• New initiative will foster collaboration among thought leaders on critical global challenges
• MSCI’s Linda-Eling Lee to lead the Institute

MSCI launches MSCI Sustainability Institute to drive progress on the role of capital markets in creating sustainable value

MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, announced the launch of the MSCI Sustainability Institute (“the Institute”).

The Institute aims to drive progress on the role of capital markets in creating sustainable value and tackling global challenges such as climate change. It will leverage MSCI’s experience and expertise in the investment industry to spur collaboration across finance, academia, government, NGOs, think tanks and companies from different sectors, while helping to close the gaps between strategy-setting data, analysis, policy and action.

Advancing the transition to a clean-energy economy and addressing other long-term risks demands that leaders across the capital markets ecosystem work together. The Institute will support collaborative endeavors by offering:

• Access to data and know-how – The Institute will equip academic researchers and policymakers with sustainability data, metrics and models that investors use to inform their decision-making. It plans to collaborate with select academic institutions, including Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, to host training designed to help researchers and students understand the purpose and applications of these metrics for capital allocation and keep pace with the fast-evolving sustainability data landscape.
• Exploration of new approaches – The Institute will encourage innovators from across the capital markets ecosystem to pilot new data and approaches for measurement that provide insights on emerging topics in sustainable finance and inform capital allocation decisions. This includes a framework for investment in climate resilience developed by the Global Adaptation and Resilience Investment Working Group (GARI), with analytical backing from the Institute and financial support from the Bezos Earth Fund and ClimateWorks Foundation.
• Decision-useful research – The Institute will curate a selection of important academic papers useful to investors and companies. Initially, the selection will highlight studies that investigate how sustainability factors interact with the value of financial assets.
• Forum for debate – The Institute will bring together leaders from across the capital markets ecosystem to exchange diverse points of view on sustainability risks and opportunities. These discussions will be grounded in the highest-quality research and a commitment to analytical rigor and objectivity.

Related Article: MSCI: More Public Companies Are Making Climate Commitments But Deadline To Limit Warming To 1.5°C Shrinks Again

“Global challenges such as climate change cannot be solved by governments, corporations, NGOs or multilateral organizations alone,” said Henry Fernandez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MSCI. “The most meaningful solutions all require some type of cross-sector collaboration. Through the MSCI Sustainability Institute, we will bring together a wide range of thinkers with complementary strengths and expertise, and help them turn data-driven ideas into real-world influence and action.”

Linda-Eling Lee appointed to lead MSCI Sustainability Institute

Linda-Eling Lee has been named Founding Director and Head of MSCI Sustainability Institute. Linda most recently led global ESG and climate research at MSCI, where she built an industry-leading team of analysts dedicated to understanding long-term drivers of sustainable value and investment risk. She is widely recognized as an industry pioneer and established thought leader in the fields of ESG and sustainability and has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance1.

“We are incredibly excited to work with investors, academics, policymakers, NGOs and companies across industries, leveraging MSCI’s experience in developing new ways to measure both financial and non-financial value,” said Linda-Eling Lee, Founding Director and Head of the MSCI Sustainability Institute. “Together, we will deepen knowledge of how capital markets can help drive sustainable value.”

Hiromichi Mizuno, who recently joined MSCI as a Special Advisor to the CEO, will advise MSCI Sustainability Institute in that capacity. He will help build the Institute’s advisory group, including leading investors, academics and other thought leaders.