Sustainability Now

This Thursday, one of the hottest companies in Europe, Wirecard, filed for insolvency as its former CEO was arrested on suspicion of false accounting and market manipulation. It is one of the largest cases of possible fraud at a single company since Enron. But how could such a thing happen at a company with not one, but two oversight boards? And what does this mean for how we assess companies going forward? Then we have a history lesson on past scandals by a man who has seen some of the biggest.

The spilling of 21,000 tons of diesel in Siberia in late May, 2020 echoes the Exxon Valdez disaster from more than 30 years ago. But the case of Norilsk Nickel also highlights how today's responsible investors find themselves in a new landscape as climate change accelerates, with better data but more vexing conundrums.

This episode explores the complexity of collecting and using companies' racial diversity data, and then we discuss how at risk construction companies are as economies start to open and COVID‐19 continues to spread.

When a company hands over the reins to an external manager, it shifts the dynamic between shareholder, board and management. And although that may offer potential benefits, there is plenty to draw the attention of a wily governance analyst or a wary investor.

This episode begins with our head of ESG research, Linda‐Eling Lee discussing the global protests surging across the US and the world; then we discuss the decision by Facebook management to not affix warnings to US President Trump's tweets after its industry peer, Twitter, decides to do so; and then we talk about one utility company that is successfully transitioning to a carbon neutral future.

Climate change has increased the frequency and severity of flooding, exposing companies with operations that abut or lay within the US Federal Emergency Management Area designated flood zones to possible damage. The breaching of two dams in Central Michigan this month resulted in historic flooding that mixed with Dow's chemical containment ponds and may have stirred up toxic sediment at a downstream superfund site where Dow is the responsible party. But could investors or the company have guessed the disaster would occur ?

There are some promising COVID‐19 vaccines in early human trails, but we have some questions if they are successful: Who will own the patent? Who will distribute them? Who will be responsible if something goes wrong? And then we discuss the recent proxy battle at JPMorgan that ended with some interesting wins for climate activists.

Have COVID, will travel: As regions begin to tentatively reopen, airport employees find themselves on the frontline of possibly sick passengers, we discuss how the type of airport and what plans were in place before the pandemic are affecting airport security; then we discuss the ESG merits of biofuel in light of the industry's recent bailout request; finally, we look at how the EU Taxonomy will affect investors that have a sustainable mandate.

With COVID‐19 hitting the pause button on the global economy, many are wondering if this is the start of the end for the oil and gas industry. We break down the basics, look at the different ways companies are planning for the future and discuss how investors can make sense of the risks involved.

Like a cleaver and a scalpel, COVID‐19 is slicing through pre‐existing ESG vulnerabilities in the meat‐packing and medical tourism industries. Palm oil certifications make for sober reading as the New York Declaration on Forests nears its first milestone and India's strict lockdown is inspiring innovations both big and small.