Environmental Finance has launched its Guide to ESG data providers, detailing more than 100 products from the main ESG data companies from across the world.
As environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing has increasingly 'gone mainstream' an industry of data providers has sprung up to service the demand for high quality data that can inform investment decision making. These range from the established ESG ratings agencies, such as MSCI and Sustainalytics, to smaller providers that focus on specific issues, such as InfluenceMap, an NGO that explores companies' lobbying activities.
However, the new data providers have not been immune to criticism. In a survey of the market by BNP Paribas Securities Services, 66% of respondents cited problems with data as a significant barrier to greater adoption of ESG across their investment portfolio.
These criticisms include that the data is of poor quality, that it does not have a sufficient track record, and there are gaps in the data because not enough companies report the information investors require, particularly in certain regions or sectors of the economy.
The Environmental Finance Guide details what data is recorded by the different providers and summarises their offerings.
Users can search by name of ESG data provider and of products, as well as filter according to data. This enables users to narrow down their search to providers of environmental, social or governance data or if the product is for rankings for instance.