn't the climate they're operating in. We look at which venues are most exposed to heat waves, flooding, and even the ground sinking beneath them, why this problem goes beyond the beautiful game, and why the insurance and bond markets haven't caught up to what the data alr...
Laura Nishikawa, Head of Emerging Risks R&D at MSCI sits down with Jenn-Hui Tan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Fidelity International, as part of the MSCI Prospectives Podcast to discuss the next phase of sustainable investing. As the public narrative grows noisier and more politicized, they look past the headlines to the economic fundamentals shaping the transition and portfolio management. The conversation explores where momentum in the energy transition is really coming from, why mar...
As food retailers work to digitize and enhance their logistics and supply networks, they’re becoming more exposed to cybersecurity risks. In this episode, we discuss how a wave of recent cyberattacks has exposed vulnerabilities across the sector — how prepared companies really are, and why investors may want to sit up and take notice. Host: Gabriela de la Serna, MSCI Research & Development Guest: Cole Martin, MSCI Research & Development
Flat prices, steady volumes — carbon markets in 2025 might seem uneventful. But dig a little deeper, and a clearer picture emerges: buyers are paying more for quality. We explore how media scrutiny, new rating systems, and evolving buyer expectations are reshaping how carbon credits are valued. Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI Research & Development Guests: Nicholas Baldwin & Utkarsh Akhouri, MSCI Research & Development
For years, institutional investors treated human rights as a checkbox exercise, something to monitor after the fact. But a new wave of regulation and stakeholder pressure is forcing a fundamental shift from passive oversight to active due diligence. In this episode, we explore how forward-thinking investors are moving beyond retroactive screening to implement proactive human rights risk management across their portfolios. Episode Reading: Human-Rights Risks in Portfolios: From Oversight...
When policy and markets move in different directions, the results can be surprising. In this episode, we explore five sustainability and climate trends we'll be watching in 2026. From AI-boosted clean tech and central banks enforcing climate risk rules, to investors reckoning with physical hazards in private equity and the rise of state ownership in strategic sectors. We unpack how materiality is maturing, policy is pivoting, and capital is flowing into what works. To register for the 2026 Tr...
When policy and markets move in different directions, the results can be surprising. In this episode, we explore five sustainability and climate trends we'll be watching in 2026. From AI-boosted clean tech and central banks enforcing climate risk rules, to investors reckoning with physical hazards in private equity and the rise of state ownership in strategic sectors. We unpack how materiality is maturing, policy is pivoting, and capital is flowing into what works. Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSC...
The EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) is a corner stone of the EU’s plan to cut carbon emissions and achieve its climate goals. But it has undergone numerous changes, with the most recently announced on Nov. 20. Our question was whether these revisions preserved the SFDR’s stated purpose: promoting transparency and ensuring comparability in how sustainable a financial product truly is. We explored that question and more in this episode, which covers the changes the EU ...
Oil spills, labor violations, data breaches. When controversy strikes, should investors pull out, or hold their nerve? We unpack fresh analysis on what happens when portfolios steer clear of scandal-prone firms and the surprising impact on returns. Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI Sustainability & Climate Guest: Drashti Shah, MSCI Custom Index Solutions
The energy transition is underway, but it’s not a smooth ride. In this episode, we unpack why progress has been so uneven, from surging EV sales to rising coal demand. We explore how tech, cost, and policy are shaping risks and opportunities for investors. Host: Gabriela de la Serna, MSCI Sustainability & Climate Guest: Anthony Chan, MSCI Sustainability & Climate
We are in the era of data centers. They are being built with the speed and intensity of factories during the industrial revolution, and with the same sort of capital attraction. But their high emissions, which are under-reported by companies (we will tell you why!), have left both real estate and tech investors with a dilemma: take advantage of the data center boom or have a portfolio with low emissions. We explore this tension in this episode of Sustainability Now. Helpful Reading: Desire fo...
Carbon, selfishly, has dominated the sustainability conversation for some time. But what about the often-overlooked foundation of our everything in our economy: biodiversity. How can you measure that if its basically everything? We show you how in this episode, exploring how every business, from agriculture to technology, depends on the health of ecosystems, and how investors can now quantify those connections through innovative data-driven tools. By unpacking the creation of our new Bi...
Do hurricanes affect the market? Join us as we cover new research that tracks the financial fallout of storms on company equity. Through asset exposure and climate models, we’ll discuss how storm paths connect to stock prices and why investors may want to take notice, before the next hurricane hits. Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research Guest: Xinxin Wang, MSCI ESG Research
As the planet continues to warm, physical climate risk is no longer an abstract future concern. It is financially material today. The question now is where those risks will materialize and how are companies prepared for those risks. We can help you find out - just by listening to this episode! Report discussed: https://www.msci.com/research-and-insights/blog-post/the-bill-is-due-physical-hazard-revenue-losses-mount-plans-lag Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI Sustainability and Climate Research ...
Climate change doesn’t just arrive one disaster at a time. It stacks crises on top of each other: drought followed by flood, heat followed by fire; shocks that turn small problems into big financial hits. In this episode, we talked about how compounding climate hazards are reshaping the bottled water industry, what a 2024 Nestlé scandal reveals about the future of water quality, and why investors should be paying closer attention. Host: Mike Disabato - MSCI ESG Research Guest: Cole Mart...
Controlled companies now outnumber widely held ones. New MSCI research shows that this market shift has significant implications for shareholder returns. Guest: Jonathan Ponder, MSCI ESG Research Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
We already know there is a clear link between ESG ratings and the cost of capital. But the question remains: do ESG ratings matter for bonds and their credit spreads? Should fixed income investors care? Listen to this week’s episode to find out! Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research Guest: Jakub Malich, MSCI ESG Research Link to paper discussed in episode: https://www.msci.com/research-and-insights/paper/the-financial-materiality-of-sustainability-risk-in-credit-markets-a-decade-of-evidence
As a new policy landscape emerges in North America, are companies scaling back on sustainability reporting? And will investors go with the flow? Join us as we look at live trends in company disclosures and where the 2025 proxy season is headed. Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research Guests: Julia Morello & Jonathan Ponder, MSCI ESG Research
As the physical risks from climate change grow, so does our reliance on accurate maps to assess them. In this episode, we dig into the limitations of publicly available flood maps and explore how data and modeling in the marketplace have evolved - often surpassing the capabilities of standard public tools. Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research Guest: Kate Towey, MSCI Climate Risk Center
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States
I enjoyed this episode for many reasons, one being the GWP of the built environment is 40% of the globes emissions. I would love to see some coverage of the embodied carbon of buildings, particularly concrete, and what can be done. I would urge you to seek perspecbeyond what the bug cement organizations are saying. Thanks for a interesting and informative series.