GRASFI Conference: The impact of climate engagement: Evidence from a field experiment
Type
conference contribution
Date Issued
2025-08-27
Author(s)
Abstract
We report results from a pre-registered field experiment about the impact of index
provider engagement on corporate climate policy. A randomly chosen group of 300 out
of 1227 international companies received a letter from an index provider, encouraging
the company to commit to setting a science-based climate target to remain included
in its climate transition benchmark indices. After one year, we observed a significant
effect: 21.0% of treated companies have committed, vs. 15.7% in the control group. This
suggests that engagement by financial institutions can affect corporate policies when a
feasible request is combined with a credible threat of exit.
provider engagement on corporate climate policy. A randomly chosen group of 300 out
of 1227 international companies received a letter from an index provider, encouraging
the company to commit to setting a science-based climate target to remain included
in its climate transition benchmark indices. After one year, we observed a significant
effect: 21.0% of treated companies have committed, vs. 15.7% in the control group. This
suggests that engagement by financial institutions can affect corporate policies when a
feasible request is combined with a credible threat of exit.
Language
English
Event Title
8th GRASFI Conference
Event Location
Paris
Event Date
Aug. 25 - 27