This fund lands in the 10% of strategies with the highest ESG risk in the Energy Sector Equity category, earning it the lowest Morningstar Sustainability Rating of 1 globe. Funds with 4 or 5 globes tend to hold securities that are less exposed to ESG risk. Unlike impact, which focuses on generating positive environmental and societal outcomes, ESG risk measures the degree to which investments could be affected by material ESG issues, including climate change, biodiversity, product safety, community relations, data privacy and security, bribery and corruption, and corporate governance.
One potential issue for a sustainability-focused investor is that SPDR® S&P Oil & Gas Explor & Prodtn ETF doesn’t have an ESG-focused mandate. Funds with an ESG-focused mandate are more likely to align with the expectations of an investor who cares about sustainability issues. An ESG issue worthy of special attention is SPDR® S&P Oil & Gas Explor & Prodtn ETF's carbon risk exposure. The fund’s asset-weighted Carbon Risk Score of 46.0 is classed as high. Investee companies of this portfolio are therefore positioned to fare poorly in the transition to a low-carbon economy. Investments with high carbon risk classification will likely be disadvantaged in the transition to net zero, while those with low or negligible carbon risk may fare better. Currently, the fund has 97.9% involvement in fossil fuels, which is high in both absolute and relative terms. The average peer in the same Equity Energy category has 87.0% exposure to fossil fuel-related businesses. Companies are considered involved in fossil fuels if they derive at least 5% of their revenue from thermal coal, oil, and gas.
No companies held by SPDR® S&P Oil & Gas Explor & Prodtn ETF are recognized as being involved in controversies at a high or severe level. From bribery and corruption to workplace discrimination and environmental incidents, controversies are incidents that have a negative impact on stakeholders or the environment, which create some degree of financial risk for the company. Severe and high controversies can have significant financial repercussions, ranging from legal penalties to consumer boycotts. In addition, they can damage the reputation of both companies themselves and their shareholders.