American financial services and credit rating agency, Moody’s, has released its 2021 Stakeholder Sustainability Report, outlining its climate victories and charting its path forward.
In its 2021 Stakeholder Sustainability Report, published earlier this week, Moody’s President and CEO, Robert Fauber, says the planet and society are at a pivotal moment.
“While climate change remains an existential risk, we face growing uncertainty from conflicts that may have seemed unimaginable not long ago. As the world grapples with these challenges, we at Moody’s re-emphasize our commitment to supporting inclusive and sustainable economies and communities,” he wrote.
The global leader in integrated risk assessment says it is uniquely positioned to help the market better make sense of sustainability and help provide solutions. The company has unveiled a new suite of climate solutions that it says provide clients with comprehensive measurement and evaluation tools to help assess climate risks and opportunities.
Leading by example
“Sustainability is not only a value driver for Moody’s. We strive to lead by example and are embedding responsible and sustainable decision-making across our firm,” said Fauber.
The Stakeholder Sustainability Report, as well as its Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, highlight what the group says is a wide range of work being done to build a better business and tackle environmental and social issues.
“Moody’s embeds sustainability across its operations and value chain,” the company says. It exceeded its near-term greenhouse gas emissions targets with a 92 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and 95 percent for Scope 3 compared with 2019 as a baseline.
Last year saw Moody’s accelerate its 2040 target to reach net-zero, a decade ahead of Paris Agreement targets. The company says it is one of the first companies to have its near- and long-term net-zero targets validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative.
The company says it’s further strengthening its employee benefits by offering Sustainability and ESG training as it continues to integrate and enhance its ESG efforts.
The firm also partnered with Alliance, a net-zero financial services provider as part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.
Moody’s launched initiatives in 2021 aimed at providing greater transparency into ESG-related risks. It says this will help to accelerate market transformation and build sustainable economies. The Moody’s Investor Service also expanded its ESG Issuer Profile and Credit Impact Scores aimed at providing greater transparency for ESG considerations and how they are incorporated into credit ratings.
Risk Management Solutions (RMS) was acquired by Moody’s last year in order to support its climate and catastrophe risk modeling and analytics, the company said.
Social investing
“Most importantly, we’re deeply invested in our people,” Fauber said. Last year saw the launch of Moody’s University, which supports professional and personal employee learning, upskilling, and development.
The Moody’s Foundation and employee-driven philanthropy efforts totaled more than $6 million of charitable donations, and more than 11,000 hours of volunteer time from employees in their local communities.
“We are proud to be widely recognized as a great place to work, and we continue to push ourselves to build a diverse workforce, compensate our employees equitably and fairly and support the well-being and professional development of our people through a wide range of impactful workplace programs,” Fauber wrote. It recently double-matched donations to support relief efforts in Ukraine.
“While we’re proud of the achievements laid out in this report, we know we have to continue the momentum and do much more,” Fauber said.
“We look forward to continuing our work to make our business, financial markets and global communities more sustainable, inclusive and resilient.”
