Over 70% of assets on average across the world's largest funds will exceed the 2050 target of 1.5 degrees without large emissions reductions, according to ESG Book

ESG Book launches fund scoring solution enabling investors to assess the sustainability, emissions intensity ratio, and corporate risk attached to the world's largest funds.

• Analysing over 35,000 funds, ESG Book finds that without further emissions intensity reductions, none of the world's major market indices will remain below 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050.
• ESG Book's analysis also shows that across funds worth $40 trillion, 20 percent of assets fail to disclose emissions on average.
• Of the standard market indices, the ASX 200 (Australia) has the highest emissions intensity and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (US) has the lowest emissions intensity by a wide margin.
• ESG Book's new Fund Scores allows clients to analyse and compare the sustainability profiles of over 35,000 funds, covering more than 160,000 fund listings.
• New product is part of the scaling of ESG Book's services worldwide, as the company accelerates its growth in response to increasing client demand for technology enabled ESG data solutions. 

LONDON, July 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 70 percent of assets on average across the world's largest funds will exceed the 2050 target of 1.5 degrees Celsius without large emissions reductions, according to new ESG Book analysis. The research coincides with the launch of ESG Book's new fund scoring solution that enables investors to assess the sustainability, emissions intensity ratio (EIR) and corporate risk attached to the world's largest funds.

Analysing over 35,000 funds globally, covering more than 160,000 fund listings, ESG Book finds that finds that without further emissions intensity reductions, none of the world's major market indices will remain below 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050 whilst global economic growth is sustained. The analysis also shows that across funds worth $40 trillion, 20 percent of assets fail to disclose emissions on average.

ESG Book's Fund Scores allow clients to analyse and compare the sustainability profiles of over 4,000 ETFs and 30,000 mutual fund listings, including equity, corporate fixed income and hybrid investment strategies. The firm's new solution offers investors a transparent view of the market value and security coverage for each fund, with access to a suite of metrics including granular ESG scores on 22 sustainability topics, UN Global Compact scoring, and climate scores that together enable a holistic insight in a fund's sustainability profile.  

Today's launch is part of the scaling of ESG Book's services worldwide, as the company accelerates its growth in response to increasing client demand for technology enabled ESG data solutions. 

Dr Daniel Klier, CEO of ESG Book, said: "Current events give a stark reminder of the urgent need to transition to a net-zero pathway. However, markets still lack the accurate information required to allocate capital more effectively to sustainable, higher impact assets. Consistent, transparent, and accessible data can provide a solution. ESG Book's new Fund Scores will enable clients to gain a clearer view of the ESG performance of over 35,000 funds globally, providing the transparency that investors need to make informed decisions for a more sustainable future."

According to ESG Book's analysis, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (US) has the lowest emissions intensity of the standard market indices, emitting 40 tons of CO2e per million dollars of revenue, driven by low emissions intensity ratios (EIR) in the finance, retail trade and technology services sectors. The NASDAQ 100 had the second lowest emissions intensity, with 74 tons of CO2e per million dollars of revenue.

The ASX 200 (Australia) has the highest EIR by a wide margin, with 327 tons of CO2e per million of dollars revenue, driven by the utilities and energy minerals sectors. In ASX 200 ETFs the utilities sector makes up 5% of the fund yet contributes towards 19% of the EIR. Similarly, energy minerals companies make up 9% yet contribute 35% of the EIR. 

ETFs tracking utilities indices or holding assets in the sector had the highest EIRs. The average emissions intensity ratio for the most intense 15 funds is ~2,500t/$m, surpassing the ASX 200 by a multiple of almost 10. Overall, ETFs tracking the standard indices have very similar emissions intensity ratios. Analysis shows that ETFs tracking the S&P 500 (US) and STOXX 600 (EU) have a ratio of ~171t/$m, whilst the FTSE 100 (UK) has a slightly worse ratio of ~177t/$m.

About ESG Book

ESG Book is a global leader in sustainability data and technology. Incubated by Arabesque in 2018, ESG Book combines cutting-edge technology and proprietary research. ESG Book's wide range of cloud-based sustainability products and solutions are used by many of the world's leading financial organisations. The company has offices in London, Frankfurt, Boston, Singapore, Delhi and Tokyo and serves clients worldwide from offices in Asia, Europe and North America. www.esgbook.com 

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