International Finance Newsletter: Environmental and Social Governance Metrics and Standards (May 2011)

Compliance with credible voluntary standards is becoming the default performance hurdle for many institutions, and “certified” products are serving as the common currency of supply chain assurance. These tools are increasingly important as we see large scale investment into soft commodity production and an urgent need to increase the clarity with which investors make decisions about investments. Standards and better environmental and social governance (ESG) metrics will both play a role here, and this edition highlights recent developments.