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SUSTAINABILITY AT BLACKROCK

2020 Global Sustainable Investing Survey

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At the beginning of 2020, BlackRock laid a series of steps to make sustainability a key component of our investment approach, driven by an investment conviction that an understanding of sustainability issues is essential to long-term investment performance.

In mid-2020, we surveyed our clients to better understand their drivers and challenges to sustainable investing, how the pandemic has affected their implementation, and how innovation can spur adoption. We heard from 425 investors in 27 countries representing as estimated U.S.$25 trillion in assets under management.

What respondents are saying

Sustainability is here to stay
54% of global respondents consider sustainable investing to be fundamental to investment processes and outcomes, driven by respondents in EMEA where we see greater rates of adoption. Respondents in APAC and Americas appear to be in the early stages of this journey.
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A shift in capital allocation
Respondents plan to double their sustainable assets under management in the next five years – rising from 18% of assets under management on average today to 37% on average by 2025. Only 3% of respondents expect to delay their implementation as a result of COVID-19.
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The data challenge
53% of global respondents cited the poor quality or availability of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data and analytics as the biggest barrier to deeper or broader implementation of sustainable investing, higher than any other barrier that we tested.
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Climate is king
When comparing focus on ESG factors, 88% of global respondents ranked Environment as the priority most in focus amongst those choices today, reflecting the urgency that is present by climate change.
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A whole portfolio approach
ESG Integration and Exclusionary Screens are the two most popular approaches to sustainable investing globally, with 75% and 65% of global respondents, respectively, currently utilizing or considering utilizing these approaches.
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Fixed income and alternatives set to grow
While equity allocations are and will likely continue to remain a central part of respondents’ sustainable asset allocation frameworks, they expressed increasing interest in sustainable fixed income and alternatives asset classes.
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Our 2020 sustainability actions

We made a series of commitments this past year to help our clients invest sustainably for the future – from integrating sustainability into portfolio construction, to making sustainable investing more accessible, to increase our engagement with companies on sustainability-related risks.
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