Welcome to our exchanges at Goldman Sachs Markets Update for Friday, May 15th.

Each week we check them with a leader across the firm to get a quick take on what's going on in markets.

I'm Jake Seward, Global Head of Corporate Communications

here at the firm, and today's update is on the ESG market and how it's evolved through

COVID-19. We'll share a client call from our investment banking division hosted by John

Goldstein who runs the firm's Sustainable Finance Group. John was joined by some of

the top investment professionals in the field to discuss how the

pandemic has changed the ESG landscape, including how corporations and investors are

responding. Over to that call now.

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening and thank you for joining.

This is John Greenwood and I'm joined today by my colleague Rebecca Krueger. We're delighted to be able to moderate this call on ESG trends

coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This event is being hosted by Goldman Sachs Investment Banking and Global Markets Sustainable Solutions Councils.

Sustainability has remained at the top of the agenda in our client conversations, both

with corporates and investors, even in the midst of the current health crisis.

In response, Goldman Sachs is broadening its platform to help our clients navigate the

rapidly evolving landscape on climate change, corporate governance, and stakeholder engagement.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a real stress test for sustainability.

Coming out of it, we expect to see an acceleration of government policies, investor activism, and growth and sustainable investing.

Today we've assembled a group of leading practitioners to share their insights on sustainability.

Our goal is for you to walk away from this morning's call with three things.

One, practical advice for corporates on the materiality of ESG factors with a focus on corporate social responses and disclosure to stakeholders.

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