ISS STOXX’s Quarterly Engagement Update – Q2 2026: Life on Land, Gender Equality, and Clean Water Emerge as the Most Engaged SDG Themes

Preamble

ISS STOXX’s Quarterly Engagement Update series highlights key trends that emerge through activities conducted on behalf of participating investors under ISS STOXX’s Collaborative Engagement Services. These services allow investors to participate in cost-effective joint outreach and dialogue with companies on material sustainability-related themes.

The services also support global investor compliance and reporting requirements with regard to voluntary and statutory stewardship frameworks, including the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), the EU Shareholder Rights Directive II (SRD II), and stewardship codes across the globe.

The Collaborative Engagement Services leverage ISS STOXX’s expertise, research, and data to identify key performance indicators for corporate improvement and momentum that are aligned with recognized standards such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Through collaborative engagement, institutional investors can strengthen their focus on sustainability issues and effectively convey their concerns to investee company management. ISS STOXX supports this process by facilitating engagement on behalf of participating clients, driving change through active ownership and constructive dialogue. Key areas of focus include enhancing disclosure, encouraging improved sustainability performance, and mitigating sustainability risks.

ISS STOXX’s Collaborative Engagement Services consist of two elements:

• The Norm-Based Engagement Solution (formerly known as ‘Pooled Engagement’) is based on outreach to a select universe of upwards of 100 public companies annually. Companies are identified based on their involvement in alleged violations of human rights and labor rights and breaches of environment- and corruption-related recognized international standards, including the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the UN Global Compact, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
• The Thematic Engagement Solution – launched in 2022 – prioritizes outreach to a select universe of 30-50 public companies per theme over a two-year or three-year engagement cycle. It focuses on companies identified as underperforming in the areas of Net Zero, Gender Equality, Water, and Biodiversity.

Collaborative Engagement Activity

In Q2 2026, ISS STOXX facilitated engagement on behalf of signatory investors with a total of 130 companies across 160  topics (+13%). ISS STOXX conducted engagements with 53 companies under Norm-Based Engagement, the Thematic Engagement solution facilitated engagement with 79  companies, and 2 companies were engaged with both solutions.

Table 1: Collaborative Engagement Activity, Q2 2026

Companies engaged with	Topics engaged on
130	160

Source: ISS STOXX

Figure 1 shows the distribution of engagement activities for Q2 2026. The engagement intensity was very high during the quarter, particularly for written responses, with 112 written responses received and 13 engagement meetings conducted on behalf of investors.

Figure 1: Distribution of Engagement Activities, Q2 2026

Quality of Company Participation in Engagement

The Q2 2026 Engagement Assessment considers the extent to and depth in which a company has addressed the questions posed. A company’s quality of participation was assessed as adequate, good, or excellent for 61% of the companies engaged during the quarter, while 32% either did not respond or deferred their response.

Figure 2: Quality of Company Participation in Engagement

Patterns of Engagement by Region

The companies engaged with are spread out globally, with domiciles in North America (35%); Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) (34%); Asia-Pacific (APAC) (27%); and Latin America (4%).

Figure 3: Regional Distribution

The most engaged countries were the United States in North America; Japan and India in APAC; and the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France in EMEA.

 Figure 4: Geographic Distribution

Patterns of Engagement by Topic

Across the 160 topics that ISS STOXX facilitated engagement on during Q2 2026, Social topics (50%) and Environment topics (47%) were well balanced, while 3% of the topics concerned the Governance pillar.

Figure 5: Sustainability Areas Breakdown

A detailed analysis of the sustainability topics breakdown reveals that, among the Environment-related engagements facilitated by ISS STOXX in Q2 2026, the most frequently discussed topics were Environment Norms and Water. Within the area of Environment Norms, the most common sub-topics focus on controversies related to biodiversity and environmental impacts.

Among Social topics, most of the engagements focused on violations of Human Rights Norms, followed closely by Gender Equality. In the area of Human Rights Norms, the most common sub-topics included controversies related to indigenous rights and living standards.

Figure 6: Sustainability Topics Breakdown

The topics that ISS STOXX facilitated collaborative engagement on in Q2 2026 covered 14 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The most frequently addressed SDGs were SDG 15: Life on Land, followed by SDG 5: Gender Equality, and SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.

Figure 7: SDG Breakdown

Case Study

The anonymized case study below provides a concise example of engagement on water that took place during the quarter. This case highlights actionable insights and outcomes.

Table 2: Case Study

INDUSTRY: Beverages	REGION: EMEA	TOPIC: Water
In the course of an engagement dialogue conducted by ISS STOXX, through its Sustainability Engagement team and on behalf of participating investors, regarding the company’s water management strategy and reduction of water-related impacts, the company responded through both engagement meetings and written responses. The company outlined its approach to water stewardship. It described its wastewater monitoring practices, water recycling and reuse initiatives, and water risk management processes, including the use of site-level assessments and recognised water-risk tools. The company also highlighted participation in water replenishment and collective action programmes in priority water basins. In its written responses, the company confirmed the application of a global wastewater standard and provided an overview of its Water Stewardship Strategy, covering operations, supply chains, communities, and advocacy. It also reported progress on water-efficiency improvements, water replenishment efforts, and supplier water stewardship expectations through its supplier standards and guidance. ISS STOXX closed this engagement in Q2 2026 after observing that the company had achieved all the outstanding engagement objectives. Based on the progress demonstrated throughout the engagement process and the quality of the company’s participation, the engagement outcome was assessed as High Impact.

Future Action

For over a decade, a mix of soft and hard law initiatives, coupled with growing investor demand, has driven the global expansion of active ownership practices—particularly engagement. These trends have fostered more standardized frameworks for investment stewardship, enabling investors to seek meaningful change in the companies they invest in.

ISS STOXX’s Collaborative Engagement Services, including Norm-Based Engagement and the Thematic Engagement Solution, are available to support investors in this important area of their stewardship practice. In Q3 and Q4 2026, investors will be invited to join new collaborative engagement cycles focusing, respectively, on alleged or verified breaches of international norms and frameworks, and on the themes of water, biodiversity, and gender equality.