Sustainability Now
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.
Episodes
Climate change doesn’t just arrive one disaster at a time. It stacks crises on top of each other: drought followed by flood, heat followed by fire; shocks that turn small problems into big financial hits. In this episode, we talked about how compounding climate hazards are reshaping the bottled water industry, what a 2024 Nestlé scandal reveals about the future of water quality, and why investors should be paying closer attention.
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Controlled companies now outnumber widely held ones. New MSCI research shows that this market shift has significant implications for shareholder returns.
Guest: Jonathan Ponder, MSCI ESG Research
Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
We already know there is a clear link between ESG ratings and the cost of capital. But the question remains: do ESG ratings matter for bonds and their credit spreads? Should fixed income investors care? Listen to this week’s episode to find out!
Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Jakub Malich, MSCI ESG Research
Link to paper discussed in episode: https://www.msci.com/research-and-insights/paper/the-financial-materiality-of-...
As a new policy landscape emerges in North America, are companies scaling back on sustainability reporting? And will investors go with the flow? Join us as we look at live trends in company disclosures and where the 2025 proxy season is headed.
Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
Guests: Julia Morello & Jonathan Ponder, MSCI ESG Research
As the physical risks from climate change grow, so does our reliance on accurate maps to assess them. In this episode, we dig into the limitations of publicly available flood maps and explore how data and modeling in the marketplace have evolved - often surpassing the capabilities of standard public tools.
Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Kate Towey, MSCI Climate Risk Center
Let’s venture beyond the portfolio and into the engine room of company performance. In this episode, we explore how ESG Ratings relate to core business fundamentals like profitability, sales variability, and asset turnover. It’s a new piece of a much bigger picture that connects sustainability with financial performance.
Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Yu Ishihara, MSCI ESG Research
On July 4, the United States enacted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping tax-and-spending package containing some 35 provisions affecting the energy sector. Here, we highlight the most significant measures and examine how the legislation could reshape energy-investment decisions for both corporations and investors.
Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Chris Cote, MSCI ESG Research
Junk food is at the center of the political conversation in America and globally, with discussions about ultra-processed and artificial foods, and the changes we need to make to food, and how hungry we are but none of the food is "good." It is a thing! But what does it mean for food companies? And what does it mean for our social pillar where we look at opportunities in nutrition and health - which assess which companies ...
The energy transition isn’t a straight line. Investors are increasingly look to understand where and how emissions create portfolio risk. In this episode, we explore MSCI’s new energy transition framework and take a closer look at materiality-weighted emissions, a new metric that draws a bolder line to company performance.
Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
Guests: Chris Cote & Guido Giese, MSCI ESG Research
How is it going with the carbon credit markets? Are they pricing credits accurately? Is the vitally important Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation also known as CORSIA that relies on functioning carbon credit markets working out? Listen to this episode of Sustainability Now to find out!
Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Utkarsh Akhouri and Nicholas Baldwin, MSCI Carbon Markets
Could Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche’s late-stage antibiotic trials signal new hope against antibiotic‐resistant pathogens? On this special REPLAY episode (originally aired August 2024), we take a deep dive into the state of antimicrobial resistance, from hospital wards to farm fields. As these microscopic threats drive up healthcare costs, jeopardize food security, and reshape insurance risk worldwide, understanding the crisis...
In this episode, we dive deep into the critical role of adaptation finance in helping Asia face the escalating impacts of climate change. As the region experiences rising temperatures and extreme weather events, the demand for resilience-building solutions is greater than ever. With a growing population, rapid urbanization, and a heavy reliance on agriculture, Asia is uniquely vulnerable, but also primed for innovation and growth i...
Tariffs and tangled supply chains: This week, we explore how commercial aerospace and defense companies are navigating a new wave of trade restrictions. From Boeing to Lockheed Martin, what do transparency and oversight mean when the stakes — and the sky —are high?
Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research
From car factories to aluminum smelters to textiles, the purported goal of the Trump administration is to 'reshore' American manufacturing. Its a goal, in part, supported by his predecessor, Joe Biden, who enacted the CHIPS act to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to America. So, let's say manufacturing does come back and companies expand their current factories to meet demand. What climate-driven risks—water s...
Newly imposed U.S. tariffs have triggered market volatility and strategic recalibrations across industries. In this episode, we explore the role of supply chain traceability in managing risk — from regulatory exposure to sustainability trade-offs.
Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Aura Dron, MSCI ESG Research
As I type this, we are in the midst of a market sell off. So, it’s a perfect time to look at what happened to our ESG indexes during the last market sell offs. Worrisome times!
Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Xinxin Wang, MSCI ESG Research
Does the defense industry have an ESG problem? Is there such a thing as an ethical bomb? These are questions emerging as the European Union ramps up investment in its defense sector as part of a broader rearmament effort. In this episode, we examine whether these concerns are well-founded or simply a dubious proposition.
Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Olga Emelianova, MSCI ESG Research
Egg prices in the US have soared, but is avian flu the only culprit? This week, we crack open the structural issues in the egg industry, from supply chain vulnerabilities to price-fixing allegations. Plus, what it all means for investors — and your breakfast.
Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Cole Martin, MSCI ESG Research
In February 2025, the EU Commission proposed the first Omnibus Package of sustainability rules, with the aim of simplifying and reducing EU sustainability reporting requirements. But did it work? Has the outcome been "good" or "bad"? And what are these new rules set to do to the future of sustainable finance in the EU? Listen to this episode of ESG now to find out!
NOTE: The first 12:10 of this episode ...
Banks face growing pressure from regulators to assess the risks climate change poses to their loan portfolios. Some regions, like Europe, are tightening standards, while others, like the U.S., remain hesitant. Our latest research reveals that banks with high exposure to industrials—especially in APAC—could see default risks rise by 50% over the next decade. Will global banks adapt, or are we heading toward a financial blind spot? F...
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