1. Powering
Your ESG
Ambitions
Through Data
A Webinar Series by Juvo
With Deep Parekh, PhD from ESG8
16 March 2021

2. Welcome
Professional services company specialized in data
productivity improvement projects who result in better
insight & decision making for our customers.
Let’s make data profitable!
Drives ESG projects through technology lens.

3. ESG ambition meets data management today!
• Thinking partner to senior leadership teams on sustainable business
strategy and operations.
• Designed and deployed ESG initiatives with multinational supply chains.
• Developing a European think-tank on ESG focusing ESG business
transformation.
• PhD in Business Model Dynamics
• Focused on the intersection between ESG and Technology
Deep Parekh, PhD | Partner at

4. What is ESG?
• ESG is an acronym for:
• Environment – steward of nature
• Social – benefits all stakeholders
• Governance – transparent and with adequate internal controls
• ESG refers to a holistic set of factors by which to manage a business
• Set of broad principles for the operations of a company
• Used for compliance, screening, evaluation by multiple stakeholders
Source: Investopedia

5. So, what does ESG really cover?

6. Profit is just an ‘entry ticket’
• Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock Capital oversees $8.6 trillion in AuM,
influenced the adoption of ESG in the corporate world:
“In 2018, I wrote urging every company to articulate its purpose and how it benefits all stakeholders, including
shareholders, employees, customers, and the communities in which they operate. Over the course of 2020, we
have seen how purposeful companies, with better environmental, social, and governance (ESG) profiles, have
outperformed their peers. During 2020, 81% of a globally-representative selection of sustainable indexes
outperformed their parent benchmarks. This outperformance was even more pronounced during the first quarter
downturn, another instance of sustainable funds’ resilience that we have seen in prior downturns. And the broader
array of sustainable investment options will continue to drive investor interest in these funds, as we have seen in
2020.
But the story goes deeper. It’s not just that broad-market ESG indexes are outperforming counterparts. It’s that
within industries – from automobiles to banks to oil and gas companies – we are seeing another divergence:
companies with better ESG profiles are performing better than their peers, enjoying a “sustainability premium.”
Source: Bloomberg News

7. How do the UN’s SDGs fit into this?

8. ESG is a means to deliver the UN SDGs
Profitable
Companies
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

9. ESG is both
urgent and
important
Urgent: Compliance & Risk Management
Important: Over USD 80 trillion in ESG AuM
Source: Urgent - Ernst & Young; Important – PRI

10. Burning Platform:
We are at the nexus of 3 critical factors
ESG
Consumers are demanding greater
provenance transparency and
sustainability from their favorite brands
and their extended value chains.
Authorities and regulators are
rolling out new frameworks for
broader, deeper governance,
transparency and reporting.
Financial markets are using
ESG metrics to guide decision-
making and factor into their risk
models.

11. Consumers are driving ESG change ESG

12. takes the ‘S’ of ESG seriously
• Pizza more costly than peer group.
• Consumers willing to pay more because of
knowing the social benefit to employees.
• Employees are happier and treat customers
better, creating a growth loop.
• Some employees are so committed to &pizza that
they even have logo tattooed on their bodies!
ESG

13. EU introduces 9 pillar framework for ESG ESG
Source: Pillars depicted by Factset.com; goals depicted by Impactivate.com
1. Avoid greenwashing. Along with preventing firms from perpetuating unsubstantiated or misleading claims about
sustainability and the benefits of their products, this pillar also seeks to increase market awareness of sustainability.
2. Achieve regulatory neutrality. This refers to the EC’s drive to harmonize the new disclosure rules across the respective EU
member states.
3. Level the playing field. This pillar specifies the products and services managed by the new rules: investment funds,
insurance-based investment products, private and occupational pensions, individual portfolio management, and insurance or
investment advice.
Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD):
EU corporates to disclose ESG data to business
operations; more detailed ESG disclosures being
considered.
Second Shareholder Rights Directive (SRDII):
Buy-side to integrate ESG and long-term sustainable
interests of clients into investment strategies and
engagement activities.
Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SDFR):
Investment firms to undertake ESG risk analysis and
publish product- and firm-level ESG disclosures.
EU Green Bond Standard:
Proposals for minimum underlying requirements for
marketing bonds as ‘green’.
EU EcoLabel Application Expansion:
Proposals to extend EcoLabel to financial services
firms.
Climate Benchmark Regulation (CBR):
New ESG disclosures for all benchmarks (bar FX and
rates indices); creation of 2 new climate benchmarks.
Prudential Legislative Texts:
Integration of ESG risks into broader EU
prudential risk framework.
Taxonomy Regulation:
Investments to be assessed according to
strict criteria before being labeled
environmentally sustainable.
Future Initiatives:
The European Green Deal, ESG, and
sustainability, tracking short-termism, and
other ESG-related proposals.

14. Finance & investment world using ESG
metrics to evaluate companies’ risk
ESG

15. Two key functions are positioned to be at the
forefront of ESG reporting and monitoring

16. The supply chain is at the heart of ESG

17. Finance is at the intersection of internal and
external reporting and control
Investor
Relations
Compliance
Audit & Tax
Planning &
Reporting
Budgeting

18. The ESG
measurement
action cycle
starts with
Report
R
e
p
o
r
t
M
onitor
P
l
a
n
Act
Without a consistent
and efficient reporting
and tracking
mechanism, a company
will never be able to
monitor, plan, and act
on ESG initiatives in a
holistic manner

19. 3 key issues hinder progress on ESG reporting
There are many dimensions for
ESG reporting and no clear
standards available so far.
The intensive effort required to
report and monitor at
reasonable frequency.
Multiple data sources and types,
with questionable provenance
and interpretation.

20. But disparate standards muddy the waters

21. Measure or get measured!

22. Gain control or be subject to ‘black-box logic’

23. Annual
budgeting
takes about
32 days
Source: CFO Magazine, 2018
Calendar
Days
Known data
sources
Well-defined
measurement
Limited
stakeholders
Number of Calendar Days to
Conduct Annual Budgeting Cycle

24. The complexity of reporting is immense
Different rating agencies may use
varying criteria and interpretation
mechanisms to compose their scores
Different geographic regions
and economic zones may
have disparate mandatory
reporting requirements.
Multiple stakeholders will need to view
analytics and insights including the
Enterprise (Internal), Authorities /
Regulators, Employees, Consumers,
Investors, Other Stakeholders

25. Complexity of information types & sources

26. A targeted data strategy can be the start of
your ESG roadmap
There are many dimensions for
ESG reporting and no clear
standards available so far.
The intensive effort required to
report and monitor at
reasonable frequency.
Multiple data sources and types,
with questionable provenance
and interpretation.
Flexible, context-based handling
mechanisms to allow dynamic
reporting for any standard.
Perpetual, passive data gathering
mechanisms across enterprise
systems and external systems.
Create and manage new data
sources and tie them into your
platform, and power them with AI

27. ESG reporting
combines risk,
controversy, as
well as
performance
Source: MSCI

28. How
would this
work?
1
1 Performance
Source: Toshiba

29. Managing ESG risks & controversies
• Internal (enterprise databases) and external (web-crawlers) mechanisms to gather and sort
through structured and unstructured data, catalog it, compare against benchmark values,
and truth-test it.
• Develop AI to drive learnings and predict possible future risks.
• Finding patterns between independent data sources and measuring / monitoring
mechanisms through AI engines and logic.
• Tie in (e.g.) social networks and user-initiated sources into the AI engine to provide warning
signs of issues and monitor social well-being.
• Linking IoT and sensors with other data sources for a fine grained, dynamic view of the ESG
factors.
2
3
3
2 Risk Exposure Controversies

30. Data
availability and
knowledge
hinders ESG
adoption

31. What does it take to get there?
Multiple
Data Sources
Multiple
Data Types
Learning
Algorithms
Data
Cognition
IOT
Data
Data
Collaboration
New Data
Tools
Data
Playbook
Data
Transparency
Enabling actionable, short feedback cycles on gained insight
Knowing What to Do With It
Making Data Available

32. An ESG data
strategy sets
forward an
achievable and
pragmatic
roadmap
Data Scarcity
Knowing
What
to
Do
With
It
Knowledge
Scarcity
Knowledge
Wealth
Data Wealth
ESG Quicksand
Basic ESG
Reporting
Actionable &
Integrated ESG
Reporting
Emergent ESG
Opportunities
Making Data Available
M
anaging
ESG
Risk
ESG
as
a
G
row
th
Lever

33. An ESG data
strategy
approach has
five key
elements
ESG
Data
Platform
Catalog
ESG Data
Select
Stakeholder
Dimensions
Target ESG
Maturity
Build ESG
Data Sandbox
Create ESG
Community
of Practice

34. Pursue your ESG ambitions through data
Data Scarcity
Knowing
What
to
Do
With
It
Knowledge
Scarcity
Knowledge
Wealth
Data Wealth
ESG Quicksand
Basic ESG
Reporting
ESG Indicators
Actionable &
Integrated
Underexploited
ESG Opportunities
Making Data Available
Catalog ESG Data
Select Stakeholder Dimensions
Target ESG Maturity
Build ESG Data Sandbox
Create ESG Community of Practice
ESG Data Strategy Components
Learning and awareness needs to be enabled all along the way

35. Power your ESG ambition through your data
• ESG is urgent and important
• Nexus of 3 key factors – consumer / regulation / financial markets
• Reporting is the first order of business
• There are 3 key issues – dimensions / effort / sources
• ESG data strategy is needed
• Embark on your ESG journey with a simple roadmap
• Start today!
Concluding thoughts…

36. See you again soon!
We organize ESG Deep-Dive Sessions
in your organization!
Mail: Deep.Parekh@juvo.be
Join our next free lunch webinar
29 April – 12u30-13u30 CET
Check our eventbrite
Port of Antwerp:
Towards a Datadriven
Organisation
(In Dutch)

37. Get in touch…
Strategic Advice
www.esg8.eu
Technological Advice
www.juvo.be