Morgan Stanley Releases New Report Finding Sustainability Communication Disconnect between Companies and Investors
October 12 2017 - 11:53AM
Business Wire
Communicating Sustainability paper identifies a communications
gap and provides best practices for meeting investor ESG needs
Today the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing
released a new report analyzing the communications disconnect
between the environmental, social and governance (ESG) information
investors seek and what companies provide. The paper, Sustainable
Value: Communicating ESG to the 21st Century Investor, identifies
the communications opportunities and best practices for companies
to better communicate their ESG stories to enhance their business
and investor value.
Through interviews with first-mover companies already
capitalizing on investor interest in ESG, combined with a
literature review to provide analysis and actionable insights that
may help companies better position their businesses in this space,
this paper will help companies and leaders improve their current
methods of communications on these topics.
“With investors’ interest in sustainable investing continuing to
rise, it is important for companies to communicate their ESG
stories to analysts and investors,” said Hilary Irby, Co-Head of
the Global Sustainable Finance group at Morgan Stanley. “This paper
provides a blueprint for companies to follow through increased
collaboration among corporate executives, investor relations (IR)
teams and sustainability teams to better position their businesses
in this space and avoid missing out on opportunities to attract
investor interest.”
Key findings from the Sustainable Value: Communicating ESG to
the 21st Century Investor report:
- Investors and analysts want
decision-useful ESG information from companies. In order to analyze
sustainability value when judging overall business performance,
their priorities include:
- A sharp and candid focus on financially
material issues, risks and opportunities
- Uniform metrics and reliable data
within companies and across sectors that relate to business value
and, crucially, enable a like-to-like comparison of performance on
material issues
- Alignment between quarterly and annual
financial reporting and material ESG reporting to get a full,
timely picture of company performance
- The leading corporate reporting model
of stand-alone sustainability reports is insufficient for investor
needs.
- Executive and board leadership can be a
game changer in communicating the ESG business case to investors.
Strong leadership also drives effective collaboration between IR
and sustainability teams.
- When IR and sustainability teams
collaborate, both companies and investors gain. IR teams are the
gateway to investors. Building their sustainability and ESG
knowledge, coupled with close cooperation with sustainability
teams, allows companies to tell a full, consistent and strategic
sustainability story to investors.
“Companies can no longer analyze sustainability within silos,”
said Audrey Choi, Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Marketing
Officer at Morgan Stanley. “Integration and information sharing is
vital to telling not only your sustainability story, but your
firm’s strategic story.”
To explore the Sustainable Value: Communicating ESG to the 21st
Century Investor report in detail, click here.
The Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable
Investing
The Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing builds
scalable finance solutions that seek to deliver competitive
financial returns while driving positive environmental and social
impact. The Institute creates innovative financial products,
thoughtful insights and capacity building programs that help
maximize capital to create a more sustainable future. For more
information about the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable
Investing, visit www.morganstanley.com/sustainableinvesting.
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is a leading global financial services
firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management
and investment management services. With offices in more than 42
countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including
corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more
information about Morgan Stanley, please visit
www.morganstanley.com.
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Morgan Stanley Media Relations:Sarah Higgins,
212-296-3648Sarah.Higgins@morganstanley.com
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