ESG Investor’s weekly round-up of news on technology and tools in the sustainable investing sector, including Apex Group, CME Group, Impact Cubed and Trove Research.
Financial services provider Apex Group is offering a Carbon Footprint Assessment and Reporting Service to help private equity funds and their portfolio companies to measure sources of emissions, implement plans to reduce their carbon footprint and provide a mechanism to offset any residual emissions. Apex’s new services quantifies and reports on a company’s Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by collecting all relevant data on a secure ESG platform to simplify the reporting requirements and seamlessly calculate a carbon footprint. Reports can be used to identify and manage major sources of emissions, while aligning with the reporting requirements of key standards and regulations. The platform uses over a million individual emission factors from the latest data sources and follows industry best practice reporting standards and regulations to understand and quantify a company’s carbon footprint and potential commercial risks. Apex also published global research finding that around half of private equity firms currently measure the carbon footprint of their investments or offset their carbon emissions, with 81% of private equity leaders agreeing that their funds and portfolio companies should take greater responsibility for their carbon footprint. “We as private companies and individuals all have a responsibility to take immediate action to understand and reduce our impact on the environment. The pressure on businesses and investors is gathering momentum and will be accelerated by all world leaders meeting at the UN COP26 this November,” said Peter Hughes, CEO and Founder of Apex Group.
CME Group, the global derivatives exchange operator, will launch next week its Sustainable Clearing service to help market participants track and report on how their hedging activities are advancing their sustainability goals. The service will be available from September 27, 2021. Sustainable derivatives encompass both the trading of new products such as carbon offsets, battery metals and bioenergy, as well as longer-established interest rate and foreign exchange futures hedging activity carried out to support a sustainable business. “Sustainability continues to be an increasing priority for our global clients as they significantly expand both the risk management that they provide to green businesses and environmental projects,” said Julie Winkler, Chief Commercial Officer, CME Group. “This new framework for clearing sustainable derivatives will make it easier for our clients to measure the impact of their support for sustainable activities and can be part of the solution to encourage further growth in this key sector as the economy transitions to net-zero emissions.” All participating futures commission merchants will be provided with Sustainable Clearing eligibility criteria to identify and tag their sustainable trades. The eligibility criteria will be aligned to external standards, such as the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) Social & Green Bond Principles.
ESG data and sustainable investment solutions provider Impact Cubed has unveiled an automated platform designed to bring transparency to the ESG characteristics of investment portfolios. The software allows institutional investors to compare investment propositions and align their portfolios with clients’ goals. The platform offers access to Impact Cubed’s robust, award-winning ESG, climate and impact data via tech-powered tools that simplify day-to-day workflows for institutional investors and wealth managers. Asset and wealth managers can use the platform to develop customised solutions aligned with client goals and show how portfolio holdings affect performance on climate, diversity and other impact measures. Asset owners, managers, banks, and insurance companies can use ready-made, modular impact reports available on-demand for marketing reports or regulatory disclosures. The platform builds on Impact Cubed’s well-established equity and debt impact models which are aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Trove Research has launched a news, data and analytics platform focused on corporate climate commitments and the voluntary carbon markets. Trove Intelligence provides the data and analysis needed by corporates, investors, traders, developers and governments to navigate the “increasingly complex world” of voluntary climate commitments, according to Trove Research, a UK-based research consultancy specialising in energy, climate and carbon markets. The platform is built around four key pillars – policy & guidance, corporate climate commitments, carbon credit projects & transactions, and carbon credit prices – as well as a searchable database of corporate climate news. Detailed data and analytics is available on a subscription basis, including market forecasts for carbon credit demand by company, market supply and price forecasts.
