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Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York:

Ahead of proxy season in the US, Boston-based State Street Global Advisors, one of the world's largest asset managers, has issued a new letter to companies designed to move the ball forward on ESG issues. The $2.4 trillion firm is specifically focusing in on social and environmental issues as part of its proxy push this cycle.

US companies have historically lagged their European counterparts when it comes to building a strategy with all three legs of environmental, social and governance in mind. Typically, US companies have focused on the already robust governance environment in North America, while environmental and social issues have only started coming to the fore more recently. In the letter, SSGA included a new set of governance recommendations that touch on all three areas and is telling companies that they plan to evaluate their strategies based on how companies are handling the full scope of ESG.

"Historically, SSGA has focused on things like independent board leadership in our conversations with companies," explains Rakhi Kumar, Managing Director & Head of Corporate Governance, SSGA in an interview with Opalesque. "What we wanted to do with this letter was be transparent with companies and tell them that we expect to see all three areas addressed as we head into the future."

Alongside this effort, SSGA announced today that it is part of a broader group of investors and asset managers that is ......................

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