The latest developments in the ESG space.

Fidelity International
The difficulty of measuring impact is seen as the toughest barrier for investors when taking up sustainable ways of putting their money to work, according to a survey by Fidelity International.

The organisation, which drew its findings from 120 institutional investors and intermediary distributors in Europe and Asia, examined the appetite for incorporating environmental, social and governance ideas within portfolios.

More than half of investors said that ESG factors will still be important in portfolio asset allocation for the next 18 months.

Broken down into the “E,” “S” and “G” elements, the survey found that the environment is the top consideration as an investment factor, with 63 per cent of investors taking that view; 58 per cent named the “social” element and 51 per cent identified the “governance” element.

European and institutional investors put more emphasis on ESG criteria in portfolio asset allocation than their Asian counterparts.

“Our study shows ESG remains firmly on investors’ minds. While ESG investing may now be viewed as a mainstream consideration in asset allocation, further progress is needed to break down implementation barriers,” Jenn-Hui Tan, chief sustainability officer, Fidelity International, said. “This includes difficultly measuring impact, with observations pointing to difficulties sourcing and analysing good quality company data, and navigating regulation, where discrepancies remain across national, European and global regulatory frameworks.”

“A key area of focus in Asia is transition finance, which is being supported by national-level transition plans, as well as innovative frameworks and product structures. We expect this will trigger greater product innovation, which responds to growing client demand,” Jenn-Hui Tan added.