Sustainability Now

The 2026 World Cup is bringing the world to North America this summer. But the stadiums hosting the biggest sporting event on the planet face a problem no amount of ticket revenue can solve: the climate they were built for isn't the climate they're operating in. We look at which venues are most exposed to heat waves, flooding, and even the ground sinking beneath them, why this problem goes beyond the beautiful game, and why the insurance and bond markets haven't caught up to what the data already shows.
Episode Reading: What can physical hazard data tell us about the 2026 World Cup?
Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI Sustainability & Climate
Guest: Katie Towey, MSCI Sustainability & Climate

Laura Nishikawa, Head of Emerging Risks R&D at MSCI sits down with Jenn-Hui Tan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Fidelity International, as part of the MSCI Prospectives Podcast to discuss the next phase of sustainable investing. As the public narrative grows noisier and more politicized, they look past the headlines to the economic fundamentals shaping the transition and portfolio management.
The conversation explores where momentum in the energy transition is really coming from, why markets continue to struggle with physical climate risk and how investors are adapting to weaker policy signals, shifting governance dynamics and greater uncertainty in capital markets.

As food retailers work to digitize and enhance their logistics and supply networks, they’re becoming more exposed to cybersecurity risks. In this episode, we discuss how a wave of recent cyberattacks has exposed vulnerabilities across the sector — how prepared companies really are, and why investors may want to sit up and take notice.

Host: Gabriela de la Serna, MSCI Research & Development
Guest: Cole Martin, MSCI Research & Development

Flat prices, steady volumes — carbon markets in 2025 might seem uneventful. But dig a little deeper, and a clearer picture emerges: buyers are paying more for quality. We explore how media scrutiny, new rating systems, and evolving buyer expectations are reshaping how carbon credits are valued.

Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI Research & Development
Guests: Nicholas Baldwin & Utkarsh Akhouri, MSCI Research & Development

For years, institutional investors treated human rights as a checkbox exercise, something to monitor after the fact. But a new wave of regulation and stakeholder pressure is forcing a fundamental shift from passive oversight to active due diligence. In this episode, we explore how forward-thinking investors are moving beyond retroactive screening to implement proactive human rights risk management across their portfolios. 
Episode Reading: Human-Rights Risks in Portfolios: From Oversight to Due Diligence
Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI Sustainability & Climate
Gust: Aura Dron, MSCI Sustainability & Climate