Robeco, The Investments Engineers

Sustainable Investing

Social sustainability

Social sustainability – the S in ESG – relates to the rights, well-being and interests of people and communities. These issues include human rights, labor standards in the supply chain, child and forced labor, workplace health and safety, and relations with local communities. As such, social sustainability aims to improve the quality of human life at all levels.

In the workplace, this amounts to promoting equal opportunities for men and women, maintaining fair levels of pay, embracing diversity, and placing close attention to the impact of the company’s operations on its local population. A company that manages social issues well and takes the interests of its various local stakeholders into account, will obtain a ‘social license to operate’, meaning it wins acceptance or approval by local communities and stakeholders. This will facilitate the obtaining of government permits and ‘social permission’ to conduct its business. A company that does not address social issues risks reputational damage, increased costs and lawsuits.

In the wider world, social sustainability refers to the upkeep of human rights and the stability of a society within its governmental system. Research by the Country ESG Ranking (CER) shows that democracies have a much higher level of social sustainability than countries with autocratic rulers, and western nations also generally rank higher than emerging markets.

Creating returns that benefit the world we live in

Sustainable investing

country-esg-criteria-and-weighs-2.png

Source: Robeco

The CER gives a 30% weighting to social issues. Of this weighting, one quarter (7.5%) focuses on the issue of ageing and its attendant problem of the ability to pay pensions, and another quarter on the capacity for social unrest. While countries such as Saudi Arabia habitually score poorly for social issues, large democracies can also face unrest, as seen when the US scored lower in 2020 due to riots over police killings of black people.

The concept of reducing inequality is also considerd to be one of three megatrends shaping the world, along with climate change and cybersecurity. These were discussed in Robeco’s 2018 Big Book of Sustainable Investing, which attempted to quantify the economic impact of rising inequality. A 2017 IMF paper found that the inequality above a certain level starts to have a negative impact on economic development, reducing GDP by up to 0.35 percentage points a year. Poor social cohesion has also been blamed for rising right-wing populism as those who feel they have been marginalized seek redress.

Let's keep the conversation going

Keep track of fast-moving events in sustainable and quantitative investing, trends and credits with our newsletters.

Don’t miss out
Robeco

Robeco aims to enable its clients to achieve their financial and sustainability goals by providing superior investment returns and solutions.

Important information This disclaimer applies to any documents and the verbal or written comments of any person in presentations or webinars on this website and taken together is referred to herein as the “Information”. The services to which the Information relate are NOT FOR RETAIL CLIENTS - The information contained in the Website is solely intended for professional investors, defined as investors which (1) qualify as professional clients within the meaning of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), (2) have requested to be treated as professional clients within the meaning of the MiFID or (3) are authorized to receive such information under any other applicable laws and must not be relied or acted upon by any other persons. This Information does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any financial product, and may not be relied upon in connection with the purchase or sale of any financial product. You are cautioned against using this Information as the basis for making a decision to purchase any financial product. To the extent that you rely on the Information in connection with any investment decision, you do so at your own risk. The Information does not purport to be complete on any topic addressed. The Information may contain data or analysis prepared by third parties and no representation or warranty about the accuracy of such data or analysis is provided.
In all cases where historical performance is presented, please note that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results and should not be relied upon as the basis for making an investment decision. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested. Neither Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. nor any of its affiliates guarantees the performance or the future returns of any investments. If the currency in which the past performance is displayed differs from the currency of the country in which you reside, then you should be aware that due to exchange rate fluctuations the performance shown may increase or decrease if converted into your local currency. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (“Robeco”) expressly prohibits any redistribution of the Information without the prior written consent of Robeco. The Information is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use is contrary to law, rule or regulation. Certain information contained in the Information includes calculations or figures that have been prepared internally and have not been audited or verified by a third party. Use of different methods for preparing, calculating or presenting information may lead to different results. Robeco Institutional Asset Management UK Limited (“RIAM UK”) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. RIAM UK, 30 Fenchurch Street, Part Level 8, London EC3M 3BD (FCA Reference No:1007814). The company is registered in England and Wales under Ref No. 15362605.

In all cases where historical performance is presented, please note that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results and should not be relied upon as the basis for making an investment decision. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested. Neither Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. nor any of its affiliates guarantees the performance or the future returns of any investments. If the currency in which the past performance is displayed differs from the currency of the country in which you reside, then you should be aware that due to exchange rate fluctuations the performance shown may increase or decrease if converted into your local currency. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (“Robeco”) expressly prohibits any redistribution of the Information without the prior written consent of Robeco. The Information is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use is contrary to law, rule or regulation. Certain information contained in the Information includes calculations or figures that have been prepared internally and have not been audited or verified by a third party. Use of different methods for preparing, calculating or presenting information may lead to different results. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. is authorised as a manager of UCITS and AIFs by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets and subject to limited regulation in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority. Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority are available from us on request.