Improving Sustainable Investing through Better ESG Metrics

Businesses and investors are increasingly including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance attributes alongside traditional financial metrics. Although ESG metrics are becoming increasingly popular, there are many data gaps, and limited consistency within what is available today.
The Boston University Impact Measurement and Allocation Program (IMAP) was established in 2020 to improve and standardize the measurement and use of ESG attributes of businesses. We are working closely with both leading financial industry professionals and a wide network of academic experts.
IMAP’s early work has identified a strong desire from the investment industry for new sources of high-quality ESG metrics, that are not readily available from today’s data vendors. This webinar will highlight new metrics of corporate performance under development by leading academic researchers. Each will present different data sources that can be used to improve the risk assessment of a firm’s performance. While most of today’s ESG metrics are currently derived from a company’s self-reported measures, this webinar will explore potential third-party sources such as GIS data, temperature trends, worker accident reports, and employee ratings of their employers.
Co-hosted by the Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy, Susilo Institute for Ethics in the Global Economy at the Questrom School of Business, and the Impact Measurement & Allocation Program (IMAP).
Co-sponsored by the Northeast Clean Energy Council and the Boston University Questrom School of Business.