MSCI published the environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings of more than 2,800 companies. A growing number of investors across the world are factoring ESG risk into their decision-making, amid a growing belief that companies with a good rating will be better-run and produce stronger returns with lower risk. Total assets invested using some reference to ESG data hit $30.1 trillion across the world’s five major markets at the end of 2018, the Global Sustainable Investment Review said, up from $22.8 trillion in 2016. MSCI, which awards companies an ESG rating based on 37 criteria such as corporate governance and carbon emissions, said it would release data on more companies in 2020, taking the total number with public data to 7,500. The index group gives companies a rating from triple-A to triple-C based on their exposure to ESG risks and their management of them relative to similar companies. Among those released by MSCI, Facebook and Alibaba both have a BBB rating, while Google’s Alphabet is rated AA.

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