NEW YORK (March 17, 2022) — ISS ESG, the responsible investment arm of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), today announced the launch of augmented solutions that support investors with Net Zero alignment initiatives. ISS ESG’s dedicated suite of Net Zero Solutions with automated investor portfolio reporting, went live today, augmented with new features. These include a Net Zero target status, i.e. whether published targets and strategies relevant to achieving Net Zero are present, plus modelled Net Zero emissions trajectories which include quality-checked company-reported Scope 3 green house gas emissions data.
ISS ESG Issuer Level Net Zero Alignment Data can be used to identify positive and negative performing companies against a range of individual climate related metrics. The Net Zero Portfolio Report creates an aggregated view of a portfolio’s readiness for Net Zero, considering current and potential future emissions, disclosure performance, fossil fuel exposure, fossil asset expansion, climate mitigating revenue and target setting. Initial coverage includes an assessment universe of all of the most material sectors of major developed market indices, powered by data and insights from a broad range of high-quality research products within the ISS ESG universe.
The augmented climate data also supports the recently launched ISS ESG Collaborative Engagement Solutions. This is a thematic engagement element which prioritizes outreach on behalf of participating clients to a select universe of approximately 30 public companies over a two-year engagement cycle identified as underperforming according to ISS ESG’s Carbon Risk Rating and Net Zero Alignment Data.
In tandem, ISS ESG has also launched an enhancement to its Energy & Extractives solution, which tracks companies within the energy sector and their involvement in Green (renewable) and Brown (fossil fuel) expansion projects. The IEA’s Net Zero by 2050 Report Roadmap, sets out that renewable energies must be upscaled rapidly and investments into fossil fuel projects must stop – some immediately, some in the next few years. ISS ESG’s enhancement to its Energy & Extractives solution allows investors to access data in order to assess these milestones and provides vital information on whether a company’s actions and commitments in this area are balanced. The new dataset will capture factors from ongoing and planned projects related to renewable energy, coal and other fossil fuels, and will quantify the amount of Capital Expenditure as a percentage allocated by the company towards respective expansion projects.
Dr. Maximilian Horster, Head of ISS ESG said: “The number of companies pledging to reach Net Zero is growing rapidly. ISS ESG’s augmented solutions launched today support investors in verifying the extent to which their portfolio companies’ publicized targets and commitments are aligning with ongoing or planned operational activities.”
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About ISS ESG
ISS ESG solutions enable investors to develop and integrate responsible investing policies and practices, engage on responsible investment issues, and monitor portfolio company practices through screening solutions. It also provides climate data, analytics, and advisory services to help financial market participants understand, measure, and act on climate-related risks across all asset classes. In addition, ESG solutions cover corporate and country ESG research and ratings enabling its clients to identify material social and environmental risks and opportunities. For more information, please visit us at: www.iss-esg.com
Media Contact:
Sarah Ball
Executive Director
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc.
press@issgovernance.com
ISS ESG Launches Augmented Net Zero Solutions
NEW YORK (March 17, 2022) — ISS ESG, the responsible investment arm of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), today announced the launch of augmented solutions that support investors with Net Zero alignment initiatives. ISS ESG’s dedicated suite of Net Zero Solutions with automated investor portfolio reporting, went live today, augmented with new features. These include a Net Zero target status, i.e. whether published targets and strategies relevant to achieving Net Zero are present, plus modelled Net Zero emissions trajectories which include quality-checked company-reported Scope 3 green house gas emissions data.
ISS ESG Issuer Level Net Zero Alignment Data can be used to identify positive and negative performing companies against a range of individual climate related metrics. The Net Zero Portfolio Report creates an aggregated view of a portfolio’s readiness for Net Zero, considering current and potential future emissions, disclosure performance, fossil fuel exposure, fossil asset expansion, climate mitigating revenue and target setting. Initial coverage includes an assessment universe of all of the most material sectors of major developed market indices, powered by data and insights from a broad range of high-quality research products within the ISS ESG universe.
The augmented climate data also supports the recently launched ISS ESG Collaborative Engagement Solutions. This is a thematic engagement element which prioritizes outreach on behalf of participating clients to a select universe of approximately 30 public companies over a two-year engagement cycle identified as underperforming according to ISS ESG’s Carbon Risk Rating and Net Zero Alignment Data.
In tandem, ISS ESG has also launched an enhancement to its Energy & Extractives solution, which tracks companies within the energy sector and their involvement in Green (renewable) and Brown (fossil fuel) expansion projects. The IEA’s Net Zero by 2050 Report Roadmap, sets out that renewable energies must be upscaled rapidly and investments into fossil fuel projects must stop – some immediately, some in the next few years. ISS ESG’s enhancement to its Energy & Extractives solution allows investors to access data in order to assess these milestones and provides vital information on whether a company’s actions and commitments in this area are balanced. The new dataset will capture factors from ongoing and planned projects related to renewable energy, coal and other fossil fuels, and will quantify the amount of Capital Expenditure as a percentage allocated by the company towards respective expansion projects.
Dr. Maximilian Horster, Head of ISS ESG said: “The number of companies pledging to reach Net Zero is growing rapidly. ISS ESG’s augmented solutions launched today support investors in verifying the extent to which their portfolio companies’ publicized targets and commitments are aligning with ongoing or planned operational activities.”
###
About ISS ESG
ISS ESG solutions enable investors to develop and integrate responsible investing policies and practices, engage on responsible investment issues, and monitor portfolio company practices through screening solutions. It also provides climate data, analytics, and advisory services to help financial market participants understand, measure, and act on climate-related risks across all asset classes. In addition, ESG solutions cover corporate and country ESG research and ratings enabling its clients to identify material social and environmental risks and opportunities. For more information, please visit us at: www.iss-esg.com
Media Contact:
Sarah Ball
Executive Director
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc.
press@issgovernance.com
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