ESG Investor’s weekly round-up of news on technology and tools in the sustainable investing sector, including Climate TRACE, MSCI, EcoAct, Deloitte, Persefoni and Deepki.
The Climate TRACE coalition has developed a new tool for tracking greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data from more than 72,000 individual sources worldwide, covering sites such as power plants, steel mills, urban road networks, and oil and gas fields. The global inventory was introduced at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, and has been contributed to by over 100 organisations, including Global Energy Monitor, Carbon Mapper and Google.org. The independently sourced information provides decision-useful information to help accelerate decarbonisation decisions worldwide, allowing world leaders, CEOs, investors, journalists, and activists to track progress toward net zero goals and prioritise where they can achieve the greatest impact. Al Gore, former US Vice President and Climate TRACE founding member, said: “This level of granularity means that we finally have emissions data that enables us to act decisively. It also means we can prioritise efforts to achieve the deep cuts in greenhouse gas pollution we need to prevent the most catastrophic impacts of the climate crisis.”
Data, analytics and research services provider MSCI has expanded its Implied Temperature Rise (ITR) metrics to include funds and indexes. Covering more than 56,000 equity and fixed income funds, the solution looks to provide equity and fixed income investors with comparable metrics to align their investment portfolios with global temperature targets. The ITR solution translates the alignment of a company’s current and projected emissions within its net zero emissions budget to an estimated rise in global temperature. Eric Moen, MSCI’s Head of ESG and Climate, said: “Expanding the ITR solution to the funds and index level will enable investors to align their decisions with critical global climate targets, demonstrate their progress to clients and stakeholders, and support the systemic transformation of capital markets to help avert the climate crisis.”
EcoAct, an international climate consultancy and project developer, has launched the EcoAct Climate Risk Platform to help firms assesses the vulnerability of physical sites to climate change hazards which can then be more easily addressed through mitigation and adaptation measures. It will provide oversight of the exposure of an organisation’s portfolio of physical sites to all 28 of the climate risks included in the EU’s environmental taxonomy, allowing users to explore different criticalities, climate scenarios and time horizons. The platform models both more anticipated climate risks, such as floods and heat waves, and less common risks, including glacial lake outburst floods, salinisation of coastal water tables and the impact of ocean acidification. Véronique Mariotti, EcoAct’s Head of Climate Risk, said: “This new platform, developed by our climate experts, and based on data from more than sixty climate risk analysis projects, can be adapted to any sector to support transformative change. It provides all organisations with the means to analyse climate scenarios, to access precise quantifications based on the latest scientific data and, ultimately, to facilitate informed decision-making with complete autonomy.”
UK-based audit, consulting, tax and advisory services firm Deloitte has partnered with climate reporting tech firm Persefoni to develop a carbon footprint measurement, disclosure and management tool for the banking and insurance sectors. Persefoni and Deloitte’s shared clients will be able to use Persefoni’s software platform and draw on Deloitte’s understanding of ESG practices and financial analytics to address their sustainability and climate goals. Ricardo Martinez, Deloitte’s Financial Services and Principal Sustainability, Climate and Equity Practice Leader, said: “Leveraging the rich data in Persefoni’s platform alongside Deloitte’s related analytics and services, we can help organisations through their end-to-end ESG transformation. Our shared clients will be able to chart those financed emissions, analyse critical business risks, identify opportunities to enhance the composition of their financed portfolio, and prepare to meet their disclosure and reporting obligations.”
A group of alternative asset managers and industry bodies in the private and syndicated credit markets have developed the ESG Integrated Disclosure Project (ESG IDP) template. It aims to enhance transparency and consistency for both private companies and credit investors by providing a standard format for ESG-related disclosures, offering private companies a baseline from which to develop their ESG reporting capacity. For investors, the ESG IDP template will enhance their ability to identify industry-specific ESG risks in their credit portfolios and compare data across alternative asset managers more consistently. The ESG IDP is led by the Alternative Credit Council (ACC), the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA), and the United Nations-convened Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). Founding partners of this new initiative include Apollo Global Management and Oak Hill Advisors who, alongside the ESG IDP’s Executive Committee, will promote the adoption of the ESG IDP template across the market. The template is further supported by a coalition of market stakeholders including CDP, the ESG Data Convergence Initiative and the Loan Market Association. Carmen Nuzzo, PRI’s Head of Fixed Income, said: “This new template will allow private creditors to have a ‘bigger voice’ during the investment process. It will streamline ESG information collection, whilst providing opportunities for meaningful conversations with borrowers. Its success now requires adoption, which we strongly urge, together with the other ESG IDP supporters.”
French real estate sector ESG data intelligence service Deepki has launched its ESG Index, which aims to aid the real estate sector in understanding the performance of their assets and meeting the challenges of the EU Taxonomy. It will be freely accessible online, providing a top 15% and top 30% in terms of performance in primary energy consumption for each asset class by country. Katie Whipp, Head of Deepki UK, said: “Our aim is to engage European markets in a consistent and progressive benchmark that promotes collaboration and shared insight in order to accelerate the industry’s transition to Net Zero and secure a more sustainable future.”
