"A new academic study shows that negative news linking a company to environmental, social, or governance (ESG) issues increases credit risk. The study used data from RepRisk, a leading provider of ESG risk analytics and metrics. Researchers at ETH Zurich, MIT Sloan, and the University of Hamburg performed the research which was published by the prestigious peer-reviewed journal ’Strategic Management Journal.’"

[COMMENTARY] These findings aren’t surprising. After all, if a company has ESG issues creditors less likely to continue lending to that company as if there are no problems. Anyway, it’s good to see these findings as it further incentivizes companies to perform better on ESG issues. And that benefits companies and investors.
Academic Research Based on RepRisk Data Shows That Negative ESG News Increases Credit Risk, press release, April 5, 2017, RepRisk, Switzerland.