Sustainability Now

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

Guest: James Edwards, 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 Martin - MSCI ESG Research

Link to paper discussed in episode: https://www.msci.com/research-and-insights/blog-post/compound-climate-hazards-pressure-beverage-giants

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

Let’s venture beyond the portfolio and into the engine room of company performance. In this episode, we explore how ESG Ratings relate to core business fundamentals like profitability, sales variability, and asset turnover. It’s a new piece of a much bigger picture that connects sustainability with financial performance. 

Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research

Guest: Yu Ishihara, MSCI ESG Research

On July 4, the United States enacted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping tax-and-spending package containing some 35 provisions affecting the energy sector. Here, we highlight the most significant measures and examine how the legislation could reshape energy-investment decisions for both corporations and investors.

Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research

Guest: Chris Cote, MSCI ESG Research

Junk food is at the center of the political conversation in America and globally, with discussions about ultra-processed and artificial foods, and the changes we need to make to food, and how hungry we are but none of the food is "good." It is a thing! But what does it mean for food companies? And what does it mean for our social pillar where we look at opportunities in nutrition and health - which assess which companies are likely to meet market demand for products with improved nutritional or health profiles. Listen to find out!

Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research

Guest: Cole Martin, MSCI ESG Research

The energy transition isn’t a straight line. Investors are increasingly look to understand where and how emissions create portfolio risk. In this episode, we explore MSCI’s new energy transition framework and take a closer look at materiality-weighted emissions, a new metric that draws a bolder line to company performance. 

Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research

Guests: Chris Cote & Guido Giese, MSCI ESG Research