Sustainable Investment Awards 2021

ESG data provider of the year: FactSet

With the launch earlier this year of its SDG Monitor, which allows customers to see how companies align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), FactSet added to its set of real-time environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores.

Jonathan ReeveFactSet currently offers more than 30 datasets integrated from data from over 900 third-party providers providing ESG data for over 151,000 users. Using its analytics and flexible technology, FactSet provides ESG scores that flag both positive and negative directions of travel and with how much momentum companies are travelling in these directions.

At the end of last year, FactSet added to its ESG data offering by acquiring Truvalue Labs, which leverages algorithms to sift through millions of data points to uncover ESG intelligence hidden in unstructured, third-party data from more than 100,000 sources such as articles, social media and financial filings in 13 languages. This provides actionable information on how companies are behaving on issues ranging from carbon emissions to labour relations and more.

"We are continuously seeking new ways to innovate and to deliver ESG insights that move the needle for the investment community, most notably with our recent acquisition and integration of Truvalue Labs," said Jonathan Reeve, head of content and technology solutions at FactSet. "We are thrilled to receive this honour for our comprehensive data offering to support ESG research and strategies. This recognition serves as a testament to the value we deliver to the industry."

"The use of AI is important and frequently updated information allows users to assess data in real-time while being integrated with other platforms contributes to ease of use," said one Environmental Finance Sustainable Investment Awards judge, while another added the "push to closer to real-time data is an important development."