ESG Data Guide 2023

Turning knowledge into action

Environmental Finance: What do you anticipate will be the main drivers for change in the ESG investment market over the next year?

Maximilian Horster: I see three key drivers in the ESG market over the next 12 months. Regulatory developments, including self-regulatory developments and investor initiatives; new investment vehicles and ESG investment approaches popping up at a large scale; and new financial market participants entering the ESG market which so far have not been overly affected by ESG. This keeps us busy, as all these trends will require investors to understand data, seek guidance and undertake reporting.

Maximilian HorsterEF: What are the main regulatory and self-regulatory developments investors will need to respond to?

MH: Firstly, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), EU Taxonomy and EU driven regulations that seek to create transparency in asset management will be a top priority. A lot of investors turn to our dedicated solutions to quickly adhere to those.

Secondly, biodiversity is a big topic, currently being driven by the French regulators, but also under discussion in the Netherlands and in other regions too. The SDG Impact Rating is one of ISS ESG’s solutions already supporting investors in this area, plus our upcoming dedicated Biodiversity Footprint Solution will fully support incoming regulatory requirements.

Thirdly, the net-zero movement and the commitment of asset managers and asset owners to make sure that their investments will be aligned with the net-zero pledges. Our clients seek respective data and guidance from our dedicated Climate team – which just had its 10th anniversary.

To adhere to these initiatives and regulations you need to have access to data that help you assess your exposures to the different aspects that the regulation covers. However, it doesn’t just stop at data. Especially for real world impact, engagement and voting is crucial, which is why so many investors like to link our ESG data with our respective solutions.

EF: Have you observed any regional developments of note?

MH: Over the past twelve months, the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States has prompted investors to focus further on director ethnicity data. ISS ESG has augmented its director datasets, indices and voting policies as a result. Interestingly, an analysis of Russell 3000 companies found higher-than-average ISS EVA quality (this is our analytics solution which measures and values corporate performance) in firms with significant diversity characteristics.

A further development of note is the focus on cyber risk. Our ISS ESG Cyber Risk Score team has highlighted this in the recent S&P 500 case study, Systemic Risks In The Technology Supply Chain.

EF: How has ISS ESG developed its offering to support investors bringing new investment vehicles or approaches to market?

MH: Historically, there was a notion that there wasn’t sufficient ESG data out there. We have now reached a point where the opposite is true. There’s almost too much data and the challenge for investors is to navigate it. For example, just on the topic of climate change, for an individual company we have now over 600 data points you could assess.

In response, we have further invested in our Client Success Team across the globe. They are helping investors turn this data into knowledge that is actionable and customisable to their own investment approaches. This is something our clients appreciate tremendously. We do not leave them alone with large amounts of high-quality data points that can be overwhelming.

Secondly, we’ve integrated our ESG data deeper into our engagement offering and voting solutions. Our solutions do not just stop at building new investment strategies or ESG screening. An investor can make their voice heard through voting in the boardrooms of companies in their portfolios, for example on climate.

EF: What are your thoughts on the collaboration of efforts and knowledge sharing in the ESG investment space?

MH: The collaboration of investors on certain topics, such as Climate Action 100+ and net zero, is very powerful. It is leveraging the power of shareholders. We also partner with the best index providers out there to create innovative ESG index products. If a good ESG data provider combines with a good ESG index provider then you are bringing together best-in-class elements. This can give you better results than just using a one-stop-shop solution.

EF: Are there any new market participants that you expect to be involved in ESG developments?

MH: Banks! They are coming to the table – driven by regulation. Banks are now being asked to run climate stress tests and integrate ESG into their lending decisions. That has really changed the ESG landscape because banks have not previously played a central role in ESG discussions.

As of next year, banks of a certain size in the Eurozone, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK, among others, will have to run climate stress tests. All the banks in these regions will need to show that they understand climate risks in their lending practices and have them under control. They’re keeping us on our toes already! As such, I foresee that banks will play a greater part in ESG discussions going forward.

Guide entries by ISS ESG

Verification (Third Party)

Carbon Emissions Scope 3 footprint

Modern Slavery footprint

Species extinction-risk footprint

TIDE

iSA, iS, impak Score™, SFDR+i

Rainforest Alliance & Conservation International

Mettle Capital ESG Risk platform

MIS Second Party Opinion

nZero

Seafood Database

Second Party Opinion

ESG Rating, Reporting and Advisory

Climate and environment data hub

Sustainability Copilot

ESGSignals®

Sanctify ESG

Asset-level Indicators

Asset-based Analytics

Asset-based Company Indicators – Essential and Advanced

Bloomberg Sustainable Finance Solutions

India ESG datasets [BRSR taxonomy available]

9fin ESG

CLIMATE RISK IMPACT SCREENING (CRIS) for Climate Physical Risk

CARBON IMPACT ANALYTICS (CIA) For climate transition risk

CDP 2022 GHG Raw Emissions Dataset

CDP 2022 Full GHG Modelled Emissions Dataset

CDP 2022 Risks and Opportunities Dataset

CDP 2022 Scores

CDP 2022 TCFD-Aligned Climate Change Dataset

CDP 2022 Temperature Ratings

ChemScore

Global Landscape of Climate Finance

ESG Portfolio Check

Sustainable Finance Ai Suite (ESG, EU Taxonomy, Supply Chain Risk)

ESG Lead

Horizon

EF Data

Equileap Gender Equality Data

Ethical Screening Portal

OneTrack

Coller FAIRR Protein Producer Index

ESG research, data and reporting solutions

Forests & Finance

Forest 500

GLYNT

Greenomy EU Taxonomy/SFDR/EET Solution

Corporate Ratings

ETF Fund Ratings

Issuer ESG and SDG Benchmarking

Municipal Bond Data and Ratings

US Retirement Plans, including 401(k) and 403(b)

Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool

CBF – Corporate Biodiversity Footprint

SB2A – Science-Based 2°C Alignment

Global Impact Database

FinanceMap

LobbyMap

ESG Impact Rating

Green Bond Transparency Platform (GBTP)

Investverte

Corporate Governance Information Search

JPX ESG Indices

LGX DataHub

Climate Data by Moody’s

ESG Data by Moody’s

Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network

Nasdaq ESG Data Hub

Nasdaq ESG Data Portal

Nasdaq ESG Footprint

Informe Anual OFISO

ESG Solutions

Resolution Database

Second Party Opinions

SDI Asset Owner Platform

ESG Disclosures and Sustainability Report Assurance

Second-Party Opinions on Sustainable Bonds and Loans

Supply Chain ESG Risk Platform

UN SDG Impact Assurance

SIGWATCH

Sugi

SustainaBase

Sustainable Fitch ESG Ratings

Geospatial ESG Solutions

Sovereign ESG Ratings

MARK

White Stag Investing Investment Research in Water, Oceans and Biodiversity

ClimateWatch

Forest Atlases

Global Forest Watch

Global Forest Watch Pro

LandMark

PREPdata

Resource Watch

WRI Aqueduct

Carbon Footprinting and Science-based Targets Support

Second Party Opinion - Thematic Bonds and Loans & Impact Assessment

TCFD Advisory and Support

Carbon & Climate Data

Carbon Footprint Report

Climate Impact Report

Net Zero Solutions

Climate Scenario Analysis and Implied Temperature Score

Climate Physical Risk

Transition Risk

Climate Advisory Services

Potential Avoided Emissions Data

Energy & Extractives Screening

Norm-Based Research

Country Screening

Sector-Based Screening

Country Controversy Assessment

Director Data

Executive Compensation Analytics

Voting Analytics

Governance QualityScore

E&S Disclosure QualityScore

ESG Muni QualityScore

Carbon Risk Rating

ESG Corporate Rating

ESG Country Rating

SDG Solutions Assessment

SDG Impact Rating

ESG Fund Rating

Water Risk Rating

Biodiversity Impact Assessment Tool

ESG Index Solutions

EU Taxonomy Alignment Solution

SFDR Principle Adverse Impacts Solution

Regulatory Sustainable Investment Solution

ESG Portfolio Analysis

ESG Raw Data

Global Sanctions Screening

Responsible Investment Policy Development

EVA (Economic Value Added)

Climate Voting Policy

Custom Climate Voting Factors

Bespoke Research & Advisory Solutions

ESG Scorecard

Controversial Weapons Research

CIARA – Carbon Impact Analytics for Real Assets

CDP 2022 Forest Corporate Response Dataset

CDP 2022 Water Security Corporate Response Dataset

Net Zero Finance Tracker

Sustainable Economy Intelligence

ESG Ratings & Analysis

SDG Analysis

Net Zero Analysis

Fund Due Diligence and SDR Labelling Reports

Ethical Research

Sustainable Funds Portal

ESG RATINGS

Coller FAIRR Climate Risk Tool

ESG Solutions

Fund EET Data

Fathom’s Product Stack

ENCORE

Trase Finance

Dependency scores

Climate Positive Impact

Positive Impact Biodiversity

Carbon Footprint

Empirical ESG and Impact Data

Real Asset Analysis

ESG Newsroom

Norm-Based Engagement

Thematic Engagement

ESG Custom Rating

Cyber Risk Score

European ESG Template Solution

Environmental & Social Raw Data

Sustainability Insights Suite

ESG Reporting Platform for VC

ESG Solutions by MSCI

Climate and Net-Zero Solutions by MSCI

Biodiversity Solutions by MSCI

Sustainability Solutions for Corporates and Advisors

KaleidoScope

Rating Watch

Vision

ESG GPS X-Ray

A-Cubed

ESG GPS ratings

Data for Nature Insights

Fund EcoMarket

State Street Risk Analytics Platform

TSC Water Security Index

SDG Impact for Public Companies

Universal Impact

Climate Ready Farms

Energy Access Explorer

MapBuilder

Ocean Watch

Water, Peace and Security - Global Early Warning Tool 

Global Water Watch

WRI Open Data Portal

Systems Change Lab

Open Timber Portal 

ESG Clarified

WWF Risk Filter Suite

ICE Climate Physical Risk Data

ICE Climate Transition Analytics Tool

ICE ESG Company Data

European ESG Template (EET) solution

ICE Emissions & Targets Data

ICE ESG Geo-Analyzer Tool

ICE Impact Bond Classification Service

SFDR Principal Adverse Impact (PAI) Data

Task-force for Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) Data

ICE UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Data – Municipal Bonds

News Aggregator/Controversies Monitoring Tool

ESG Research and Data Services

SPOTT

CDP 2022 Climate Change Corporate Response Dataset

Green Bond Database

Social and Sustainability Bond Database

DEEP Value©

Benchmark ESG Disclosure Dataset

ASSET Tool

Modern Slavery Scorecard

LSEG Sustainable Finance and Investment Solutions

imug rating ESG-Investments

Briink AI ESG Copilot

ESG Relevance Scores

Climate Wisdom by Riskthinking.ai

ESG, Climate & Nature

Global Integrated Energy Model

Clean Energy Procurement Service

Corporate Emissions Solution

Intentionality and Stewardship Data (Wealth)

Climate Data for Companies and Funds

Second Party Opinions

Product Involvement and Impact Metrics for Companies and Funds

Low Carbon Transition Ratings

EU Action Plan Solutions

ESG Risk Ratings

Physical Climate Risk Metrics

FactSet's ESG Investing Solutions

Physical Risk Analytics

Clarity AI Sustainability Tech Kit

AssetWisdom™ by Riskthinking.ai

BIODIVERSITY IMPACT ANALYTICS POWERED BY THE GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY SCORE™ (BIA-GBS) for the biodiversity impact and dependencies of companies

NEC metric “Net Environmental Contribution”