Caroline Ward: I manage Bloomberg’s Enterprise Data ESG business, which makes ESG datasets available for business use through the Bloomberg Data License. Patricia and I have the same goal of establishing consistency in every process and giving our customers the freedom to choose. For example, clients want to share data across their businesses in a scalable way, so I spend a lot of time making sure it’s consistent with history, metadata, and more. This enables our clients to take their Bloomberg ESG data and distribute it across a watershed or asset management system so that people across the organization can access the same information.
EF: What sets Bloomberg’s ESG data apart?
PT: Hands down, it’s data quality and transparency. Our company reported ESG on 15,000 companies representing more than 80% of the company and at least 80% of the company’s employees. Our ESG analysts run more than 5,000 sophisticated, multi-factor analysis systems to ensure that everything meets the highest standards. Our customers can drill down to the source code to verify each datapoint.
We provide an overview of the factors used in Bloomberg’s ESG scores and the weighting of the factors. Our results are quantitative in nature; they are not affected by conflicts of interest and are not judged by experts. It depends on the company’s knowledge and we do not use proxies to help with the lack of data management.
It is clear to our users what data is disclosed by the company, what is not disclosed, and the company’s policy on disclosure.
EF: What additions have you made recently?
PT: Regulations are the main driver. There are 30 taxonomies under development and international systems. We are working with policymakers and industry-related organizations to inform our development efforts to help harmonize ESG-based regulations around the world.
CW: Another major challenge is integrating ESG data from multiple sources. Bloomberg’s Data License Plus ESG Manager solution gives companies the ability to meet the requirements of multiple ESG vendors, maintain consistent data within their organization, and enrich it with the content of the Bloomberg Data License.
EF: What are your priorities for the coming year?
PT: Biodiversity and investment are emerging as major themes. Our clients are expected to implement biodiversity policy, monitor the financial impact/impact of biodiversity loss, develop biodiversity related products, coordinate with TNFD, and report to their supervisors. To help customers meet these requirements, we are adding to our inventory and inventory data so that users can understand the flow of materials that drive environmental damage. We are also working on audits that determine whether a company is operating in areas with high risk or dependency, and recording environmental disclosures.
CW: The most important thing for my team is to help clients navigate a stable credit market. Bloomberg analyzes information on fixed income instruments for corporate bonds, loans, preferreds, munis and structured products, then provides timely and comprehensive information to investors who want to direct investments to fixed assets.
We also focus on helping clients analyze their investment portfolios against ESG objectives. We recently launched a Funds Data Solution that integrates Bloomberg’s data with its securities data to provide objective, ESG Scores & granular fund analytics so clients can determine whether a fund meets established criteria. ESG is becoming increasingly complex, especially as new taxonomies and systems emerge.
EF: What do you want your customers to know?
PT: ESG is becoming increasingly complex, especially as new taxonomies and international practices emerge. We focus on data transparency and consistency so you can navigate through the challenges with confidence.
This article was published in conjunction with Environmental Finance’s 2023 ESG Data Guide – see Bloomberg’s entry. Here.