Singapore-headquartered environmental, social and governance (ESG) data and technology solutions company STACS has launched upgrades to its ESGpedia platform, offering digital tools to help businesses and financial institutions comply with increasing ESG regulatory requirements across Europe and Asia.
While financial institutions and large corporates need access to ESG data of SMEs in their supply chains, they face a lack of data, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, says STACS on Nov 2.
To help plug ESG data gaps in the Asia Pacific and provide a complete ESG database, ESGpedia has enhanced its Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered engine to provide a dual approach via its Nexus and Intelligence functions.
ESGpedia Nexus enables companies of various ESG maturities to achieve their end-to-end business needs and full readiness through active engagement and its marketplace of sustainability solutions.
To lower barriers to sustainability, companies can create their free ESG profile with simplified ESG metrics scalable to support international assessments and standards reporting.
It offers digital tools that automatically convert operational data like fuel, refrigerant, and electricity consumption to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the standard GHG Protocol, localised to all Asia-Pacific countries.
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ESGpedia Nexus also provides a marketplace where companies can amplify their ESG profile, and sell or procure ESG services.
Meanwhile, ESGpedia Intelligence offers a complete picture with aggregated ESG data across countries and sectors via AI-powered harmonisation of unstructured ESG data.
STACS launched ESGpedia version 2.0 in May with 5 million sustainability data points. Since then, the platform has strengthened its AI-capabilities in “aggregating, harmonising and standardising” ESG data, says the company.
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ESGpedia’s data coverage now includes more than 300,000 companies’ sustainability data, of which 115,000 company profiles have full corporate data overlaid and standardised.
Local bank OCBC was among ESGpedia’s users this year. In May, ESGpedia launched the ESCAP Sustainable Business Network (ESBN) Asia-Pacific Green Deal for Businesses digital program on ESGpedia, in partnership with ESBN. This provides a self-assessment tool to lower barriers to entry for corporates and SMEs.
Through data digitally collected on ESGpedia via the ESBN Asia-Pacific Green Deal digital assessment and independently verified by Bureau Veritas, an ESGpedia marketplace partner, OCBC successfully extended a sustainability-linked loan (SLL) to a global textile and apparel manufacturer, Ghim Li.
Using the operational data input by Ghim Li, the calculation of emissions and verification of the data were automated on ESGpedia. Data for the agreed sustainability performance targets of the SLL were then recorded in the platform for monitoring purposes.
Banks will be able to extend SLLs to businesses more efficiently with this simplified process, says STACS. “More businesses will find it easier to determine their emissions and kickstart their sustainability journey.”
ESGpedia also offers Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and carbon credits through its marketplace to companies wishing to offset their Scope 2 carbon emissions from electricity usage.
STACS says Luxembourg-based impact investing platform Bamboo Capital will use ESGpedia to “promote greater transparency of the RECs lifecycle and to ensure no double-trading”.
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Starting from 2024, more than 50,000 European Union (EU) companies and 10,000 non-EU companies will be directly in scope under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)
Various Asian markets have also implemented mandatory regulatory reporting to enhance the adoption of global sustainability and ESG standards such as the International Financial Reporting Standards’ (IFRS) inaugural ISSB standard, adds the company.
Benjamin Soh, founder and managing director at STACS, says Asean companies are facing increasing mandatory ESG requirements, which are extending to large non-listed companies and SMEs. “This is where understanding your current ESG profile and leveraging technologies like Artificial Intelligence come in place to help companies ensure compliance towards the evolving ESG regulations landscape across Europe and Asia.”
Soh adds: “We are thrilled that ESGpedia’s latest platform updates, with the introduction of ESGpedia Nexus and Intelligence, has helped financial institutions and companies across ASEAN achieve their ESG goals regardless of their ESG maturities, and fill the ESG data gaps in Asia Pacific today.”
