BNP Paribas Securities Services, a global custodian with $9trn in assets under custody, has launched ESG Risk Analytics, an innovative solution which enables clients to integrate Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance factors more easily into their investment decision-making process.

Madhu Gayer, Head of Investment Reporting and Performance for APAC, BNP Paribas Securities Services, said: “With institutional investors now mandating ESG factors to be incorporated into their investment decision-making processes and the growing body of evidence linking sustainable business practices to economic performance –and you can easily see why ESG is front of people’s minds.”

“However, understanding, measuring and monitoring the ESG factors and their impact on portfolio performance is not easy. This is where we come in,” he told Africa Global Funds.

ESG Risk Analytics provides a detailed breakdown of how well clients’ investments and benchmarks rate against an extensive range of ESG factors.

These include environmental factors, such as carbon emissions and energy usage; social factors, such as human rights and community relations; and corporate governance factors, such as board diversity and shareholder rights.

Using comprehensive, granular and independently sourced data, ESG Risk Analytics evaluates up to 750 ESG data points for each company in its database.

This data is then used to analyze clients’ portfolios, providing an overall ESG score, which can be compared to other portfolios and benchmarks.

ESG Risk Analytics also provides much deeper analysis, breaking down a client’s portfolio to country, sector and individual security level.

ESG Risk Analytics is part of BNP Paribas Securities Services’ Data Navigation Analysis solutions and is available for BNP Paribas’s clients globally.

Patrick Colle, General Manager of BNP Paribas Securities Services, said: “ESG is becoming an essential part of the investment decision-making process.”

“With this new solution, we aim to help institutional investors overcome obstacles and incorporate ESG into their everyday investment decisions,” he said.