The recent ESG backlash has led to increased scrutiny of the major ratings agencies. Rampant greenwashing and confusion over what ESG ratings actually measure have raised some difficult questions and highlighted the need to better quantify ESG performance and impact. By integrating alternative datasets, investors can capture an outside-in perspective of ESG performance that reduces the bias in ESG scores and mitigates greenwashing. This report provides an overview of third-party datasets that can help investors compare ESG disclosures with material sustainability performance.

In this report, we short-list the themes and data vendors that can help investors analyse ‘real’ sustainability performance and impact across corporations. Several of these datasets provide a third-party, external perspective of ESG performance, which is critical for identifying material risks related to sustainability.

ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE AND NET-ZERO TARGETS

We look at ways to track environmental performance with alternative data sources, including the use of satellite emissions monitoring and greentech patent filings, and list other datasets that can help track an organisation’s progress in achieving climate-related goals.