ESG Investor’s weekly round-up of news on technology and tools in the sustainable investing sector.
US-based investment manager Invesco has launched a new in-house ESG ratings tool, providing coverage of ESG insights, metrics and data points of over 8,000 companies. The tool, named ESGintel, will also include companies with no public data currently available, making use of data sets from Bloomberg ESG, Sustainalytics’ controversies and climate data, ISS carbon data, science-based targets and carbon disclosure scores from CDP. “We see this tool as a key building block to having a transparent and proprietary viewpoint on ESG for all our holdings,” said Cathrine De Coninck-Lopez, global head of ESG at Invesco.
The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) has translated its Standards Application Guidance and Implementation Primer into French, German, Japanese and Spanish. The guidance is a short technical document providing guidance on standards conformance, reporting boundaries, format, controls and assurance, while the primer is a lengthier resource detailing how to use SASB standards. “Amidst growing international use of SASB Standards, it is a high priority for us to deliver translated standards and implementation guidance to the markets as soon as possible,” said Janine Guillot, CEO at SASB. French, Spanish, Japanese and German translations of SASB’s 77 industry standards are also expected to be published in early 2021.
Leading ESG data science firm RepRisk and fund administration service provider Apex Group have announced a strategic partnership to expand access to ESG risk data for market participants. The partnership seeks to close to gap for an underserved market of private companies by offering a global, independent ESG tool based on data insights provided by RepRisk. Apex’s current ESG rating and advisory portal now includes RepRisk analytics reports and data, allowing for ESG insights for private investors and companies. “In combination with Apex’s analysis on company disclosures and reporting, we’re able to provide a uniquely holistic picture of a company’s ESG profile,” said Alexandra Mihailescu Cichon, vice president of sales and marketing at RepRisk.
The JPX ESG Knowledge Hub has been launched by Japan Exchange Group, operator of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, to provide in-depth guidance on ESG disclosure. Provided through JPX’s website, the hub aims to be a ‘one-stop’ platform for ESG investment and sustainable finance-related information. A variety of up-to-date information and guidance will provided by parties including institutional investors, regulators and the Japanese government will be available in the form of seminars, examples guidance framework and relevant information packs.
Software and data engineering consultancy Digiterre has announced a partnership with financial services software group BITA Risk to build and implement the ESG functionality for BITA Risk’s BITA Wealth platform. BITA Wealth, a platform for private wealth owners and investors, forms part of corfinancial’s wealth platform, and is used to construct, analyse, monitor and report on client portfolios. “ESG data screening and management is a key barrier to the widespread adoption of sustainable investing. The combination of our wealth management expertise and Digiterre’s renown in the areas of data engineering and utilisation is resulting in a compelling proposition,” said Bruce Hobson, CEO at corfinancial.
