Last Monday, the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) published a report addressed to members of the UN-founded G20, ahead of the meeting in October. Through the report, the OECD is urging corporate organizations to pay particular attention to their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings, in terms of quality, comparability and global transparency
The OECD report came after consultation meetings were held with members of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, with particular focus on the ESG ratings submitted in July. It became apparent that businesses in the world’s largest economies have to do more, since the different approaches for assessing ESG ratings resulted in data inconsistencies and lack of comparability.
Many businesses appear to be more focused on corporate policies and goals but with little assessment on their negative environmental impacts. The OECD says, giving greater clarity on ESG ratings can help investors decide.
According to the OECD, most investors are holding back because of inadequate data, particularly on policies that work toward achieving the net zero climate goal. Other issues include lack of clarity on policies related to carbon pricing, support for renewables and lack of product measurement tools. All these will enable investors to determine if a company’s portfolio is aligned with their specific climate goals.In most cases, ratings providers have been found to input large number on sub-category scores. The OECD is calling for greater clarity with regard to the meaning of such scores. The report added that greater international cooperation is needed to ensure that ESG and climate change-related practices will strengthen investors’ confidence in the integrity of the market.
Info About the G20 Group
G20 stands for Group of Twenty countries including the European Union as a whole. Along with other member countries, namely the UK, the US, Australia, China, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, India, Japan, Indonesia and Turkey, these countries work together to address issues affecting the global economy, financial stability, sustainable development and climate change mitigation measure.
