Planet Tracker has been honoured with the prestigious Best Sustainable Investment Research Team award at the 2023 Investment Week Sustainable Investment Awards.

A new report “Plastics – Executive Compensation”, analysing the pay-performance plans of 39 leading plastic players, including ExxonMobil, Saudi Aramco, Costco and Mars finds that the industry is failing to tie executive pay to environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, despite facing one of the longest risk registers of any sector.

We are so proud that Planet Tracker’s CEO, Robin Millington, has been awarded Sustainable Business Leader of the Year, Global, by the Environmental Finance Sustainable Company Awards judges.

Planet Tracker finds life science giant Bayer is on track for a +3ºC climate scenario by 2030, relying on unproven technologies including carbon capture and alternative fuels to meet targets.

This analysis of three leading consumer goods companies with a combined market cap of USD 538 billion reveals a systematic failure to tackle upstream Scope 3 emissions effectively. Current emission trends put 14% of Unilever’s annual operating income at risk due to Potential Carbon Pricing Mechanisms, while Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble would have 30% and 51% of current operating profits at risk respectively.

A new analysis of 8,200+ documents shows that while plastic risk disclosures are rising, this is happening selectively, as 83% of documents from the plastic value chain still make no mention of plastic-related risks. Most plastic risk disclosures focus on circularity, accounting for 73% of all risk disclosures. References to feedstock and pollution were minimal, while mention of toxins, microplastics and refillables were even rarer.

BASF remains wildly off-target from its climate goals, relying on unproven future technologies such as carbon capture and storage to help meet targets. The chemical giant’s current emissions trajectory is on track for a +3 °C climate scenario by 2030, according to Planet Tracker data.

Procter & Gamble’s emissions are projected to follow a business-as-usual (BAU) trajectory, resulting in a +3°C warming scenario by 2030. The primary reason for not meeting the emissions level recommended by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) for a 1.5°C alignment is P&G’s failure to address upstream Scope 3 emissions. While P&G’s Climate Transition Plan (CTP) outlines various initiatives to reduce its environmental impact, the absence of investment disclosure regarding mitigation activities creates uncertainties regarding the company’s ambition.

Stopping deep sea mining is one solution to the climate crisis that can still be achieved. More than 700 scientists have warned that if it were to go ahead, it could pose irreversible risks to nature and climate on a multi-generational timescale. Crucially, this environmental damage would not replace but add to the harm caused by terrestrial mining.

Investors and policymakers are increasingly aware of the importance of biodiversity and natural resources to the economy, with some estimates suggesting that nature loss puts almost USD $55 trillion at risk. As global institutions take measures to protect nature, it is vital for financial institutions to understand the critical link between natural resources in the economy and long-term bond performance.

Planet Tracker calls on retailers to work with their supply chain partners to improve traceability and environmental impacts. Fabric manufacturers and producers are responsible for 76% of textile’s impact on climate, but only 7% of its market capitalisation.

Colgate-Palmolive is on a path to missing its approved Science-based Targets emissions by a factor of 7 when optional indirect use emissions are excluded. In the next decade the consumer goods giant could be hit by a USD 2.1 billion increase in annual operating costs due to potential Carbon Pricing Mechanisms and water scarcity.

Analysis of equity risk premia of 150 top corporates in the plastic value chain finds risk perception in industry is at its lowest level since 2011, despite a potential‘landslide of regulation’ including Global Plastic Pollution Treaty. Investors failing to forecast changes in risk profile means corporate liabilities and litigation costs in plastics could rise above USD 20 billion by end of the decade for the US alone, possibly USD 100 billion annually and beyond by 2030.

Planet Tracker’s latest report, Voting against Nature, assesses 26,587 votes cast on biodiversity proposals and found that only 7%, of votes provided shareholders’ reasoning for the decision, and those that did were largely when the vote was in favour.

Planet Tracker’s latest analysis of CA100+ companies reveals that Unilever’s current emissions mitigation strategies are falling short of a 1.5°C pathway, missing emission targets set by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) by 45% when it comes to total GhG emissions, leaving it on track for a 2ºC warming scenario by 2030. The consumer goods giant is exposed to overall financial risk of 42% of its current three-year annual operating profit by the end of the decade, around USD 4.4 billion.

Analysis from Planet Tracker finds diversifying farmed seafood production can close supply gap while tackling biodiversity risks.

Some of the world’s biggest textile companies are failing to tie executive pay to environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. Planet Tracker’s Textiles Compensation report analyses 30 top textile brands, revealing that over half of companies (17), including Anta Sports, Gap, Levi Strauss, Nordstrom, Under Armour and Victoria’s Secret, lack any link whatsoever between pay and ESG metrics.

Planet Tracker’s new report Financial Markets Roadmap for Transforming the Global Food System captures data from 400,000 companies across 160 countries covering the whole food system including seafood, the largest combined analysis of its kind. The estimated annual global investment to achieve world-altering results is just USD 300-350 billion – equivalent to 4% of the USD 8.6 trillion of current investment.

PepsiCo could be exposed to USD 4.4 billion of climate related risk per year, by the end of the decade , on its current emissions trajectory. The food and beverage giant fails to disclose the material financial impact associated with potential Carbon Pricing Mechanisms (CPMs) linked to its Scope 3 emissions, despite these accounting for more than 90% of the company’s overall emissions by 2030.

A number of the short-term risks identified in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2023 include climate change threats such as a failure to mitigate climate change (ranked 4th) and a failure of climate change adaptation (ranked 7th). The omission of biodiversity loss from this list implies a lack of understanding of the interdependence of climate and nature and an absence of urgency - or Biocrastination..