ESG in a pandemic world is RBC Global Asset Management’s fifth annual global survey of institutional investors’ perceptions regarding responsible investment. For this year’s report, RBC GAM surveyed 805 institutional asset owners, investment consultants and investment professionals in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia between May and July 2021.

The 2021 survey highlighted that while ESG (environmental, social, governance) adoption remains near peak levels amongst institutional investors globally, there is a sizable group of institutional investors (29%) who have placed greater emphasis on ESG considerations as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. These investors are also the most vigorous supporters of ESG as an enabler of investment performance, as nearly all of this group (97%) believe ESG integrated portfolios are likely to perform as well or better than non-ESG integrated portfolios, a significant difference compared to the overall global respondents who said the same (83%).

While the number of investors who use ESG appears to have plateaued over the past several years, there remains a geographic divide when it comes to adopting ESG principles. European investors remain most committed to ESG adoption for the fifth straight year, with 96% of European respondents using ESG in their investment approach. In contrast, U.S. investors remain the most skeptical, with just 64% of respondents using ESG. Although a strong majority of Canadian investors adopt ESG principles, this year saw a slight decrease, as 81% of respondents said they used ESG principles – still a strong majority but down from 89% last year. Asian investors continue to show an increase in ESG adoption, with 76% of respondents using ESG principles this year, compared with 72% in 2020.