Sustainalytics' '10 for 2016' Report Presents Key Investor Insights Into the COP21 Agreement

Investment Research Report Also Profiles 10 Companies Taking Unique Steps to Address Climate Change

TORONTO, Feb. 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sustainalytics, a leading global provider of ESG and corporate governance research, ratings and analytics, today released a new thematic research report titled, 10 for 2016-The Paris Agreement: Triumph of the Optimists.The report builds off of the COP21 Summit, offering a top-down assessment of the agreement reached in Paris and a bottom-up analysis of ten companies addressing the risks and opportunities presented by climate change.

Sustainalytics' analysis shows that the COP21 agreement and country emission initiatives are likely to serve as a positive economic signal for low carbon technologies, such as renewable generation, energy efficiency applications and energy storage. In addition, the report highlights the likelihood of greater interaction between investors and governments, partly due to the shifting responsibilities of universal owners and the growing recognition of climate change as a systemic risk.

"The intense focus on climate change last year has prompted investors to look more closely at how the effects of global climate change might impact their portfolios," said Sustainalytics' Managing Director of Thematic Research, Dr. Hendrik Garz. "As a result, Sustainalytics devoted its entire '10 for 2016' report to climate change. By leveraging our analysis, we hope investors can gain deeper insight into the Paris agreement to better support their investment strategies."

The report's bottom-up assessment looks at 10 companies, spanning six countries and nine industries, that are taking significant steps to get ahead of the climate change curve. The companies featured showcase diverse approaches to tackling climate change, from disruptors like Tesla on energy storage to Borregaard on petrochemical alternatives to Cisco on the Internet of Things.

"Companies today are facing a convergence of climate-related issues that are impacting their operations, from intensifying environmental impacts to tighter emissions regulations to changing market dynamics for low-carbon products," said Sustainalytics' Associate Director of Thematic Research, Doug Morrow. "Given the market's focus on these issues, we believe companies that anticipate the impacts of climate change are poised to benefit."

To present the findings from its "10 for 2016" report, Sustainalytics will host a webinar at 10:00 a.m. EST/4:00 p.m. CET on Thursday, February 18, 2016. To register for the webinar, click here, and to download a summary of the report, click here.

About Sustainalytics

Sustainalytics is an independent ESG and corporate governance research, ratings and analysis firm supporting investors around the world with the development and implementation of responsible investment strategies. With 14 offices globally, Sustainalytics partners with institutional investors who integrate environmental, social and governance information and assessments into their investment processes. Today, the firm has 250 staff members, including more than 120 analysts with varied multidisciplinary expertise of more than 40 sectors. Through the IRRI Survey, investors selected Sustainalytics as the best independent responsible investment research firm for three consecutive years, 2012 through 2014 and in 2015, Sustainalytics was named among the top three firms for both ESG and Corporate Governance research. For more information, visit www.sustainalytics.com.

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