Today, sustainability takes precedence over everything else for investors and organizations. As a result, information concerning ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is of paramount importance and is in high demand. In fact, organizations from an array of sectors now need ESG data to perform the following activities:

• Make data-driven decisions
• Adhere to legal guidelines
• Exhibit their dedication to accountable corporate practices

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Increasing Need for ESG Data Solutions

Today, ESG data has become a core component of business strategy due to the accelerated growing significance given to climate change, corporate responsibility, and governance. Therefore, to traverse the intricacies of changing legal guidelines, organizations now look for ESG data providers. The guidelines include the following:

• Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD): Highlights directives for more comprehensive ESG disclosures for European organizations.
• Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation (SFDR): Financial institutions must share reports on sustainability risks under its guidelines.
• EU Taxonomy: These guidelines assist organizations in categorizing environmentally friendly activities.

Interestingly, Europe has emerged as the undisputed epicenter of ESG innovation. In other words, there are a multitude of organizations providing revolutionary solutions and services.

What do these services and solutions entail? They assist organizations in tackling the challenges associated with sustainability reporting, analysis of risks, and evaluation of impact.

Read on to learn more about the top 10 ESG data solutions and services providers in Europe, which have played a critical role in establishing a sustainable future.

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Leading ESG data solutions and services providers in Europe

Inrate: Based in Zurich, Inrate offers an extensive range of ESG data services, using more than 700 indicators. The solutions they offer include the following:

• Discovering the adverse effects on biodiversity
• Inputs toward UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Participation in ESG disputes and
• Adhering to the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and Principle Adverse Impacts (PAI)

It’s also important to add that the organization’s ESG research solutions move past the basic standards, sharing data points covering a gamut of ESG categories. Each dataset provides extensive insights by performing the following tasks:

• Assessing the effects of business activities
• Keeping an eye on ongoing issues
• Evaluating Corporate Sustainability Reports

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WAI Environmental Solutions: Based in Norway, WAI Environmental Solutions helps metallurgical industries reach their carbon reduction targets by substituting fossil carbons with its biocarbon products. Its biocarbon products use sustainable sources such as waste wood and forest residues. Thanks to its creative solutions, the biogenic sources are transformed into useful carbon materials such as biocarbon, anode material to Na-ion battery, protein-rich aquafeed ingredient, and green energy.

Let us also add here that the organization crafts sustainable solutions that connect forestry or waste management to industries like metallurgy, energy storage, and aquaculture. WAI also ensures that its values are aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The ultimate objective of the organization is to enhance industry standards and challenge the norm in terms of the feasibility of replacing fossil carbons. In a word, carbon footprint analysis and carbon accounting are processes that are of relevance to the services the organization offers.

Applied Hydrogen: A Norway-based organization (Kongsberg), Applied Hydrogen aims to establish zero emissions, effective, and productive off-the-grid construction sites. It aims to do the following:

• Optimize the use of available renewable energy
• Lower emissions by integrating the most sophisticated technology, competency, and system design

To tackle the difficulties associated with adopting hydrogen in construction, the organization is transforming heavy machinery to make it suitable to run on hydrogen fuel. Its first critical project involves converting a 30-ton Volvo EC300E excavator by substituting its diesel engine with a Ballard FCmove®-XD 120kW fuel cell and an electric motor. This will help it perform like typical diesel machines and release only water vapor at the same time. Finally, Applied Hydrogen will also unite with Veidekke, Skanska, Hydrogen Solutions, and Volvo Maskin, to create Norway's first hydrogen-driven excavator.

Fitch Solutions: London-based Fitch Solutions provides the Relevance Scores Data, intending to help market participants assess in what way ESG issues impact credit risk for proper risk management. The data feed, extensive in nature, is spread across more than 10,000 issuers and transactions and shares deep insights into how ESG factors affect credit profiles. Its data feed takes all your ESG data into account.

It’s also necessary to add here that the company’s ESG Relevance Scores Data is unique as it helps users to comprehend in what way a Fitch-rated organization’s or transaction’s credit profile is impacted by ESG risk. To reiterate, Fitch Solutions stands out because its ESG Relevance Scores Data provides unmatched clarity in terms of the effect ESG risks have on an organization's ratings. Essentially, it contributes to enterprise risk management.

TRACT and Rainforest Alliance: Launched in February 2024, TRACT is a sustainability measurement platform. As far as Rainforest Alliance is concerned, it’s an international NGO founded by Daniel Katz in 1987, intending to use social and market forces to safeguard nature and better the lives of farmers and forest communities for a more sustainable world. Both entities have platforms that combine satellite data and AI for the following purposes:

• Geolocation tracking
• Risk assessment of deforestation
• Implementable sustainability metrics

In particular, these platforms offer organizations reliable deforestation risk assessments to help them adhere to the guidelines put forward by the European Union's Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

Forest IQ: Before the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference last year, the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) unveiled Forest IQ, which is an open platform that aims to share workable data with investors on the deforestation measures implemented by more than 2000 organizations. The tool essentially indicates the amount of importance investors attribute to sustainability when making investment decisions, and it advocates ethical business practices.

Treety: Treety comprises a platform that automates and optimizes the ESG data collection, monitoring, and reporting processes, thereby helping sustainability leaders in finance. The platform monitors ESG goals and ensures they are adhered to in terms of guidelines related to SDFR, IFRS, SDR, and CSRD. Treety performs these tasks for the benefit of private equity investments, impact venture capital funds, and institutional asset managers. In other words, it deals with financial data from the perspective of ESG and impact reporting for investment firms.

SDiD: SDiD is a stand-alone ESG and Circular Economy research and analytics company, which shares clear and correlative auditable ESG data for more than 1,100 organizations worldwide. The organization offers the following services to its clients:

• Real-time assessment of absolute data
• Calculations of efficiency ratios
• Circular Economy Score insights

Overall, their services help organizations and investors fine-tune ESG and risk analytics.

Decarbonify: An ESGtech startup founded in Norway in 2019, Decarbonify assists organizations in managing and alleviating their impact on the environment by offering solutions backed by concrete data. The organization combines operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) to provide an ESG-as-a-Service platform to analyze risks associated with climate and make the most of ESG opportunities.

It's critical to mention the organization's approach in dealing with the issue of Scope 3 emissions quantification (especially Category 10 emissions focused on manufactured products), which most industries find challenging to address. By implementing sophisticated technologies such as AI and ML within its Decarbonify Data Platform (DDP), Decarbonify secures and predicts emissions data spread over multiple value chains. Needless to say, the data quality is top-notch.

Last but not least, its core services include ESG Risk Rating, ESG Data Infrastructure, ESG Intelligence, and ESG 365 Reporting.

MSCI: Today, with degrading environmental conditions, investors are naturally worried about calamities such as hurricanes and floods. To allay the concern, MSCI, a top name in the ESG field, has created multiple tools that can examine and study the physical risks associated with such catastrophes. As of now, the company is broadening its offerings to include private markets, especially real estate and infrastructure sectors. This indicates a deeper concentration on long-term non-liquid assets.

ESG Data Solutions: Up-and-coming Trends

With the rising sustainability consciousness and the resulting rise of ESG data solutions, it's critical to examine the evolving patterns to determine how the future of data solutions (ESG) is likely to turn out.

• Blending AI into ESG Data Analytics: In the era of sophisticated technologies, there's no reason for data (ESG) to be left behind. AI and ML-based platforms are already in the process of automating ESG analyses, enhancing their precision and effectiveness.
• Instantaneous Monitoring of ESG Data: While organizations used to adopt periodic ESG reporting solutions, they're now transitioning to steady monitoring practices to manage risks preemptively.
• Clarity in Supply Chain and Tracing of Scope 3 Emissions: Today, we have the benefit of accessing several evolving solutions to trace ESG risks spread over supply chains, with a focus on emission-heavy industries.
• Blockchain for ESG Data Authenticity: Yet another promising trend that we get to see today is Blockchain, the power and potential of which is being harnessed to enhance clarity in ESG data, and to keep greenwashing at bay.

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Final Thoughts

Today, the reality is that organizations and investors are directing all their attention and focus to sustainability and sustainability performance, and with good reason. Thus, data solutions (ESG) have become a necessity to ensure adherence to legal guidelines, clarity, and data-driven decision-making.

Fortunately, Europe is akin to a hub of ESG data providers, each specializing in distinctive solutions tackling the intricacies of ESG reporting and risk assessment, leading to streamlined reporting. For instance, organizations like Inrate and Fitch Solutions focus on comprehensive ESG analytics.

In a nutshell, we can safely say that all the companies shared here are playing an instrumental role in assisting organizations to fulfill their sustainability objectives while complying with legal requirements. So, we can expect a very promising future for ESG reporting.

Since we're talking about reputed ESG data solutions and services providers, it is worthwhile to share that KnowESG, a renowned sustainability hub, is committed to curating ESG-related news, education, events, and company information while sharing deep insights for organizations and professionals exploring the developing ESG terrain.

Finally, the KnowESG Marketplace serves all ESG enthusiasts by working with some of the top-notch ESG data providers, offering an array of services based on specific requirements. Feel free to explore.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the best ESG data provider?

Companies such as MSCI, Bloomberg, Sustainalytics, S&P Global, and Refinitv are among the best ESG data providers worldwide, with each providing an exclusive set of services around ESG ratings and analytics.

What is the best ESG software provider?

Among the world's best leading provider of ESG software options, we can include Enablon, Sphera, and Workiva; their services include compliance tracking, reporting, and analytics essential for ESG data management.

What are ESG data solutions, and why are they important for companies?

These reporting solution help organizations collect, manage, and analyze environmental, social, and governance information. These tools streamline ESG reporting, ensure compliance with evolving regulations like CSRD and SFDR, and provide actionable insights to improve sustainability performance and corporate governance.

How do ESG reporting platforms improve data accuracy and compliance?

ESG reporting platforms automate data collection, centralize sustainability data, and integrate carbon accounting software to track emissions. By aligning with major ESG frameworks, they reduce manual errors, enhance reporting capabilities, and ensure compliance with global standards.

Which ESG software features are most valuable for asset owners and managers?

Key features include automated data collection, real-time ESG performance monitoring, emissions management, governance data tracking, and compatibility with various reporting frameworks. These capabilities help these owners and managers identify risks, measure impact, and meet investor expectations.

How can ESG reporting software improve a company’s ESG performance?

ESG reporting software provides a centralized platform to manage ESG data, track progress on sustainability initiatives, and automate manual reporting tasks. By offering detailed ESG metrics and analysis, it helps companies identify gaps, implement improvements, and enhance overall ESG scores.

What are the key benefits of using an ESG reporting platform?

An ESG reporting platform streamlines the collection of ESG data, automates repetitive processes, and ensures consistency in external reporting. It allows organizations to monitor specific data points, such as carbon emissions and greenhouse gas outputs, and align them with global reporting standards.

How does automating data collection enhance ESG reporting capabilities?

Automating data collection reduces human error, speeds up the reporting process, and ensures timely availability of quantitative data. This enables organizations to produce accurate ESG reports, monitor performance across global markets, and respond quickly to evolving sustainability regulations.

How can ESG tools help align sustainability initiatives with financial performance?

ESG tools provide insights into how sustainable business practices influence financial performance by correlating ESG scores with operational efficiency, risk reduction, and brand reputation. This data-driven approach supports strategic decision-making and long-term value creation.

How can companies efficiently collect and report ESG data?

Companies can use advanced ESG reporting tools to collect the collect esg data from multiple sources and centralize it in one platform. These solutions streamline the reporting process, automate manual tasks, and ensure compliance with global ESG reporting standards.

What makes an ESG software option a comprehensive solution?

A comprehensive ESG software solution integrates ESG sustainability management, sustainability tracking, and automated reporting tools. It enables businesses to monitor greenhouse gas emissions, track sustainable procurement practices, and produce detailed ESG reports for both internal and external stakeholders.

How do ESG reporting solutions support ongoing ESG initiatives?

ESG reporting solutions provide organizations with accurate ESG information, helping them assess progress on ESG initiatives, manage sustainability efforts, and align operations with industry best practices. Leading providers also offer analytics that guide decision-making and enhance performance over time.