The ESG risk of VanEck Natural Resources ETF's holdings is comparable to its peers in the Natural Resources Sector Equity category, thus earning an average Morningstar Sustainability Rating of 3 globes. Funds in the same category rated 4 or 5 globes tend to hold securities less exposed to ESG risk. ESG risk measures the degree to which material environmental, social, and governance issues, such as climate change, biodiversity, human capital, as well as bribery and corruption, could affect valuations. ESG risk differs from impact, which is about driving positive environmental and social outcomes for society’s benefit.
One potential issue for a sustainability-focused investor is that VanEck Natural Resources ETF doesn’t have an ESG-focused mandate. Funds with an ESG-focused mandate would have a higher probability to drive positive ESG outcomes. One area to watch is the strategy’s carbon risk exposure. Although VanEck Natural Resources ETF's 12-month asset-weighted Carbon Risk Score of 24.2 is classed as medium, it is situated at the higher end of the medium carbon risk band, indicating that the fund's portfolio holdings would fare worse than its peers in the transition to a low-carbon economy. Investors concerned about the transition risks may prefer to consider funds with negligible or low carbon risk. These funds invest in companies that tend to operate in sectors less exposed to the transition (such as healthcare and IT) and/or companies in more carbon-intensive sectors (such as industrials and utilities) but that consider climate change in their business strategy and products, and therefore are positively aligned with the transition. Currently, the fund has 60.2% involvement in fossil fuels, which is high in both absolute and relative terms. The fossil fuel involvement of funds in the same Natural Resources category averages 28.6%. Companies are considered involved in fossil fuels if they derive at least 5% of their revenue from thermal coal, oil, and gas. The fund exhibits high exposure (14.34%) to companies with severe controversies. Controversies are incidents that have a negative impact on stakeholders or the environment, which create some degree of financial risk for the company. Examples of types of controversies include bribery and corruption scandals, workplace discrimination and environmental incidents. Severe and high controversies can have significant financial repercussions, ranging from legal penalties to consumer boycotts. Such controversies can also damage the reputation of both companies themselves and their shareholders.