A growing body of research demonstrating the materiality of ESG criteria
indicates that investors need to manage and assess ESG risks and opportunities
associated with their investments. While corporate disclosure of ESG criteria is
becoming more mainstream, the World Bank has found ESG data at the sovereign level
is lagging. Demand for better
country level ESG data from trusted sources was one of the findings of an
ongoing joint research program between WBG and Japan’s Government Pension
Investment Fund (GPIF).
In order to shift financial flows so that they are better aligned with global
goals, the World Bank Group (WBG) is working to provide financial markets with
improved data and analytics that shed light on countries’ sustainability
performance. Along with new information and tools, the World Bank will also
develop research on the correlation between countries’ sustainability
performance and the risk and return profiles of relevant investments.
This work is part of the newly launched Global Program on Sustainability (GPS),
which aims to provide governments and investors with information and tools that
improve their understanding of sustainability criteria, including through
natural capital accounting. Providing improved ESG data to the financial sector
is a key component of the Incentives pillar of GPS, which is led by the
Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation (FCI) Global Practice.
The World Bank’s ESG Data Draft Framework provides information on 17
key sustainability themes spanning environmental, social, and governance
categories:
| Environment |
Social |
Governance |
| Emissions & pollution |
Education & skills |
Human rights |
| Natural capital endowment & management |
Employment |
Government effectiveness |
| Energy use & security |
Demography |
Stability & rule of law |
| Environment/climate risk & resilience |
Poverty & inequality |
Economic environment |
| Food security |
Health & nutrition |
Gender |
| Access to services | Innovation
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The ESG Data Draft Framework incorporates data relevant to all 17 Sustainable
Development Goals. The Framework organizes data into themes the World Bank
believes are crucial for financial sector representatives to consider when
assessing the contribution of investments or policies to sustainable
development. The initial set of indicators has been based on:
- Survey of World Bank data currently used by investors
- Indicators relevant to World Bank's own policy analysis
- Other key indicators identified through analysis of World Bank expert teams
- Availability, coverage, timeliness of data
