MSCI ESG Research LLC

Sustainability Now

Business EN ↓ 334 episodes

News and investment research brought to you weekly covering major market trends and new research insights. With topics ranging from climate impact on investment portfolios, corporate actions, trending investment topics, and emerging sustainability issues, hosts Mike Disabato and Bentley Kaplan of MSCI ESG Research walk through the latest news and research that is top of mind for the week. 

Author

MSCI ESG Research LLC

Category

Business

Podcast website

www.msci.com

Latest episode

Jun 26, 2026

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Episodes

The ESG Weekly: Carbon emissions keep rising for EU automakers as people continue to buy SUVs, and two hot takes on Drax's net-negative carbon plan and Exxon's technical exoneration for the week of December 9. 13.12.2019

This week we discuss how automakers in the EU are under pressure to lower emissions while European customers continue to buy more and more SUVs, and Velina Karadzhova and Ric Marshall join us to discuss energy power Drax's net ‐negative 10 year carbon emissions plan (9:39) and Exxon's victory over the New York state attorney (12:24).

Is Hacking Just An Evil Supervillain Trope, Or Something Investors Should Be Prepared For? 10.12.2019

From smart watches to smart TVs and connected homes, today's hackers are increasingly spoilt for choice. For the healthcare sector, hacking pacemakers isn't just the stuff of TV fantasy (4:07). Automakers may have traded the upsides of safety and convenience for more hackable cars (9:23). But it's in telecoms that the true shape of hacking risks emerge, not in devices, but in the da...

The ESG Weekly: As the precarious work arrangements grow, investors might need to look at how companies control a workforce they don't claim as their own, and then two hot takes on Google's shakeup and coal's uninsurability for the week of December 2. 06.12.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Temporary, part‐time, contracted out, or contingent work arrangements are creating risks for investors across the entire economy as companies face liabilities for a workforce they don't want to claim (0:53). And then Ric Marshall and Umar Ashfaq joins us to discuss the founders of Google stepping down (12:27) and a report by an insurance industry group...

The ESG Weekly: Should investors care about antibiotic resistance? And only a handful of companies are preventing a deforestation‐free supply chain for the week of November 18. 22.11.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Antibiotic resistance ‐ the ability of germs to defeat the drugs designed to kill them ‐ is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time; but as the crisis grows what will happen to the companies that produce antibiotics (0:54)? And then Mario Lopez‐Alcala tells us which companies are slowing the transition to a deforestation free supply chain in...

The ESG Weekly: Are wild and crazy founders really such a big deal for investors? And the streaming race is on for the week of November 11. 15.11.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: SoftBank decided all the wild and crazy founders its Vision Fund is investing in need some rules of operation (0:37), and then Siyu Liu warns us about all the data streaming‐companies must now protect (16:07), all through an ESG lens.

The ESG Weekly: The SEC is putting a gag order onto shareholders, and two spicy takes on Boeing and Saudi Aramco for the week of November 4. 08.11.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Ken Bertsch, the executive director of Council of Institutional Investors and an all‐knowing proxy god joins Ric Marshall and Mike Disabato to discuss the new rule by the SEC to limit shareholder engagement (0:37), and then we get two hot takes by our analysts on Boeing and Saudi Aramco (12:23), all through an ESG lens.

The Most Important Thing An Investor Should Know About Private Prisons: Who Do They Care About? 05.11.2019

Investors have witnessed an exodus from the private prison industry but what is the core function of a private prison ‐ is it to help prisoners? Is it to help the government? Or is it to help investors? In act 1, we look at how the growth of the 80s helped build the prisons of the 2000s (2:55). In act 2, we discuss how private prisons became interwoven into our society. In act 3, we discuss the is...

The ESG Weekly: The case against Exxon might change how companies disclose about their climate woes, and the seas are rising up to consume us all for the week of October 28. 01.11.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The Attorney General of New York alleges that Exxon first calculated the risks posed by climate change but then freaked out and suppressed the data, an accusation that might change how companies disclosure their data on climate risks far into the future (0:46), and then our cartography expert Gillian Mollod discusses new data on sea level rise and how it mig...

The ESG Weekly: How should shareholders deal with Zuckerberg ? And Intel plans to release gender and race pay data for the week of October 21. 21.10.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: A SPECIAL GUEST joins us to discuss how shareholders should deal with Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg as the founder continues his PR campaign (1:42), and then Meggin Eastman discusses the relevance of Intel's plan to release pay and gender pay data (13:22), all through an ESG lens.

The ESG Weekly: South Africa's largest utility cannot abide, and a quick update on private prisons for the Week of October 14. 18.10.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: There are power cuts throughout South Africa after its largest utility Eskom has a number of generating units break down which has threatened the country's economy (0:41), and Andrew Young gives us a quick update on the issue with private prisons as a business model (10:45), all on the record.

The ESG Weekly: Companies are Hard to Trust When They Lie, And Labor Shortages Cause Concern for the Week of October 7. 11.10.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: 3M and DuPont failed to disclose their findings on the hazardous impact and proliferation of PFAS (0:40), and Hong Kongers are leaving Hong Kong for everywhere but the U.S.(10:11), all on the record.

The ESG Weekly: The Bosses Are Getting Too Much For Too Little, and Climate Change Is Coming For Your Real Estate for the Week of September 30 04.10.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The Council of Institutional Investors recommendation that investors check their CEOs pay packages (0:42), and then we discuss the continuing physical risk to real estate posed by climate change (12:52), all on the record.

The ESG Weekly: Which shareholder action tool is best? And Thomas Cook collapses into liquidation for the Week of September 23 27.09.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The different tools available to investors to address ESG risks (0:39), and Thomas Cook collapses into liquidation stranding hundreds of thousands (10:09), all on the record.

The gig economy has split the workforce 24.09.2019

Those Facebook workers are actually contractors (1:16), it is not just Facebook because everyone uses temporary workers in vital company roles (2:00), this is bifurcating the workforce and some are taking advantage (4:30), if you want to see how this can affect a society just go to Japan (9:32), this might be a canary in the mine for other countries (14:14), and investors are beginning to take not...

The ESG Weekly: UAW Union Strikes at GM, and Australia Picks Health Over Coal for the Week of September 16 20.09.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The United Auto Workers go on strike at GM (0:57), and Australia rejects a coal mine due to long‐term health effects (10:58), all on the record.

The ESG Weekly: EDF Finds Faults in its Nuclear Plants, and Contract Workers are Employees for the Week of September 9 13.09.2019

Note! This is a re-released version with one detail corrected about nuclear power generation. Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Nuclear energy and its role in the low-carbon future (0:42), and California rules contract workers are employees for app-based companies (11:58), all on the record.

The ESG Weekly: Data privacy and advertising don't mix, and glyphosate is banned again for the Week of September 2 06.09.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Companies selling data have difficulties keeping data private (0:43), and Germany bans glyphosate usage (9:06), all on the record.

The ESG Weekly: Johnson & Johnson's Brand and Opioids, and the Fashion Industry Makes Another Coalition for the Week of August 26 30.08.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Johnson & Johnson's brand wavers as the opioid crisis comes home (1:10), and the fashion industry tries to lower its waste (11:09), all on the record.

The ESG Weekly: Singapore will track societal health with Fitbit, and shareholders no longer matter for the Week of August 19 23.08.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: The Singapore Health Board partners with Fitbit (0:54), and Meggin and Ric discuss the Business Roundtable's anti-Friedman claim (17:49), all on the record.

The hidden cost of cement 20.08.2019

Is new stuff the best way to lower our emissions(3:36), maybe not because everything new uses everything old (7:40), well then should investors do something about it (12:00), because cement and fossil fuels are closer than you would think (15:15), all on the record.

The ESG Weekly: Plastics and Fossil Fuel get more cozy, and two rapid fire takes on WeWork and disclosures for the Week of August 12 16.08.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Shell builds a petrochemical facility (0:41), and Matt and Ric quickly try to understand WeWork and the purpose of disclosures (13:44), all on the record.

The ESG Weekly: Walmart's CEO gets called out in the gun debate, and L Brands' CMO resigns amid company turmoil on the Week of August 5 09.08.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Walmart's CEO must address gun sales at his stores (0:44), and the CMO of L Brands resigns amid company turmoil (8:58), all on the record.

The ESG Weekly: Capital One: Who's in your wallet? And NGOs call Cargill the worst company in the world on the Week of July 29 01.08.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Capital One does not know who is in your wallet (0:38), and NGOs call Cargill the worst company in the world (10:25), all on the record.

The ESG Weekly: Equifax is fined a record USD$800 million after its 2017 data breach, and subprime auto loans area threaten both the auto industry and drivers on the Week of July 22 26.07.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Equifax is fined a record USD$800 million after its 2017 data breach (0:36), and subprime auto loans area threaten both the auto industry and drivers (8:01), all on the record.

The ESG Weekly: Water is Bigger in Texas and My Brand, My Ideology on the Week of July 15 19.07.2019

Two stories this week with ESG glasses: Texas landowners sell their water to oil companies in the desert (0:53), and companies get pulled into social movements (11:22), all on the record.

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