Global responsible investment research specialists, EIRIS, today announces the launch of EIRIS Sustainability Ratings.
EIRIS Sustainability Ratings combine the broadest range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) data points together to provide investors with a definitive assessment of the sustainability performance of over 3,000 public companies worldwide.
Looking forward to the next decade and beyond, the integration of sustainability issues into investment analysis and decisions is set to continue. Calls for a more responsible approach to capitalism are growing, along with the sense that a more sophisticated understanding of investment risk - one which takes longer-term sustainability issues into account - is urgently required.
EIRIS Sustainability Ratings' philosophy is driven by the need for companies to meet the concerns of their current stakeholders whilst managing the impact of their businesses upon society and the environment, both now and for the future. The ratings service provides a complete picture of corporate sustainability performance, expressed on a clear A-E Scale, and combine EIRIS' assessment of a company's sustainability impacts with our analysis of its management response to ESG risks.
"With the launch of EIRIS Sustainably Ratings we are combining almost 30 years' research experience, thinking and intelligence on ESG issues together to provide a definitive guide to corporate sustainability performance for investors" said Peter Webster, Executive Director at EIRIS. "This focus on sustainability comes at a crucial time for the investment market and also for the world at large with the Rio+20 Summit fast approaching. It is a challenging time but also a time of opportunity".
Mairead Hancock, Head of Client Services at EIRIS, said: "The launch of EIRIS Sustainability Ratings marks an exciting stage in the development of the products and services we offer to responsible investors. From risk management, to portfolio construction, we've listened carefully to our global client base to ensure that our sustainability ratings can help with as broad a range of sustainable investment strategies as possible".
Speaking at the London launch of EIRIS Sustainability Ratings Jonathon Porritt, Founder Director of Forum for the Future, drew attention to how the environment, finance and society are interlinked and how each is part of a living, breathing, dynamic, meta-system. He highlighted how capital markets are part of the global economy. The global economy is one part of human society. Human society is one part of the biosphere - and connecting all of these different levels are a whole series of incredibly complex feedback routes, where natural systems feedback into all systems - be they human, social or financial.
Jessica Fries, Executive Chairman at The Prince's Accounting for Sustainability Project, also speaking at the event said: "Rio+20 is a step on the path towards sustainability, not an end goal in itself. The Rio+20 process presents an opportunity for investors to engage governments at national and international level and to establish frameworks to drive sustainable outcomes".
As part of the run up to the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, EIRIS is holding a series of sustainable investment roadshows across Europe to stimulate new discussion on sustainable investment and to shed new light on why and how investors should integrate sustainability into their investments.
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