1.2.1.8 Experts in Responsible Investment Solutions

The Experts in Responsible Investment Solutions (EIRIS) is the provider of responsible investment research. The report “Sustainable Stock Exchanges: Improving ESG standard among listed companies” was issued by the EIRIS in 2010. This report requests stock markets to improve their performance on sustainability issues. It focuses on 20 leading developed and emerging markets examining “how systematically they incorporate full environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards into their listing rules and trading products”.1

The EIRIS believes stock exchanges can be key players in developing a sustainable financial system and advises through its report on how they can improve the integration of ESG criteria into their investment analysis, and how they can use it to shape their decision-making processes. E.g. mandatory disclosure of ESG standards; requiring companies to put their sustainability strategy to a vote at annual general meetings; and markets should improve their own ESG standards and disclosure, the EIRIS suggested, if they are expecting companies listed on their exchanges to do so. Currently the frontrunners are the emerging markets’ stock exchanges.