ING Research: Climate Action Accelerated by COVID-19 but Companies, Investors, and Governments Must Move Faster

ING Research: Climate Action Accelerated by COVID-19 but Companies, Investors, and Governments Must Move Faster
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NEW YORK, LONDON and SINGAPORE: A new global survey of companies and institutional investors commissioned by ING shows the COVID-19 pandemic as a 'white swan' moment, which has accelerated the majority of companies' green transformation plans. At the same time, investors are demanding more hard environmental targets be put in place by companies. Despite this, companies, investors, and governments must move faster and further in making environmental, social and governance (ESG) progress as the pandemic raises the bar for ambition.

According to the new report, 'Now or never: A new bar for sustainability', 57 percent of companies say they are accelerating green transformation plans, and 62 percent will likely tie executive compensation to environmental targets in 2021. Currently, less than one in 10 companies in the survey have linked executive compensation to ESG targets. From the investors surveyed, 74 percent have increased commitments for portfolio alignments to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and 72 percent are adopting more ambitious targets for sustainability outcomes of ESG investment.

"The pandemic has demonstrated that individuals, companies, investors, and governments can make rapid environmental and social changes for the good, but closer alignment is necessary to rapidly accelerate progress in addressing the climate crisis," said Gerald Walker, Chief Executive Officer for ING Americas. "Our actions are under the microscope like never before and as the report shows, coordinated action and convergence on areas such as ESG standards and policy are essential for accountability and meeting ambitious targets."