However, corporate funds vary considerably when the type of plan is considered, with just 7 percent of corporate defined benefit plans using ESG; 24 percent of corporate defined contribution plans, on the other hand, are incorporating ESG into the mix.

Also, the survey found that the larger the plan, the more likely it is to use ESG factors in decisionmaking: 35 percent of funds larger than $20 billion use ESG in some aspect of decisionmaking, while funds with less than $3 billion incorporate ESG factors at a rate of 26 percent.

A separate survey by Callan of its proprietary investment manager database revealed that 14 percent of all products in its database use ESG in their investment decisions.

Global equity has the highest percentage of products using ESG, at 25 percent; real estate came in at 24 percent, and non-U.S. fixed income at 23 percent.

U.S. equity strategies lagged the field at just 9 percent. (Other reports, such as a recent SIF Foundation report, find higher concentrations in U.S. ESG investments—and in October the Department of Labor issued updated guidance on ESG factors to make it easier for plan sponsors to incorporate it into retirement plans.)

The top reasons cited by investment managers for using ESG were risk mitigation, at 48 percent, and alpha generation at 27 percent.

Shareholder engagement came in at 9 percent, with social reasons at 8 percent.

“Other” as a category captured 20 percent, and included, among others, such reasons as: to make informed investment decisions; at the client’s request; to assess and/or create value; and as part of normal research process.