Robeco and RobecoSAM have worked together to develop a comprehensive and systematic ESG ranking framework for countries, designed to complement sovereign bond ratings developed by traditional rating agencies.
59 countries where ranken on a broad range of environmental and social governance issues such as carbon emissions, social cohesion and civil liberties. Sweden ranked number one, Australia second and Switzerland third in the list. The Netherlands ranked number 10.
By focusing on selected ESG factors such as aging, competitiveness and environmental risks – which are long term in nature – and taking into account a country’s position in the economic cycle, the country rankings offer a view into a country’s strengths and weaknesses that are not typically covered by rating agencies. Used in combination, standard sovereign bond ratings andRobecoSAM’s country ESG rankings can be a powerful tool to enhance risk analysis for government bonds, enabling investors to make better-informed investment decisions. Country level ESG rankings also offer an additional perspective on the stability of the environments in which companies operate and could therefore be incorporated as an additional tool used in company analysis.