Today, July 31, 2019 Emerging Markets ESG publishes the 28th edition of its Updated Database of Contacts in the Field of Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). The database – with current information as of June 30, 2019 – now contains a total of 5,390 entries. It lists 56 awards, 2,809 conferences/events, 351 indices and 2,174 organizations, divided among the following 12 categories: Academia (106 institutions); Companies – Listed Companies (536); Exchanges (53): Financial Institutions (456); Governmental Organizations (81); Media (98); Networks (179); Non-Governmental Organizations (296); Private-Public Partnerships (21); Professional and Trade Associations (107); Rating and Research (190); and Standard-Setting Organizations (51).
Geoffrey Mazullo, Principal, Emerging Markets ESG, paraphrases Charles Dickens in observing “the worst of times and the best of times. The Trump administration has exited the Paris Accord. It denies climate change, belittles the ocean plastic epidemic, mocks corporate governance legislation, incites racial hatred and slurs indigenous people – both at home and abroad. Conversely, the private and public sector – on the municipal and state level in many US jurisdictions – as well as national and sub-national jurisdictions abroad – continue to embrace sustainability and responsible, socially responsible and sustainable investing.”
The 28th edition of the database contains 192 new conferences and events, added during the first half of 2019. This continues the trend taking place over the past three years: 165 events were added during the second half of 2018, 209 events were added during the first half of 2018, 149 events were added during the second half of 2017 and 199 events were added during the first half of 2017. The updated database includes a variety of conferences, meetings, symposia and training programs about specific topics – such as the blue economy, climate finance, divestment (including divestment from firearms), palm oil and plastics – as well as on broader issues such as ESG integration for financial institutions, ESG performance, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and sustainability reporting for listed companies.
Of the 2,809 conferences/events listed in the database, 767 took place in the US, 436 in the United Kingdom, 114 in Germany, 112 in Switzerland, 94 in the Netherlands, 92 in France, 89 in Canada, 54 in Australia, 42 in Belgium, 30 in South Africa, 27 in Singapore, 28 in China, 27 in Hong Kong, 26 in Italy, 23 in Sweden, 22 in Spain, 22 in United Arab Emirates, 20 in Austria, 19 in Brazil, 19 in India, 18 in Kenya, 17 in Mexico, 15 in Japan, 13 in Denmark, 12 in the Philippines and 11 in Luxembourg. The distribution among these countries has remained consistent during the past decade.
The database lists 497 webinars, compared with 433 as of December 31, 2018; 394 as of June 30, 2018; 351 as of December 31, 2017; 260 at year end 2016; 208 at year end 2015; 183 at year end 2014; 140 at year end 2013; and 89 webinars at year end 2012.
A second feature of the 28th edition of the database is its documentation of the continuing launch – over the past four years – of new SRI indices. 28 indices were added during the past six months. The database now lists 120 global indices, 49 regional indices (covering Africa, Americas, Asia, developed markets, emerging markets, etc.), 45 US indices, 42 European indices, other country indices and thematic indices, including several recently-launched climate, carbon and water indices. The database now contains 351 indices, versus 323 as of December 31, 2018; 311 as of June 30, 2018; 276 at year end 2017; 226 at year end 2016; 202 as of June 30, 2016; and 125 at year end 2015.
In this edition of the database, Bermuda and Sri Lanka appear for the first time. In addition, during the first half of 2019, a first financial institution in Kenya, first indices in Russia and a first company in United Arab Emirates were added to the database. The database now includes entries from 109 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America.
The breadth and depth of the database demonstrates the growing relevance of SRI to mainstream and niche financial institutions – in developed, emerging and frontier markets.
A table of contents appears as the first worksheet and a statistics worksheet appears as the last worksheet in the database. Each worksheet is sorted alphabetically by institution; each worksheet may also be re-sorted alphabetically by country. Beginning with this edition of the database, the conferences & events worksheet can be sorted by month and year. Each new entry is highlighted in yellow. This enables users to quickly identify new awards, events, indices and institutions.
In 2002, the first edition of the database was published by the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program – a regional financial sector development program co-financed by USAID and East-West Management Institute (EWMI). The PFS Program updated the database semi-annually through December 2009. Emerging Markets ESG took over management of the database in 2010 and now updates it semi-annually.
To download the database, please click on the link below:
Emerging Markets ESG – Updated Database of Contracts in the Field of SRI – June 2019
Every effort was made to update contact information in each worksheet. If a reader notes any out-of-date information, please contact Emerging Markets ESG. We will update the entry.
Emerging Markets ESG would appreciate your constructive criticism and feedback regarding the database.
The 29th edition of the updated database will be published in January 2020.