Each week, Just Auto’s journalists pick out insights from company filings that highlight sentiments in our sector. These filings signals are based on GlobalData’s analysis of earnings statements, call transcripts, investor presentations and sustainability reports. They tell us about key topics on the minds of business leaders and investors, and the themes driving a company’s activities.
This new, thematic filings coverage is powered by our underlying Disruptor data which tracks all major deals, patents, company filings, hiring patterns and social media buzz across our sectors.
GlobalData’s analysis of automotive industry company filings – embracing earnings statements, investor presentations and call transcripts – shows that ESG (environmental, social and governance) was the top theme for mentions. The term embraces environmental aspects of performance that would include areas such as energy efficiency, carbon footprint and water management. The social aspect includes health and safety, diversity and inclusion policies, while governance includes corporate governance and management measures that mitigate risks in areas such as corruption, bribery and cybersecurity.
ESG is emerging as a key factor for investors in deciding on investment strategies and a number of investment funds now highlight their strategies in the context of reducing negative ESG impacts and enhancing positive ESG impacts. Companies are therefore increasingly highlighting their ESG policies and associated metrics.
Second in the themes ranking is ‘environment’, a sign that companies in the sector are placing high priority on their communication of strategy and policy in the context of influencing external perceptions of their environmental credentials.
Third in the themes ranking is ‘energy’, a subject of increasing concern in the automotive sector. Not only is energy relevant to environmental aspects of corporate performance, but higher energy prices over the past eighteen months have also brought increasing concerns over cost management, particularly in manufacturing. There are also knock-on impacts for supply chain risks and identifying supply difficulties caused indirectly by energy price volatility.
