Excellence in Corporate Citizenship on Display in the Coronavirus Crisis
Post #10 in the Series – April 6 2020
Important Bloomberg info update – April 8th
By Hank Boerner and Louis Coppola – G&A Institute

Some of the messages we’ve been sharing supports our belief that the companies that continue on the paths of their sustainability journey during the virus crisis will be stronger (in the crisis) and come out stronger as the crisis subsides. That will benefit stakeholders and shareholders.
We posit:  Those publicly-traded companies recognized as sustainable investment leaders should benefit in the competition for capital – access, cost of capital, inclusion in key indices and benchmarks, and so on.
We’ve been monitoring for news and perspectives that support the theory and share some things we’ve found with you.
HSBC Headline: ESG Stocks Did Best in COVID-19 Slump
Climate and sustainable investments outperformed as pandemic struck.
The global bank HSBC’s Ashim Paun (co-head of ESG research) in March published results of the examination of the effect of ESG factors on public companies’ equity in the virus crisis sell off.
The research looked at 613 shares of global public companies valued at more than US$500 million where “climate solutions” generate at least 10% of revenues plus 140 stocks with the highest ESG scores and values above the global average.
Key Takeaway: While the virus upended many economies and markets, shares of companies focused on ESG or climate change have outperformed.
He cites this: Performance from 23 March to 10 December 2019 (the start of the virus in East Asia) was the base for comparison.
Results: Climate-focused shares outperformed others by 7.6% from December on and by 3% since February. And from 24 February, when the market’s high volatility began.
There are four (4) “HSBC Climate Solutions Database” divisions:

1. Environment & Land Use Management;
2. Low Carbon & Energy Production;
3. Energy Efficiency & Energy Management
4. Climate Finance.

All of these beat the markets over both period – Low Carbon by 11% plus since December, says HSBC. There were regional differences noted in the research results. (The report was published 25 March.)
During the crisis period, Ashim Paun advises that investors think about how well companies are managing their ESG risks – including what companies are best-case, worst-case, and highest likelihood scenarios.
And he shared this with his global investor clients: “Our core conviction is that issuers succeed long-term, and deliver shareholder returns when the create value for all shareholders. When crisis like COVID-19 manifest, particularly with “S” and “E” causes, and implications, investors can see ESG as a defensive characteristics.
The highlights are here – access to HSBC’s full research report is limited to subscribers.
https://www.gbm.hsbc.com/insights/global-research/esg-stocks-did-best-in-corona-slump
There is a very comprehensive examination of the HSBC research on BusinessGreen:
https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4013404/hsbc-companies-focused-climate-change-outperformed-virus-spread?ct=t(RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN)&mc_cid=8dd16a5562&mc_eid=cc59b566af

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In a Financial Times opinion piece by David Stevenson we saw this: He asked the question, are ESG and sustainability the new alpha mantra?
His answer: when money managers begin again to look for alpha strategies, his bet is that more than a few will tell investors that sustainability and ESG will top the list in the search for performance.
He interviewed thought leaders at Impax Asset Management, DWS and BNP Paribas and cited the research of several researchers for the column.

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Bloomberg Asks — Believe the Investor’s Urging Will Pay Off?
As we shared with you last week and repeat here as part of this commentary:
Bloomberg LP provides us with some of the answer.
Bloomberg Intelligence’s (BI) Shaheen Contractor (ESG Team BI Industry Analyst) in a brief for terminal users noted that an analysis of ESG Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) during the selloff for the week ending February 28 provided a buffer for their investors and outperformed their benchmarks. The data: only 8% of ESG ETFs had outflows while 22% of all U.S. ETFs saw outflows.
This, as she writes, suggests ESG is seen by investors as a long-term investment and not a trading strategy.
And the flow to ESG ETF’s suggests that these instruments are “sticky” and less cyclical. Where where the flows to ESG ETFs? BlackRock, JPMorgan, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, DWS, State Street, and Vanguard all saw inflows during the drawdown.
Good news for investors looking for “proof of concept” of ESG/sustainable investing from Shaheen Contractor – thanks to her and Bloomberg for sharing this good news.
Her email is: scontractor2@bloomberg.net
The brief: “ESG ETFs See Relative Outperformance, Inflows During Drawdown”
For information Bloomberg: https://blinks.bloomberg.com/news/stories/Q6RT29T0G1L2

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IMPORTANT UPDATE — APRIL 8TH
From Bloomberg Green – dated March 31, 2020 – Claire Ballentine reporting.
As of that date, 59% of U.S. ESG ETFs were beating the S&P 500. And 60% of European ESG ETTs were beating the MSCI Europe Index.
In 2029, sustainable ETFs added more than $8 billion (4X the 2018 level) and another $4 billion were added in January 2020.
Even with the sell off in February and March, $3 billion was added in that period.

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G&A Institute Team Note
We continue to bring you news of private (corporate and business), public and social sector developments as organizations in the three societal sectors adjust to the emergency.
The new items will be posted at the top of the blog post and the items posted today will move down the queue.
We created the tag “Corporate Purpose – Virus Crisis” for this continuing series – and the hashtag “#WeRise2FightCOVID-19” for our Twitter posts. Do join the conversation and contribute your views and news.
Do send us news about your organization – info@ga-institute.com so we can share. Stay safe – be well — keep in touch!