ESG Rating Archives - Sustainable Value Investors

Corporate Governance, ESG, ESG Rating, Publications / 21.08.2025

ESG Investor Reactions to the West Bank and Gaza Conflict: Regional Patterns and Strategic Distinctions (2024–2025)

The escalation of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and the continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank have brought renewed scrutiny of corporate involvement in these territories. However, the overall ESG investor response cannot be described as a full-scale sector-wide shift. Instead, what has...

Biodiversity, Climate change, Deforestation, ESG Rating / 24.07.2025

Brazil’s Devastation Bill – Licence to devastate the Amazon, the lungs of the Earth

On July 17, the Brazilian Congress approved Public Law 2159/211, often referred to as the "devastation bill." Many experts see this as the most significant rollback of environmental protections since the 1988 Constitution, which established modern environmental safeguards in Brazil. Although President Lula has 21...

Companies, Corporate Governance, ESG, ESG Rating, Financial Institutions / 25.11.2020

Deutsche Börse to acquire proxy voting advisor ISS for €1.9 million

Deutsche Börse acquires leading proxy voting advisor ISS for €1.9 million. The rationale of the transaction relies on Deutsche Börse intention to become the future leading ESG player globally. SVI raises concerns about the lack of competition in the proxy voting advisory market, the increase in...

Companies, Corporate Governance, ESG, ESG Rating, Fashion / 04.08.2020

Boohoo received good ESG ratings despite exploitation of modern slavery in its supply chain

The modern slavery case at Boohoo shows the importance of investigating firms' ESG practices more deeply. The Manchester-based online fast-fashion retailer Boohoo has launched an independent review of its domestic supply chain after the Sunday Times published an investigation affirming that workers manufacturing its products at a...

ESG Rating / 21.04.2020

Morningstar takes 100% control of Sustainalytics in €170m total deal

As of April 21, 2020, Morningstar, leading provider of independent investment research with headquarters in Chicago, announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Sustainalytics, ESG Ratings provider with headquarters in Amsterdam. Morningstar currently owns an approximate 40% ownership stake in Sustainalytics, first acquired in...

ESG Rating / 24.02.2020

Bain & Co buys a minority stake in EcoVadis, leader in Supply Chain Sustainability Ratings

As of February 24, 2020 Bain & Company (Bain & Co) announced it has acquired a minority stake in EcoVadis. Bain & Co will integrate EcoVadis’ sustainability ratings into its approaches to corporate strategy, supply chain and procurement. They will also seek to develop a...

ESG Rating / 09.01.2020

EcoVadis secures c.$200m investment from CVC Growth Partners

As of January 9, 2020 Private Equity CVC announced it is going to acquire a participation in EcoVadis through a c. US$200m investment from its CVC Growth Partners II Investment Fund. EcoVadis is a French provider of corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings and scorecards. For further information,...

ESG Rating, Senza categoria / 26.11.2019

Why your Good Governance Fund is full of Saudi Bonds

Investors in ESG funds will end up with more exposure to Saudi Arabia than a passive investor, highlighting complexities in responsible investing. The article written by James Mackintosh on the WSJ of November 26, 2019 analyzes the difficult choices behind the selection of bonds of better emerging-market...

ESG Rating, Senza categoria / 25.11.2019

MSCI arms all investors with ESG ratings of 2,800 top firms

A growing number of investors across the world are factoring ESG risk into their decision-making, in the belief that companies with a good rating will be better-run and produce stronger returns with lower risk. MSCI, which awards companies an ESG rating based on 37 criteria such...

ESG Rating / 21.11.2019

S&P acquires ESG ratings arm of RobecoSAM

As of November 21, 2019 S&P Global announced it will acquire the ESG Ratings Business from RobecoSAM which consists of two units: one dealing with SAM CSA which issues ESG ratings and a second providing in-depth reports to companies for comparing relative performance relative. SAM...

ESG Rating / 01.10.2019

Thomson Reuters closes deal with Blackstone

Thomson Reuters Corp announced on Monday it had completed the sale of a majority stake (around 55%) in its Financial & Risk unit to private equity firm Blackstone Group LP. The unit will now be rebranded as Refinitiv. Investors also announced that Refinitiv will invest in multiple...

Climate change, ESG Rating, Financial Institutions / 20.09.2019

The case for closer oversight of the ESG fund industry

"Green-friendly ETFs hold shares in groups with coal operations" said Financial Times on September 19, 2019. The case for closer oversight of the ESG fund industry is the conclusion of the analysis conducted by the environmental research group InfluenceMap on a basket of 118 climate-themed funds listed...

ESG Rating / 17.09.2019

Credit rating agencies join battle for ESG supremacy

As the Financial Times pointed out, a vast amount of deals occurred recently that involved ESG rating agencies: the demand for sustainability and corporate governance data has risen among investors and regulators. Today, Financial Times announced that two of the three main credit rating agencies...

ESG Rating / 09.09.2019

MSCI to strengthen climate risk capability with acquisition of Carbon Delta

MSCI Inc. acquired a 100% stake in data analytics firm Carbon Delta AG through its subsidiary MSCI Barra Sarl. "Founded in 2015, Carbon Delta is a global leader for climate change scenario analysis. Together, MSCI and Carbon Delta will create an extensive climate risk assessment and...