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Profile achieved (industry-wide)

We are fully transparent about the profile achieved by organisations and individuals across our network and issue regular updates on industry visibility.

Here we list the buzzes and profiles that have been most viewed in the last 90 days.

For full details and rankings of which firms and individuals are most effectively developing their online profile in sustainable investment and corporate governance engagement on SRI-CONNECT, see Our reach; your opportunity.

Or you can request a personalised Industry Profile Report that analyses and benchmarks (vs peers) the activity and visibility of individual firms.

Most read research buzzes

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    Research RFP: First Sentier Investors - Sustainable food systems research series – Food and Health
    The aim of the report will be to offer investors and other interested stakeholders a comprehensive view on the central issues related to health impacts of the food sector, barriers to action, regulatory approaches in key jurisdictions, industry best practices and prominent investor and asset owner initiatives.
    .
    Background
    Nutrition and access to food
    According to the FAO estimation, approximately 700 million people were affected by hunger in 2022; further, 2.4 billion people in the same year were food insecure (lacking access to adequate food). People are also increasingly struggling to access nutritious food – in 2021 over 3 billion people globally were unable to afford a healthy diet. At the same time, 2.5 billion people in 2022 were overweight or obese – corresponding to 43% of adults. While high obesity rates have been historically associated with high-income societies, this has been increasingly changing, with low and middle-income countries (particularly Polynesia, Micronesia, the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa) facing malnutrition issues stemming from prevalence of both undernutrition and obesity. Child obesity also continues to be a critical issue: the prevalence of overweight in children under five years of age increased from 5.3% in 2000 to 5.6% in 2022 globally. While Europe and Central Asia demonstrate a positive trend, Latin America, the Caribbean, East Asia and Pacific, and MENA regions are among regions where urgent action is needed.
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    Obesity has significant negative economic impact: the global costs are projected to reach US$30 trillion annually by 2030 if the status quo is maintained. Higher Body Mass Index (BMI) is linked to noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and stroke which constitute the leading cause of death globally. Obese children experience increased risk of fractures, hypertension, insulin resistance and are likely to have a higher chance of obesity and disability in the adult age. Health conditions related to excess body weight result in high economic costs comprised of direct (healthcare services) and indirect (loss of productivity, insurance, wages) costs. A recent estimation predicts that by 2035 the global economic impact of overweight and obesity will reach US$4.3 trillion annually. On a national level, annual healthcare costs of obesity in the US were close to US$173 billion; in the UK, annual NHS costs of obesity-related diseases is estimated at £6.5 billion.
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    Addressing malnutrition and obesity is key to bringing down the healthcare costs, improving productivity and individual health outcomes. Further, it is central to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (in particular SDG 2 – Zero Hunger and SDG 3 – Health). The global food sector is at the centre of stakeholder attention in relation to this issue as product portfolios, sales and marketing practices are increasingly scrutinised by the regulators, consumers, and civil society groups.
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    Key regulatory measures addressing malnutrition and obesity include: taxes on sugary drinks (implemented in 117 countries, including the UK, Mexico, and South Africa; food labelling of products in shops and menus (examples including the US,UK and Australia); restrictions on unhealthy food marketing (16 countries introduced restrictions on unhealthy food marketing to children such as TV advertising during children’s programming); restrictions on sales of unhealthy food (for example, Chile bans marketing or sale of unhealthy food at schools). Another approach is mandating food reformulation to reduce saturated fat, added sugar or salt content, or reduce portion sizes – Argentina, South Africa, and several European countries have introduced mandatory limits on nutrient contents of certain products.
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    Increasing stakeholder attention to the influence of food retailers and manufacturers on human health has also manifested in several public controversies linked to food sales and marketing including: infant food formula marketing practices and sales of baby food products with excessive sugar levels. Despite the growing pressure and associated reputational risks, consumer-facing food companies are not yet prioritising addressing health impacts on their products: according to the World Benchmarking Alliance, less than 20% of food companies disclose their progress on product reformulation, and very few have targets to increase the sales of healthy foods.
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    On the investor side, several collective initiatives are taking action to facilitate the industry shift towards healthier products, including:
    • the Healthy Markets Initiative, led by ShareAction and representing over US$5 trillion AUM; the aim is to engage with the largest global food manufactures seeking a strategic shift towards increasing sales of healthy products. Prominent recent engagements include Nestle and Unilever.
    • Access to Nutrition Initiative, which involves collaboratively engaging companies rated by the ATNI in their Index to improve their nutrition performance; investor signatories comprise approximately US$ 17.6 trillion AUM.
    AMR and food safety
    Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is another key health-related issue for the food sector. Over 70% of antimicrobials sold globally are used on livestock – they are critical to ensuring food security and safety by allowing to effectively treat livestock diseases; they also facilitate production growth enabling the producers to meet the increasing global demand for animal protein. However, excessive use of antibiotics can lead to bacteria developing resistance, with severe consequences for animal and human health such as treatment failure (as antibiotics become ineffective against resistant bacteria making some diseases impossible to treat). According to 2019 data, AMR directly caused 1.27 million deaths globally, and contributed to almost 5 million deaths; the World Bank estimates that AMR could increase healthcare costs by US$ 1 trillion by 2050, and cause annual GDP losses of up to US$ 3.4 trillion by 2030.
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    According to recent studies, antimicrobial use in livestock is projected to increase by 8% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels. National policies governing the use of antimicrobials in animal production significantly vary, with some key exporter countries (e.g. Brazil) lacking a comprehensive legal approach, while others impose stringent restrictions on their use. Existing data on antimicrobial usage is also inconsistent across regions: on a positive side, over 30 EU countries provide regular reporting.
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    While the AMR risks are less widely understood, global investors are becoming increasingly aware of the need for action on this issue in the context of the food industry. This is evident in the increasing number of shareholder resolutions calling for companies to address their AMR risk, the collective initiatives such as Investor Action on AMR and the more recent engagement campaign organised by FAIRR to address use of antibiotics in fast food supply chains.
    Report
    This report will provide a high-level, investor-relevant analysis of the key impacts of food sector on human health, such as relationship to malnutrition and obesity, and food safety concerns including AMR. The report will cover the following elements:
    • Quantifying human and economic impacts of obesity, malnutrition, AMR
    • The relationship between the food sector and these health impacts
    • Current food sales and marketing practices, including infant and children products
    • Regulatory approaches including sugar taxes, food labelling, sales and marketing restrictions, product reformulation
    • Subsector-specific risks
    • Investor voting and engagement guidance
    Research Approach:  
    • Establish the exact scope of the report, along with literature and data to be used in discussion with SII
    • Provide an outline of the project and a timeline
    • Conduct research on the current impacts of food sector on human health in accordance with the scope established with SII.
    Proposal guidelines:  
    In your proposal, please include the following information:  
    • Proposed research methodology  
    • The proposed scope of the research 
    • Proposed relevant publications to be used as literature review 
    • Proposed report structure 
    • Proposed timetable for execution of the project, including intended interaction with the Institute and report reviews. Please indicate the earliest project complication. 
    • Proposed fees and costs  
    • Short biographies or skills profile of the proposed team members 
    Instructions: 
    Please submit a proposal by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a cc to:
    • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
    • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
    • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
    Proposed timelines: 
    • This RFP is issued on 24.07.2024
    • Any questions or feedback regarding the brief should be submitted by 31.07.2024
    • Answers to any questions will be provided by 02.08.2024
    • Proposal should be submitted to the Institute by 07.08.2024 together with availability for a 1 hour call to discuss the proposals in the week of 12.08.2024
    • Target for notifying the successful tenderer by 23.08.2024
    Project - Deliverable - Timeline (time from the inception) 
    • Outline and plan for the work - 10 weeks 
    • Desktop research raw data (summarized and structured way) - 18 weeks 
    • First draft with analysis result - 22 weeks 
    • Final draft with intro/recommendations, etc. - 26 weeks 
    Legal: 
    • The Institute’s standard Legal Contract for commissioned research will be used 
    • The reports Intellectual property will belong to the Institute 
    • The Institute will have the right to publish the research under its own brand 
    • Attribution to the author(s) and their organisation will be given in the final report  
    • The Institute will retain editorial control over the reports content 
    • The authors should ensure the report contains no personal information, that any images included are licensed for their intended use and they have distribution rights for any third party references and data
    Institute’s use of the report and its content 
    The Institute would publish the report on its websites (English and Japanese). In addition to that, the Institute may want to use parts of the content or produce new content based on all or parts of the work presented in the report. That could be shared with other 3rd parties and could include, but would not be limited to:  
    • using charts and/or quotes in presentation prepared by the Institute  
    • using charts and/or quotes in presentation prepared by her FSI and MUTB/MUFG staff 
    • webinars to present and promote the findings of the report  
    • presenting and promoting the findings of the report at conferences 
    • publicizing the publication of the report with a press release 
    • preparing e-mail notifications to promote the paper  
    • writing blogs for our websites and/or articles for other media  
    • using charts/ quotes from the report for posts on our linkedin account or using other text/material that introduces and promotes the paper on linkedin 
    Investment advice and financial promotions 
    • The report must not include, or be capable of being construed as investment advice.   
    • Ideally the report should not reference individual identifiable listed securities; explicitly or implicitly.  Where this is unavoidable, any reference must be restricted to information in the public domain with appropriate citation. 
    • The report must not constitute a financial promotion. Consequently any reference to FSI or MUFG products is prohibited 
    Other 
    • The report could follow a similar style to previous reports commissioned by the Institute, but other formats are also acceptable as our priority is to use the most suitable style that achieves clear, simple and easy to follow messaging and maximize the use of visuals, tables, lists.   
    • The report is intended for publication in the public domain 
    • Please specify in your proposal if you are able to provide us with a finished formatted report, following the Institute’s style and branding 
    • If the Institute retains responsibility for report design, the Institute will expect all visuals to be prepared and provided in a format that can be easily replicated by an external design/ typeset agency. This includes all necessary source data 
    • The Institute will expect collaboration on developing infographics/visuals, if such are deemed effective and in support of the report messaging  
    • The Institute will arrange for the report to be translated into Japanese for publication on the Japanese language version of the Institute’s website 
     

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    (https://www.kearney.com/industry/aerospace-defense/article/clearing-the-air-sustainable-aviation-fuels)

    The misconception of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) is that they burn cleaner (lower emission) in aircraft engines. In fact, chemically, SAF fuels are nearly identical to normal petroleum fuel. The real decarbonization value comes down to production processes and raw material selection.

    The SAF market is a nascent and growing sector with intense media focus, vocal airline commitments, and emerging government policies, attracting the attention of private and public investors alike. While new technologies such as hydrogen and electrification hold promise and are well worth investment, they remain decades away from widespread adoption.

    Though not a final solution, nor a substitute for necessary reductions in business and commercial flights, SAF could provide a key nearer-term way to cut emissions from existing aircraft fleets.

     

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    (https://rmi.org/insight/the-cleantech-revolution/)

    The Cleantech Revolution is the third installment of RMI’s annual energy transition presentation. In it, RMI charts how the energy system is being disrupted by the exponential forces of renewables, electrification, and efficiency.

    The past decade has seen remarkable progress and growth in cleantech. Cleantech costs have fallen by up to 80 percent, while investment is up nearly 10 times and solar generation has risen 12 times. Meanwhile, electricity has grown to become the largest source of useful energy, and the deep force of efficiency has reduced energy demand by a fifth.

    As the drivers of change continue to overpower the barriers, cleantech will continue to grow up S-curves, pushing fossil fuel demand into terminal decline and pulling the Paris Agreement within our reach.

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    (https://www.ubs.com/uk/en/assetmanagement/insights/asset-class-perspectives/infrastructure/articles/decarbonizing-transport.html)

    The decarbonizing transport sector is at the start of a multi-decade transition, driven by falling energy costs, governments, and stakeholder pressure for sustainable solutions.

    Key points
    1. Transport: the next step in the energy transition
    2. Market tailwinds behind decarbonizing transport
    3. Decarbonizing paths by transport sector

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    • Recent landslides in Wayanad, with many lives lost, constitute the worst natural disaster in Kerala since the 2018 floods
    • Studies highlight that deforestation, fragile terrain and unsustainable development are key contributors
    • We think integrating climate action, adaptation and disaster risk management in development planning is critical

    Clients of HSBC Global Research can access the full report via the HSBC Global Research website or by contacting Wai-Shin Chan

    Disaster unfolded: On 30 July, extreme rainfall triggered a series of landslides in the hilly district of Kerala, Wayanad. The region experienced torrential rain overnight, five times the normal range, with some areas exceeding 200mm in 24hours. The landslides have already claimed over 275 lives, with many still missing. While triggered by rainfall, studies conducted over the years indicate that loss of forest cover, fragile terrain and climate change contributed to the disaster.
     
    Fragile foundations: According to the Landslide Atlas of India, six of India's top 15 landslide-prone districts are in Kerala, with Wayanad ranked 13th. In fact, Kerala witnessed c60% of all landslides recorded in the country between 2015-2022. This most recent disaster has brought to fore the 2011 Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel's (WGEEP) report, which classified Wayanad as an Ecologically Sensitive Locality with three taluks in the district highlighted to have the highest ecological sensitivity (ESZ-1). The panel recommended prohibition of land use changes (forest to non-forest use or agricultural to non-agricultural, except to forests or tree crops), and restrictions on mining, quarrying and polluting industries in regions classified as ESZ-1. However, these recommendations have not been implemented in the past 13 years.
     
    Recipe for disaster: Deforestation, combined with unchecked tourism and quarrying, has severely destabilised the region, leading to increased landslide risks, posing significant threat to human life, biodiversity (see Biodiversity & business Mapping sectors to drivers of biodiversity loss, 26 October 2023), infrastructure, and sectors, such as agri- and allied industries. A 2022 study reported that Wayanad lost 62% of its forest cover between 1950 and 2018, while plantation area rose by 19x.

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    (https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/sustainability-industry-trends-energy-transition-AI)

    Key Takeaways
    • The clean energy transition and mass uptake of artificial intelligence (AI) are converging, creating potential investing opportunities.
    • Investors are assessing solutions that can address high energy demand and power grid reliability while reducing climate risks.
    • Sustainability innovations aim to tackle power transmission limitations, energy storage and greenhouse gas emissions.
    • The market for sustainability bonds has reached a new record, and new types of ESG-labeled debt include financing for nuclear energy projects.

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    (https://www.omfif.org/meetings/tackling-biodiversity-risk-for-financial-institutions/)

    Biodiversity and nature loss is a core risk driver for financial institutions, but the true extent of implications for the global economy remain misunderstood. With COP16 on the horizon, the Network for Greening the Financial System has released its final conceptual framework for nature-related financial risks, which aims to guide policies and action by central banks and financial supervisors. This roundtable will discuss strategies, targets and tools to integrate biodiversity risk into portfolios and investment processes, and how nature will fit into broader NGFS priorities.

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    (https://www.whebgroup.com/our-thoughts/trumps-surge-sends-shockwaves-through-the-renewable-energy-sector?preview=&id=281&utm_source=sri-connect&utm_medium=partner&utm_id=july-monthly-update)

    WHEB: US politics sends shockwaves through the renewable energy sector

    Ty Lee discusses the renewable energy sector's volatility in the build-up to the US election in November. He examines global developments to support the green energy transition and explains how we have adjusted our exposure to clean energy within the WHEB strategy.

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    (https://www.vbdo.nl/en/2024/02/vbdo-report-highlights-need-for-more-holistic-approach-to-biodiversity/)

    A new report by the Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO) in collaboration with PwC entitled Biodiversity and Business highlights the need for companies to take a more holistic approach to biodiversity. The report highlights the actions and strategies companies are taking to reduce their impact on biodiversity. It also makes clear that in doing so, companies often focus on climate change as the only cause of biodiversity loss while in fact, there are four other equally important drivers.

    Biodiversity under pressure

    The past five decades have seen a rapid deterioration in our global ecosystems. Research by the UN Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), shows that biodiversity is under enormous pressure from human activities. The WWF Living Planet Report describes that one million species – out of an estimated eight million in total – are threatened with extinction.

    Angélique Laskewitz, director of VBDO: ‘With such gloomy figures, it is sometimes difficult to remain optimistic. However, not acting is not a choice. It gives me hope that now many companies and investors are paying attention to biodiversity. In 2022, the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted. This framework provides us with a clear vision and targets for taking concerted action, by both governments and companies. Our report builds on this.’

    Most companies have taken action to reduce their impact on biodiversity, but at the same time are struggling to find the right approach, the report notes. From the interviews conducted, this is mostly due to the complexity of the subject: there are many different factors involved in effectively reducing negative impacts on biodiversity. For instance, the focus is usually on climate change, while four other causes need at least as much attention, such as countering pollution and the spread of invasive plant and animal species.

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    (https://www.transitionpathwayinitiative.org/publications/2024-setting-the-standard-assessing-oil-and-gas-companies-transition-plans)

    The TPI Centre has assessed the transition plans of 10 of the world’s largest, publicly listed oil and gas companies (five from Europe and five from North America) using the new Net Zero Standard for Oil & Gas.

    The Standard is designed to provide a more in-depth, sectoral analysis of oil and gas companies’ transition plans compared with frameworks available previously. Uniquely, it focuses on comprehensiveness and alignment with limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, investigating aspects of transition planning disclosure that were historically not possible to assess due to low data availability. It therefore offers investors new, sector-specific insights into the ambition and robustness of transition plans, and the net zero transition risks faced by companies in a highly exposed sector.

    The Standard was developed by the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) with support from the TPI Centre.

    Key findings
    • Companies assessed on the Standard score on only 19% of applicable metrics, on average. Such weak results provide evidence that transition plans within the oil and gas sector are still insufficiently detailed for investors to accurately assess transition risk.
    • Scoring on the Standard varies widely between companies. The best performing company scores on more than 50% of applicable metrics, while the worst performing scores on none. The substantial variation in companies’ ambition demonstrates that progress in transition planning is possible among oil and gas companies but is not currently being achieved by most.
    • More disclosure is required on the central aspects of transition planning, including measures to neutralise emissions, and production forecasts. Most companies are missing out these crucial elements, with companies failing to score on 87% of metrics related to the quantification of emissions reductions and on 89% of metrics relating to future oil and gas production.
    • There are significant differences in approach to transition planning between European and North American companies. European companies, on average, score highest on ‘Solutions’ metrics, which assess whether a company is diversifying into low-carbon energy products. European companies score on 46% of Solutions metrics while, in contrast, North American companies score on 3% of Solutions metrics, leaving them exposed to future demand fluctuations.

Most viewed job posts

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    (https://aviva.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Aviva_Investors_External/job/London-UK/Head-of-ESG-Integration---Equities_R-143444)

  2. (440)

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    (https://issgovernance.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ISScareers/job/Toronto-ON-Canada/Sustainability-Analyst_JR_7376?q=sustainable)

  3. (440)

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    (https://abrdn.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/abrdn/job/Edinburgh/Sustainability-Manager--Active-Ownership-_R0071644-1)

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    (https://careers.msci.com/job/230000v3)

  5. (438)

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    (https://careers.moodys.com/sustainable-finance-analyst-apac-japanese-speaker/job/28095448)

  6. (437)

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    (https://careers.msci.com/job/research/frankfurt/eu-sustainable-finance-regulation-researcher/2400006j)

  7. (435)

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    (https://issgovernance.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ISScareers/job/London-UK/ESG-Ratings-Analyst_JR_7300?q=sustainable)

  8. (428)

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    (https://careers.moodys.com/sustainable-finance-associate/job/28244283)

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    JobPosts: 2 @ PRI - RI Mgr / EU Policy (Belgium / Germany & Austria)

    Senior Analyst, EU Policy Financial Policy - Principles for Responsible Investment - Apply here

    Responsible Investment Manager Germany & Austria - Principles for Responsible Investment - Apply here

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    (https://issgovernance.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ISScareers/job/London-UK/ESG-Marketing-Associate_JR_6259?q=sustainable)

Most viewed organisations

  1. (65) Aviva Investors
  2. (46) abrdn
  3. (31) X-AM-Test
  4. (28) Achmea Financial Services
  5. (26) SRI-CONNECT

Most viewed users

  1. (25) Mike Tyrrell @ SRI-CONNECT
  2. (22) Akino Fukuda @ Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
  3. (8) SRI Connect Editor @ SRI-CONNECT
  4. (6) Mickey Yazu @ X-AM-Test
  5. (5) Paul Yost @ X-CO-Test

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