The countries of Northern and Central Europe are positioned in the top 10 of the six-monthly sustainability ranking of OECD countries presented by Degroof Petercam Asset Management – asset management company of Degroof Petercam with over 50 billion euros under management and since 2002 a pioneer in responsible investments. Since 2007, the management company has been carrying out this analysis with the aim of defining the investment universe of the SRI government bond fund DPAM L Bonds Government Sustainable, from which those countries occupying the bottom half of the ranking are excluded.
The top trio is made up of Norway – in fourth place in the previous survey – Denmark e Switzerland, which ousts the Sweden from the podium thanks to a positioning of excellence in relation to all the criteria examined (even if there is room for improvement on the subject of renewable energies). In the top ten we note the entry ofHolland and Luxembourg, in eighth and ninth position respectively, while, broadening our gaze to the investable universe outlined by the ranking (made up of the 19 best countries), what emerges is the performance of France by Macron, which is once again among the investment nations of the DPAM L Bonds Government Sustainable fund. This result was made possible, in addition to the relative negative performance recorded by other countries in the ranking, by the strong commitment to the issue of climate change and by the good results obtained in terms of gender equality. However, Paris remains under observation, because, overall, its institutions do not perform particularly well in any of the dimensions of sustainability examined.
Italy is confirmed in 29th position, remaining outside the investment universe together with other important nations such as Japan (20th), Spain (27th) and the United States (28th)
THEItaly did not make significant progress compared to the second half of 2017, confirming its 29th place: the performances recorded in terms of incidence of corruption, freedom of the press and stability of institutions remain poor. Equally disappointing are the results obtained with regard to dimensions such as, on the one hand, education and innovation, real litmus papers for assessing the expectations of the younger generations, and, on the other, the poverty rate and the equitable distribution of wealth. Relatively positive signals instead come from areas such as energy efficiency, polluting emissions and the weight of renewable energy sources on the total national demand.
Among the main global economies, Italy is not the only one to have disappointed: in fact, in the lower part of the ranking also the United States, 28th, the Spain (27th) and the Japan, which however remains outside the investable universe by only one position (20th).
“We have been carrying out the sustainability analysis of OECD member countries on the basis of a proprietary methodology for more than 10 years now. In the course of this period of time, the usefulness that the classification brings with it has not diminished, indeed it has greatly strengthened. This is above all linked to the growing weight that government debt is taking on internationally: the International Monetary Fund has recently launched the 'debt alarm' which has reached an all-time high in the world having reached a record peak of 164 trillion dollars in 2016, equivalent to 225% of world GDP. This context makes it essential to identify countries capable of tackling the challenges of sustainability and committing themselves to responding to the needs of the current generation without compromising the well-being of future ones" - he commented Ophélie Mortier, responsible investment manager of Degroof Petercam AM.
The sustainability ranking – How it works
The ranking of OECD countries is elaborated by analyzing over 60 sustainability indicators, which can be influenced by the government of a nation and whose data must be quantifiable, comparable and be provided by reliable international official sources (eg World Bank, IMF, UNDP, Freedom House, World Economic Forum). Such indicators come grouped into five pillars: (i) Transparency of Institutions and Democratic Values, (ii) Environmental Protection, (iii) Population, Health and Wealth Distribution, (iv) Education and Research & Development, and (v) Economy. The indicators used to elaborate the ranking have recently been updated, assigning greater weight to phenomena of growing importance such as migratory phenomena, education and biodiversity.
Apart from these, a trend indicator, which takes into account the progress made by each country over time in terms of sustainability, in order to "reward", at the same time, the countries that have been more virtuous and also those that have made considerable progress.
