The importance of ESG is highlighted by the fact that more than two thirds (68 percent) of corporate governance professionals polled have personally interacted with investors on the topic over the past 12 months. The most common types of interaction are conducting ESG-focused conference calls (24 percent of respondents having taken part), having group meetings with ESG analysts (23 percent) and attending ESG-focused conferences (22 percent). Governance professionals at larger companies tend to have more of these direct interactions. Only 21 percent had no such engagement over the past year, compared with 44 percent of respondents at smaller firms. At larger issuers, the most common type of interaction with investors is ESG-focused conference calls at 45 percent; for smaller companies, it is meetings with ESG analysts at 21 percent. Overall, larger companies are discussing ESG issues with investors more frequently than smaller firms. Almost half (44 percent) of respondents at $5 billion-plus issuers say they have talked about environmental policy with investors at least once a quarter over the past year, with 15 percent saying it has been talked about each month. This compares with 24 percent of respondents at smaller companies who have talked about environmental policy once a quarter or more frequently. By contrast, more respondents at smaller companies (67 percent) talk on a quarterly or more frequent basis with investors about governance matters than their colleagues at bigger firms (55 percent).
Who has primary responsibility for your company’s ESG communications?
Have you done any of the following over the last 12 months?
How often have you discussed the following with investors over the past 12 months?
