Geneva, December 15, 2020 – In a context where environmental and human rights issues are gaining more and more importance, Global Risk Profile (GRP) publishes the 2020 edition of the ESG index (ESGI). This unique index measures the risks related to the environment, human rights and the health & safety of people around the world.
Europe maintains its gap with other regions of the world (25.02), with overall scores well ahead of Oceania (49.2), South America (44.89), North America (45.91), Asia (52.32) and Africa (66.35).
While Switzerland remains at the top of the ESG ranking for the third year in a row, the runner-ups on the podium are in flux with the arrival of Finland in second place and Luxembourg in third. Meanwhile, Denmark descended to 4th place.
Some European countries, such as France (16th in rank), Germany (6th), and the United Kingdom (21st), experienced little change in their respective positions.
Other trends are noteworthy, particularly concerning sub-index performance. Similar to 2019, India is among the countries with high risk to keep an eye on (position 146 out of 176 countries), and with a particularly low score in regards to the environment. The year 2020 is also marked by the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement (effective November 4, 2020), a decision that cost the country a few ranks in the environment sub-index (28th in 2019, 34th in 2020). Nevertheless, the United States progressed in other dimensions, ensuring a general ESG climb in 2020 (44th position in 2019, 39th in 2020).
Russia has a poor rank in the realm of human rights, dropping from 128th to 135th in this sub-index. Despite its generally poor performance, Brazil is in a positive trend this year jumping from 102nd to 83rd in human rights, progressing 5 places in the general ranking.
The ranking ends with Chad, the country with the highest risk this year, closely followed by Liberia, Afghanistan, Guinea and Burundi.
ESGI’s 2020 results, including interactive data visualization and technical documentation, are available on the website: https://risk-indexes.com/esg-index/.
About the ESGI
The ESG Index (ESGI) measures issues related to three key areas: the environment (30%), Human Rights (50%) and Health & Safety (20%). Based on a set of 44 variables, the ESGI’s third edition offers a risk score on a 0-100 range, where 0 represents the lowest risk and 100 the highest risk. A rank and a risk evaluation are also provided for each jurisdiction.
About GRP
Global Risk Profile (GRP) is a leading Swiss company specializing in third-party risk management related services. Since its foundation in 2009, GRP has placed Due Diligence at the heart of its activities. Its services now range from compliance software solutions to Due Diligence checks & investigations with various coverage and scope, suitable for both multinationals and small businesses.
