Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funds are among the fastest-growing investment styles. ESG investing thereby has a governing effect, and a key open question is whether ESG merely reduces risks for investors or whether it can have a sustainability impact and actively contribute to climate transition. This governance through ESG is characterized by three potential transmission mechanisms: ratings, shareholder engagement, and capital allocation. These can create sustainability impact or constitute “ESG gaps” if transmission mechanisms remain ineffective/unutilized. Based on financial data, an investigation of ESG methodologies and expert interviews, we provide a novel ESG market analysis, focusing on the standard-setting role of a handful of ESG index providers in capital allocation. Our findings highlight that while “Dark Green” indices could have an impact, currently “Broad ESG” indices, which do not meaningfully facilitate sustainability, dominate investing: we call this the “ESG capital allocation gap.” This has important implications, because effective transmission mechanisms are crucial for ESG funds to achieve sustainability impact in the real economy.

中文翻译：

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注意 ESG 资本配置差距：指数提供商、标准制定和“绿色”指数在创造可持续发展影响方面的作用

环境、社会和治理 (ESG) 基金是增长最快的投资类型之一。因此，ESG 投资具有治理效应，而一个关键的悬而未决的问题是，ESG 是否仅仅降低了投资者的风险，或者是否能够产生可持续性影响并积极促进气候转型。这种通过 ESG 进行的治理具有三种潜在的传导机制：评级、股东参与和资本配置。如果传导机制仍然无效/未利用，这些可能会产生可持续性影响或构成“ESG 差距”。基于财务数据、ESG方法论调查和专家访谈，我们提供了新颖的ESG市场分析，重点关注少数ESG指数提供商在资本配置中的标准制定作用。我们的研究结果强调，虽然“深绿色”指数可能会产生影响，但目前“广泛 ESG”指数对可持续发展没有任何意义，但在投资中占据主导地位：我们称之为“ESG 资本配置缺口”。这具有重要意义，因为有效的传导机制对于 ESG 基金在实体经济中实现可持续影响至关重要。