ESG Controversy Case Study:

Boeing:The 737-MAX MCAS scandal

July 15, 2022

Two Boeing 737-MAX aircraft crashed in 2018 and 2019. Investigations revealed that the fatalities were caused by the Boeing-developed MCAS and a lack of pilot training. Our news-based ESG Controversy Scoring Framework captured the different dimensions of this scandal

Boeing databite

Two Boeing 737-MAX aircraft crashed on October 29, 2018, and March 10, 2019, killing a total of 346 people.

Investigations found that the accidents were caused by the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) developed by Boeing and that the company did not adequately train pilots to operate the new flight stabilization system.

Our news-based ESG Controversy Scoring Framework captured the different dimensions of this scandal, as follows:

2018 2019 2020 Corporate reputation Product quality Management and board Fraud and sanctions 0 2 4 6 8 ESG Controversy Scores October 29th, 2018 Lion Air flight crashes into the Java Sea shortly after taking off from Jakarta. March 10th, 2019 Ethiopian Airlines flight crashes after taking off from Addis Ababa. March 10th to March 13th, 2019 Within three days, the 737-MAX is grounded by flight regulators worldwide. October 30th 2019 CEO Denis Muilenburg testifies before two U.S. committees, Boeing’s head of commercial aviation steps down. December 23rd 2019 The CEO resigns just before Christmas.

It's often difficult to follow all the news to build a complete ESG picture, particularly when events are less reported. Benefits from local and global newswire coverage, RavenPack’s ESG controversy framework gives investors the opportunity to identify companies involved in controversial events reported in local news outlets before the information reaches the mainstream media. Furthermore, RavenPack’s decades-long news archive and global coverage provides investors with the ability to derive insights from a unique source of sustainability signals.

Check out other ESG controversy case studies that have been widely reported, to understand how the RavenPack ESG Scoring Framework works, or request a trial to explore how it could help you stay on top of ESG controversies impacting your brands or portfolios.

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ESG Controversy Databite series

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RavenPack’s ESG Controversy Scoring Framework is based on real-time detections of events across 40,000+ news sources in 13 different languages. It follows an event-based approach that can help assess the extent of a firm’s ESG controversy exposure through time by monitoring real-time news coverage.

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