Danielle Boyd
Head of Climate Strategy Implementation
IIGCC has launched a data catalogue to help its members review and select data vendors to support the implementation of investor net zero commitments and transition plans.
Access to robust, comparable, and quality data is one of the biggest challenges affecting investors as they look to turn net zero commitments into tangible transition plans.
To help, in 2021 IIGCC reached out to 16 well-known data vendors, asking them to outline their offerings in relation to the Net Zero Investment Framework (NZIF) requirements at portfolio level and across three asset classes:
- Corporates (listed equity and debt)
- Real estate
- Sovereign bonds
Read and download the data vendor catalogue.
All vendors were invited to present to IIGCC members over a series of webinars, outlining their methodologies and answering technical questions from the investment community.
Vendors were also asked to use their data to assess a ‘dummy portfolio’ of 57 companies. This required line-by-line results for greenhouse gas emissions (scope 1, 2 and 3 where available) and each vendor’s main alignment metric – simulating the task facing institutional investors.
From here, the data catalogue began to take shape. Not designed to be read cover to cover, instead it’s intended to help members review the market and prioritise vendors, products, and data sets to explore further.
“Investors face a complex market of data offerings,” explained Danielle Boyd, IIGCC Investor Practices Senior Programme Manager:
“THIS DATA CATALOGUE WILL HELP MEMBERS TO COMPARE AND SELECT THE DATA SETS AND PRODUCTS BEST SUITED TO THEIR OWN NET ZERO STRATEGIES.”
The results
Of the three asset classes covered corporate equity had by far the most useful data available from vendors, whereas data for sovereign funds and real estate was scarce. Given the relative infancy of the field and current regulatory landscape this was not unexpected.
It’s also why IIGCC’s real estate working group was re-established in 2022, exploring areas such as embodied carbon and how to measure it, with more to come in 2023.
Crucially, the research team identified that none of the data offered by any one vendor overlapped with all six “core” NZIF alignment criteria – with even less overlap for the NZIF’s additional criteria.
Therefore, to be comprehensive, investors need to combine multiple data sources to develop a forward-looking picture of a portfolio or asset’s alignment with net zero. And for institutions with less in-house resource, the data catalogue also provides a review of the different ‘off the shelf’ alignment indicators on the market.
“Combined with public data sources such as the Climate Action 100+ Net Zero Company Benchmark and the Transition Pathway Initiative, this catalogue can support investors to enhance data coverage across the portfolio and depth of information within asset classes,” Danielle said.
Ever-evolving landscape
More broadly, data availability and quality must improve for investors to be able to fully implement their net zero strategies. This is why the catalogue will continue to evolve over time, much like other resources that support NZIF, including the Net Zero Stewardship Toolkit.
Next, IIGCC plans to publish an ‘investor expectations’ review of data vendors.’ This will provide guidance for investors engaging in conversations with vendors and sets out key requests of data vendors, to ensure that their product offerings meet the evolving needs of investors seeking alignment with net zero goals.
If you’d like to access the data vendor catalogue, reach out to our membership manager Charlie today to find out more about becoming an IIGCC member.