Rationale

If companies are pro-active with analysts from SRI agencies and treat them as serious investment research professionals, these analysts will behave like serious research professionals.

Companies communicate with ‘sell-side’ research analysts via results webcasts not via questionnaires;

Companies can do exactly the same with SRI agency analysts - and migrate the whole communications process from questionnaires to informative dialogue.

Our service

Sustainable Investor will prepare and host for a company a high-quality teleconference / webinar that enables them to present their sustainability performance to all analysts from SRI ratings agencies that cover their sector at once.

The format of this webinar is modelled on the results presentations that companies give to ‘sell-side’ analysts and delivers similar levels of reach and efficiency.

Expected participants from the company side

• Head of CSR / Sustainable Development
• Investor Relations Executive

Expected analyst participants

Analysts from all major agencies (EIRIS, Inrate, MSCI ESG, GMI Ratings, Oekom, SAM, Sarasin, Sustainalytics, Vigeo etc. will be invited to participate)

Expected format

The company’s presentation should contain:

• 5 minutes on the company’s core strategy
• 5 minutes on the company’s overall approach to sustainability
• 5 minutes each on the three sustainability themes of most financial relevance to the company

Questions from analysts will last for 35 minutes.

Expected advantages

Using Sustainable Investor consultancy to host the event (send invitations, chase analysts, set up the technology etc.) will, we estimate save the company three days of organisation time and extend their analyst reach by 25%.

• In a worst-case scenario, a webinar enables a company to inform a group of influential analysts about their strategy and sustainability priorities;
• In a mid-case scenario, a webinar will improve a company’s ratings with SRI agencies;
• In a best-case scenario, a webinar will achieve both of the above and REMOVE THE NEED FOR SRI QUESTIONNAIRES

Read more

In this article on GreenBiz.com, read about the webinars and the experience of BP and HSBC from their webinars last year.

Cost

Sustainable Investor charges £1,200 to host a webinar (which includes our time & the webinar costs)

…and the important bit

If a company announces its plans to present via webinar well in advance and then promises to repeat the exercise next year, there should be no further need for SRI questionnaires

Any questions

Please direct any questions to Mike Tyrrell

‘10 steps’ link

Corresponds to Step 8 (Roadshow) in the 10 steps process for Taking Control of SRI Communications

Specialist SRI analysts within ‘sell-side’ (investment bank) research departments tend to be the most influential and best-connected SRI analysts in the market.

Typically, however, companies do not make any effort to communicate proactively with them.

Objective

To improve a company’s communications with specialist SRI sell-side agency analysts

Activity

This component would include either:

• Identifying the level of interest in the company from SRI specialist sell-side analysts
• Organising with them, as appropriate:
  • a group briefing / teleconference / webcast or,
  • a series of 1-on-1 meetings

Costs and benefits

• Total organisation time / cost
  • 1 day = £1,000
• Est. time saving for the company
  • 2 days of organisation time
• Est. quality / reach improvement:
  • Extend reach to all relevant sell-side broker analysts

‘10 steps’ link

Corresponds to Step 8 (Roadshow) in the 10 steps process for Taking Control of SRI Communications

Objective

To map, in detail, current levels of SRI investor interest in the company and the company's current standing with the SRI community

Activity

This project would include developing a ‘Register of SRI interest’ including key contacts at buy-side asset managers, sell-side brokers and SRI agencies.

It would use as sources:

• Sector & stock interest as indicated on SRI-CONNECT
• Information held by the company on its current ratings, index inclusions, sell-side views, buy-side evaluations etc
• Direct contact with SRI agencies, sell-side analysts & buy-side analysts & PMs

Costs and benefits

• Est. cost = 1.5 days = £1,500

• Est. time saving for the company = No direct saving but much greater confidence in the market and its needs should enable much more efficient communication in future
• Est. quality / reach improvement = As above, no direct improvement, but enables better prioritisation in the year ahead

‘10 steps’ link

Corresponds to Step 3 (Create an SRI register) in the 10 steps process for Taking Control of SRI Communications