ESG data remains “critical” to investors, despite a political environment that has seen some politicians push against sustainability progress and rule makers soften their demands for non-financial reporting.

A new global survey shows sustainable investment strategies remain popular, driven by investor preferences, the regulatory environment, geopolitics and reputation management.

But rather than losing interest in ESG information, 47% of investors, asset owners and other financial institutions worry there are “gaps” in information from companies across asset classes and geographies, while 41% are concerned about data quality and 40% have concerns about inconsistent data and ratings from one information vendor to another.

David Pagliaro, president of Morningstar Sustainalytics, the consultants behind the survey, says investors “increasingly” demand forward-looking insight, particularly on climate risks and “nature impacts”.

“Even with shifting political rhetoric in some markets, the underlying demand has changed: investors want high-quality, comparable data to understand risks, support meeting regulatory obligations and to help create long-term value.”

ESG, as a concept, has been challenged by academics and market participants alike. But the fundamental view that business should be sustainable has remained unchallenged.

Climate denier

However, Donald Trump’s return to the White House brought with it policies that minimised concerns with climate change. In one decision, regulators killed off efforts to introduce mandatory climate-risk reporting standards for US companies.

The president has also withdrawn the US from the Paris climate agreement twice.

In Europe, the EU has just finalised changes that softened the demands of new sustainability reporting and due diligence standards , though they remain significant regulatory changes.

The UK, meanwhile, is working to green-light sustainability reporting standards based on those published by the International Sustainability Standards Board.

In the most recent survey, Morningstar found that a half of those questioned were either growing or maintaining their sustainable investing strategies, though 26% said they “were reframing communications around sustainable investing”.

In another survey, Morningstar found 58% of the 500 respondents said that ESG had become “more” or “much more” material in the past five years.

ESG appears to have been resilient to the changing nature of political discourse. Last month, research from the Mangrove Consultancy showed sustainability remains important to about 97% of business leaders, though 61% say they “underinvest” in this area.

Investors may worry about information gaps, but there are numerous information providers. So much so, many observers complain a “sustainability industrial complex” has emerged which may be “misaligned” with the goal of “sustainability in business”.

Alex Nichols, a specialist consultant, writes of concerns that boards may be trapped in “labyrinthine disclosure frameworks”, rather than focusing on the impact, negative or positive, of their business models on the real world.

“The sustainability industrial complex should help to manage and communicate performance—not be the ‘tail wagging the dog’,” he says.