This report defines ESG as “an approach that seeks to incorporate environmental, social and governance factors into asset allocation and risk decisions, so as to generate sustainable, long-term financial returns” and earth observation (EO)/geospatial ESG as “the use of geospatial data [including EO] to generate ESG relevant insights into a specific commercial asset, company, portfolio or geographic area.” Based on insights from the World Bank Group (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) the main ESG-related tasks undertaken by IFIs are data provision, advisory services, and standard setting. The WBG looks at three key ESG-related topics: sustainable finance, corporate ESG and sovereign ESG.
