How does investing in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) drive corporate financial and market performance?

With support from Rockefeller Capital Management, CSB Research Associate Professor, Tracy Van Holt and Research Associate, Ulrich Atz reviewed the latest results from academic research to answer this question in their meta-analysis paper.

They surveyed over 1,000 primary peer-reviewed papers and 27 meta-reviews published between 2015 and 2020. Their analysis reveals that stronger ESG performance is associated with better financial performance in corporate-focused studies.

For investor-focused studies, their analysis shows that ESG investing is comparable or preferable to conventional investing, with one in three studies indicating superior performance. They concluded with six research propositions, one of which is:

ESG integration appears to perform better than screening or divestment and ESG investing can provide benefits during a social or economic crisis.

Read the full paper here.