By Zach Church | MIT Ideas Made to Matter | December 7, 2020
When Bloomberg LP announced a plan to develop its own environmental, social, and governance scores, it entered a crowded but crucial market.
ESG, also known as sustainability or corporate social responsibility, is not just a nice-to-have feature. In 2019, an estimated $30 trillion of assets invested worldwide relied in some way on ESG information, up 34% since 2016. As more investors commit to sustainable investing, ESG scoring of companies and investments points the way.
As the product manager for sustainable finance solutions, Lenora Suki leads development of those scores for Bloomberg. The company announced its first environmental and social scores, covering the oil and gas industry, in August. And its first governance scores evaluate board composition for more than 4,300 companies in a variety of industries.
As Bloomberg adds new industries and new scores, Suki, who holds an MBA from MIT Sloan and is an MIT Sloan Industry Advisor, seeks ideas and feedback from experts outside the company and her area of expertise. We talked with her about how she develops ideas, how she vets them, and who is involved.