A rapid increase in plastic-waste regulations may increase costs and liabilities, or limit market access for companies that are slow to align with them.  

Will biodiversity losses become the next crisis facing humanity, possibly surpassing climate change? Growing scrutiny on biodiversity risks could have implications for mines that threaten biodiversity or environments of high conservation value.

Investors are scouting for companies that mine the metals needed in new energy technologies. But some mining projects key to the transition from fossil fuels may face opposition from Native Americans for threatening sacred areas or traditional ways of life.

Oil and gas companies are accelerating investment in plastics, in response to the shift away from fossil fuels. But is this pivot sustainable? Could plastic become the next stranded asset?

The amount of ESG-related information disclosed by corporations is on the rise, but investors still often lack a full understanding of financially relevant risks. How can they gain a better sense of where their investments are most vulnerable to ESG-related disasters?

Between 2009 to 2014, we found that the highest executive total summary compensation at a company grew on average by 20% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) compared to 2% CAGR for the average worker.  In our sample of 1,240 constituent companies of the MSCI ACWI Investable Market Index (IMI), we found the largest and fastest growing pay gap occurred within the Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary Sectors. We also found a correlation between intracorporate pay gaps and...

Shale gas presents a huge new potential investment opportunity and could possibly transform the US energy market. However, financial returns from shale gas face pressure due to emerging environmental liabilities, community opposition that limits access to resources, recoverable reserves uncertainties, and natural gas price volatility.Based on MSCI ESG Research’s assessment of companies’ performance on environmental issues, we believe that companies with poor historical performance...