Knowledge is power when it comes to managing ESG risks – CPHI Frankfurt preview

For more on managing exposure to ESG risks, register to attend CPHI Frankfurt this November

Morningstar Sustainalytics is a leading provider of ESG research, ratings and data that uses independent information to evaluate a corporate’s ESG Performance and risk profile. To shed light on the ESG risks faced by the life sciences industry, Andres Barrera, Senior Sales Associate at Sustainalytics, and Daphné van Osch, Director, will present the session ESG Risks in Pharma and Biotech – How to Manage your Exposure at CPHI Frankfurt this year. Their presentation will take place on November 3 – Register here.  

We caught up with Daphné and Andres to preview their session and chat about risk mitigation strategies. 

Image L-R: Daphné van Osch and Andres Barrera

What will your session at CPHI Frankfurt focus on?    

Our session will be focused on ESG Risk Ratings and the data that Sustainalytics evaluates to understand a company’s ESG performance. The world’s leading corporations, lenders and banks rely on our ESG Risk Ratings to identify and understand the financially material ESG issues (MEIs) that can affect their organisation’s long-term performance.   

Who will benefit from the session?    

The session will be aimed at any corporate personnel in the pharma industry that wish to measure the size of their organisation’s unmanaged ESG risk to act and mitigate their exposure, while determining areas of improvement and compare their ESG Risk Rating score to industry peers. This session will support companies that want to proactively and clearly communicate what they are doing in the area of ESG, seeking to tie the ESG Risk Rating to Sustainability Linked Financing, remuneration policies, M&A and/or listings purposes. 

What are the greatest ESG risks companies in the life sciences industry are facing at the moment?   

Particularly for the companies classified in the pharmaceuticals subindustry, we assess 9 different Material ESG Issues (MEIs), namely: 

• Social Impact of Products 
• Product Governance 
• Business Ethics 
• Corporate Governance 
• Emissions, Effluents and Waste 
• Human Capital 
• Access to Basic Services 
• Carbon - Own Operations 
• Bribery and Corruption   

Why is it important for companies to understand their ESG risk exposure?  

Measuring is knowing. By assessing the ESG Risk Exposure, companies can understand their vulnerability to the risk associated to any particular ESG issue and take actions to mitigate that risk. This will allow corporations to understand the materiality of their ESG policies and practices, while stepping up to meet the expectations of their key stakeholders, including their shareholder and investors, suppliers, customer, employees, and society in general. 

Why are you attending CPHI Frankfurt this year?     

We participate to share our knowledge on the ESG materiality in the pharma industry and inform the participants in different (solicited) rating options and the different use cases. We look forward to expanding our network and connecting with companies that want to assess their ESG performance to make a positive impact in ESG. The pharma industry is a highly exposed industry where it is important for companies to understand and manage their ESG material risks. 

We have a packed agenda of sessions content and networking opportunities at this year’s event. What are you most looking forward to?     

We are mostly interested in understanding what sustainability-related initiatives are being taken in the pharma industry and how Sustainalytics, as an independent ESG rater, can support the new roadmap of the industry to meet sustainable international objectives. 

CPHI’s new brand line is ‘At the Heart of Pharma’ - what does that mean to you?  

We understand the new brand as an opportunity to dig deeper into pharma’s latest innovations and to connect with the organisations that are leading the new goals and objectives of the sector.