What is ESG Investing and Analysis? (2024)

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What Is ESG Investing?

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. Investors are increasingly applying these non-financial factors as part of their analysis process to identify material risks and growth opportunities. ESG metrics are not commonly part of mandatory financial reporting, though companies are increasingly making disclosures in their annual report or in a standalone sustainability report. Numerous institutions, such as the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) are working to form standards and define materiality to facilitate incorporation of these factors into the investment process.

CFA Institute brings a rich history of investor-focused advocacy for high-quality financial reports and independent audits to our global advocacy in sustainability reporting.

What is driving the rise of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, and what does that mean for the financial industry? Explore our Guide to ESG Investing to learn more.

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What is ESG Investing and Analysis? (1)

Environmental

Explore climate change’s impact on investing, key tools for investment professionals, and case studies.

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What is ESG Investing and Analysis? (2)

Social

Discover the unique actions companies across the globe are taking to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in their organizations.

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Governance

See our positions on environmental, social, and governance integration.

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Key ESG Factors

There is no definitive taxonomy of ESG factors. ESG factors are often interlinked, and it can be challenging to classify an ESG issue as only an environmental, social, or governance issue, as shown in the example below.

These ESG factors can often be measured (e.g., what the employee turnover for a company is), but it can be difficult to assign them a monetary value (e.g., what the cost of employee turnover for a company is).

Explore comprehensive research on ESG Investing and Analysisat the CFA Institute Research and Policy Center. Gain valuable insights and in-depth analysis on the subject.


How CFA Institute Can Help

CFA Institute offers a variety of resources to help you demonstrate mastery of ESG investing in practice.

Earn the Certificate in ESG Investing
The Certificate in ESG Investing offers you both practical application and technical knowledge in the fast-growing field of ESG investing.

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Review the Global ESG Disclosure Standards
CFA Institute has developed the Global ESG Disclosure Standards for Investment Products which aims to build a framework for investment managers to better communicate to their clients the nature and characteristics of ESG-centric funds and investment strategies.

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Adding Value through ESG

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Investors can employ a variety of analytical approaches to address ESG considerations. Understanding the relative merits and limitations of ESG information and approaches can help to form a more complete picture of ESG risks and opportunities.

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    The Operating Model to Enable Sustainable Investing

    Learn about ESG data quality, understand the barriers to widespread sustainable investing, and discover how to improve frameworks and standards.

  • What is ESG Investing and Analysis? (7)

    Read case studies focusing on ESG integration in equities and fixed income, and more.

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    Guidance for Integrating ESG Information into Equity Analysis and Research Reports

    A concise guide on how to identify ESG information, assess materiality, integrate ESG information into equity analysis, and present ESG information in research reports.

ESG versus SRI

ESG investing grew out of investment philosophies such as Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), but there are key differences. Earlier models typically use value judgments and negative screening to decide which companies to invest in. ESG investing and analysis, on the other hand, looks at finding value in companies—not just at supporting a set of values.

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    SRI Investing and Islamic Finance: Similarities and Differences

    This report identifies the ESG and ethical considerations at the core of both SRI investing and Islamic finance by tracing the origins, historical connections, and the main concepts in both approaches.

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    Handbook on Sustainable Investments

    Stay informed about recent trends in ESG and sustainable investing with these practical examples for institutional asset owners.

Why Is CFA Institute Focused on ESG?

CFA Institute consistently monitors key debates and evolving issues in the investment industry. ESG investing and analysis has become of increasing interest to investment professionals globally as governments, asset owners, and high-net worth investors consider the impact of ESG factors on their investments and local markets. We believe more thorough consideration of ESG factors by financial professionals can improve the fundamental analysis they undertake and ultimately the investment choices they make. CFA Institute is specifically focused on the quality and comparability of the ESG information provided by corporate issuers and how to integrate various ESG factors into the investment selection process.

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The Sustainability Story

Join us for conversations with thought leaders in the world of ESG integration and sustainability, where we cover a vast number of topics.

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Learn

The CFA Institute Certificate in ESG Investing uses a self-study model that can be tailored to fit your schedule. The program has one level; your exam can be scheduled within one year of registering.

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ESG Investing Trends

Uncover the key ESG trends shaping the investment industry and impacting investment professionals.

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Enterprising Investor

Read up on the latest ESG news and analysis by investment professionals for investment professionals.

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Industry Insights

Learn how integrating ESG sensibilities throughout your company will set you up for success.

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Integrating Natural Capital

Review ways to integrate natural capital into the investment process.

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Climate Risk and Returns

This April in NYC, build your network and hear directly from leading asset owners and influencers across the investment and corporate sectors.

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Are You Committed to Sustainable Investing?

Learn how prepared you are for ESG, take our investment organization rubric.

For Organizations and for Professionals

Regional ESG Insights from CFA Institute

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    ESG and Responsible Institutional Investing Around the World

    This review ofacademic research on ESG investing focuses on the growing role of institutional investors, and highlights the importance of assessing portfolio risk exposure to climate change.

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    ESG Integration and Analysis Integration in the Americas: Markets, Practices, and Data

    This report outlines ESG integration best practices in the Americas markets.

  • What is ESG Investing and Analysis? (20)

    ESG Integration and Analysis in Asia Pacific: Markets, Practices, and Data

    Understand key ESG trends, drivers, and factors in ESG integration across APAC markets and investment practices.

  • What is ESG Investing and Analysis? (21)

    ESG Integration and Analysis in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa: Markets, Practices, and Data

    This report outlines ESG integration best practices in EMEA markets.

  • What is ESG Investing and Analysis? (22)

    Financing Sustainable Agriculture in India

    In this report, we briefly chart the Agriculture, Forestry, and Land Use landscape in India and discuss how climate change is affecting agriculture.

Discover all ESG investing resources

What is ESG Investing and Analysis? (2024)

FAQs

What is ESG investing in simple terms? ›

This type of ethical investing strategy helps people align investment choices with personal values. ESG stands for environment, social and governance. ESG investors aim to buy the shares of companies that have demonstrated a willingness to improve their performance in these three areas.

What is ESG easily explained? ›

ESG Meaning & Definition

ESG refers to the environmental, social, and governance factors that investors measure when analyzing a company's sustainability efforts from a holistic view.

What does ESG mean to you when you think about investing? ›

ESG Investing (also known as “socially responsible investing,” “impact investing,” and “sustainable investing”) refers to investing which prioritizes optimal environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors or outcomes.

What is ESG analysis? ›

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. Investors are increasingly applying these non-financial factors as part of their analysis process to identify material risks and growth opportunities.

Why do people do ESG investing? ›

Investors increasingly believe companies that perform well on ESG are less risky, better positioned for the long term and better prepared for uncertainty.

What is ESG investing also known as? ›

ESG investing is a term that is often used interchangeably with sustainable investing, socially responsible investing, mission-related investing, or screening.

What is ESG in layman terms? ›

ESG stands for environmental, social and governance. These are called pillars in ESG frameworks and represent the 3 main topic areas that companies are expected to report in. The goal of ESG is to capture all the non-financial risks and opportunities inherent to a company's day to day activities.

What is ESG in a nutshell? ›

What is ESG explained in simple terms? ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. It is a framework used to evaluate a company's sustainability and ethical impact. How do you measure ESG? First you have to understand the theory of ESG and its factors.

What is ESG for beginners? ›

An ESG strategy is your plan to meet your ESG goals and make your organisation investable. A good ESG strategy demonstrates those environmental, social, and governance factors that your organisation leaders believe to be important for your organisation operations – both now and in the future.

Is ESG good or bad? ›

Companies with a low ESG score are thought to have the worst environmental, social, and governance impacts. Undesirable ESG scores have also been linked to rising poverty levels in the communities where the firm operates, as well as poor employee mental health.

Who is behind ESG? ›

The term ESG first came to prominence in a 2004 report titled "Who Cares Wins", which was a joint initiative of financial institutions at the invitation of the United Nations (UN).

What are the disadvantages of ESG Investing? ›

However, there are also some cons to ESG investing. First, ESG funds may carry higher-than-average expense ratios. This is because ESG investing requires more research and due diligence, which can be costly. Second, ESG investing can be subjective.

What does ESG tell you? ›

ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance. ESG investing refers to how companies score on these responsibility metrics and standards for potential investments. Environmental criteria gauge how a company safeguards the environment.

Why might ESG investing never recover? ›

Buyers of these products can be fickle and jump to the next theme—often too quickly for their own good, a Morningstar analysis showed last November. It is possible that the overly generic ESG brand will never recover its appeal, with the different parts of it eventually rebranded to suit their specific client bases.

How to write ESG analysis? ›

An ESG report needs to cover the environmental, social, and governance impacts of the organization's operations. To that end, make sure your reports include the actions taken to address the following: Environmental: Climate change, carbon emissions, biodiversity, as well as resource usage and procurement.

What is an example of ESG investing? ›

Examples of ESG Investments

Renewable energy: Companies that focus on producing renewable energy are a large part of the ESG sector. These companies not only have strong ESG metrics themselves, but they also help other companies achieve their ESG goals.

What is ESG simply? ›

What is ESG explained in simple terms? ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. It is a framework used to evaluate a company's sustainability and ethical impact.

What are the disadvantages of ESG investing? ›

However, there are also some cons to ESG investing. First, ESG funds may carry higher-than-average expense ratios. This is because ESG investing requires more research and due diligence, which can be costly. Second, ESG investing can be subjective.

How is ESG different from normal investing? ›

Recent research suggests that ESG investing can offer comparable, and sometimes higher, returns than traditional investing. This is particularly true in the long run, as companies with strong ESG practices often demonstrate better risk management and resilience to market volatility.

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