ESG Investor’s weekly round-up of news on technology and tools in the sustainable investing sector, including NN Investment Partners, SDI AOP, ESG Book, ISS ESG, Likvidi, Alcumus.
NN Investment Partners (NN IP) has agreed to use the SDI AOP dataset to support the alignment of its investment decision making with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It will initially use the data to feed into its proprietary frameworks and models to identify companies that are considered sustainable investments in the context of Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) requirements. The asset manager plans to expand on its existing client reporting capabilities using the data to optimise reporting on SDG exposures on its strategies. “We did extensive due diligence on global SDG data sets, and ultimately, we concluded that the SDI AOP provides the most credible and meaningful output thanks to the transparency of their methodology, the fact that it’s been developed specifically for the purpose of SDG alignment and finally, the innovative approach combining both machine learning and human validation,” said Arnoud Diemers, Head of the Responsible Investing & Innovation Platform at NN IP. The Sustainable Development Investments Asset Owner Platform (SDI AOP) was founded in 2020 by asset-owners APG, AustralianSuper, British Colombia Investment Management and PGGM to advance the standard for investing into the SDGs. Qontigo acts as the sales and marketing arm for the data, which contains approximately 8,700 companies.
ESG Book, a central digital source for corporate sustainability data, is collaborating with Google Cloud to deliver “next-generation ESG data solutions through cloud technology”. Launched by sustainable investment solutions provider Arabesque in December 2021, ESG Book enables companies to manage their ESG data through a digital platform, providing framework-neutral information in real time. The collaboration will enable Google Cloud’s customers access to ESG Book’s suite of sustainability data products and solutions through Google Cloud’s Analytics Hub, providing a centralised and streamlined data delivery experience at scale. This will open up access to ESG Book’s sustainability metrics and data on corporate greenhouse gas emissions and green revenues, together with its proprietary regulatory solutions addressing Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures and Taxonomy requirements.
ISS ESG, the responsible investment arm of Institutional Shareholder Services, is to supply climate-related data and reporting to Eurosystem central banks under a framework agreement. Deutsche Bundesbank, acted as lead central bank, but all other Eurosystem central banks have the opportunity to join the agreement. ISS ESG will supply the Eurosystem with the data and information needed to implement its common stance for applying climate-related sustainable investment principles in euro-denominated non-monetary policy portfolios. The Eurosystem central banks last year defined their common stance for applying climate-related sustainable investment principles. All members aim to start climate-related disclosures for the NMPPs in Q1 2023, including the measurement and disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions, using the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures as the initial minimum framework and reporting, in the category of metrics and targets.
Likvidi, a Finnish sustainable finance company, has launched a digital carbon credit trading platform to provide a new mechanism for companies to offset their carbon footprint. The Liquid Carbon Credit (LCO2) is a tokenized carbon credit designed to be traded at high liquidity on Likvidi’s own platform and on other blockchain-based exchanges and platforms. LCO2 is a ‘real-world digital asset’, with each credit equivalent to one tonne of carbon removed from the atmosphere. This gives the holder the ability to buy, trade, and offset carbon credits to achieve net-zero status. The LCO2 features include transparent origin, audit trail and instant trading, via the Likvidi platform. Likvidi’s blockchain-based solution uses Verra-registered carbon credits from regenerative projects, including agriculture and forestry, opening up a new income stream for farmers and forest administrators. LCO2 can be used to offset a company’s carbon footprint by retiring the tokens.
UK-based ESG risk management provider Alcumus has unveiled a new solution for organisations needing to manage sustainability risks across their supply chain. Designed to maximise supply chain compliance and visibility, the new solution is an expansion of its flagship Alcumus SafeContractor solution, which increases the range of supplier types and associated risk categories. The new solution also enables tailored assessments by the Alcumus in-house audit team to verify suppliers against key policies. Further, Alcumus can now accredit and verify across the full breadth of health and safety, sustainability, modern slavery, data privacy, insurances, quality, and financial status for organisations in the UK.
