J.P. Morgan and Datamaran, the leading ESG risk management platform, announced today a partnership to provide first-of-its-kind insights into investment opportunities using a double materiality approach to ESG integration, delivered via J.P. Morgan’s new digital platform, “ESG Discovery”.
The number one Research house will leverage Datamaran to power ESG Discovery, a digital platform allowing investors to gain timely, high-quality information on material ESG risks and opportunities at both a company and sector level on an ongoing basis, complemented by input from J.P. Morgan’s highly rated sector analysts in EMEA Equity Research.
ESG Discovery uses Datamaran’s patented technology, making J.P. Morgan the first Equity Research provider to establish an ESG integration process based on double materiality, which considers the importance of ESG issues from two perspectives: financial and impact materiality. This initiative comes at a time when ESG is top priority for policymakers and business leaders alike, as companies seek to establish a clear position on a growing set of emerging risks and opportunities and strengthen their overall strategy.
Datamaran is the only technology solution for data-driven materiality and ESG risk management in the world, providing the first ever double materiality application. Powered by artificial intelligence, it brings a dynamic approach to materiality, risk management, board oversight, and reporting of ESG-related issues. The world’s top companies trust Datamaran to understand and keep a pulse on ESG risks and opportunities and help C-suite executives gain a clear position and strategy.
“ESG Discovery will provide J.P. Morgan’s sector analysts with a unique ability to assess ESG issues according to a clients’ own ESG priorities, providing the in-depth, fundamental and forward-looking opinions on ESG performance which are increasingly important to our clients,” said Sophie Warrick, Head of EMEA Equity Research & Co-Head of Global ESG Research at J.P. Morgan. “We believe this partnership with Datamaran and double materiality approach serves the diverse and rapidly-evolving needs of our clients by addressing a broad range of ESG investment strategies, from ESG integration to impact investing.”
With growing recognition and adoption globally the double materiality framework helps to ensure alignment between the financial markets and sustainability-oriented policy goals, such as the Paris Agreement. It considers the importance of ESG issues from two perspectives: financial (inside-out) and impact (outside-in) materiality.
“For the past seven years, C-Suite executives have trusted Datamaran to drastically improve how they address ESG,” said Datamaran’s CEO Marjella Lecourt-Alma. “We’re thrilled that J.P. Morgan is using this unique approach to accelerate strategic business opportunities on ESG through ESG Discovery. Looking at material risks from both a financial and wider sustainability perspective is becoming standard practice for investors and companies, and they both need a credible, robust, and tech-enabled process to achieve that.”
With global interest in ESG continuing to grow with investors, Datamaran has worked with J.P. Morgan to create their own materiality assessment models, utilizing data that comes from more than just financial markets. These additions include corporate disclosures, mandatory regulations, voluntary policy initiatives, and online media. Together, these sources capture signals on which issues are becoming material and anticipate which emerging topics are positioned to have an impact on financial markets.
This framework also enables more dynamic and forward-looking ESG insights, by exploring the links between financial and impact materiality. In addition to incorporating Datamaran analytics into its proprietary model, J.P. Morgan Equity analysts will use the platform to monitor emerging issues and identify those that may have an impact on the financial markets in the future.
“Focusing on a ‘financial materiality’ ESG integration approach alone risks producing incomplete ESG information, which does not truly reflect the risk/reward of potential investments over the long-term, nor fit the needs of all type of investors,” said Jean-Xavier Hecker, Co-Head of EMEA ESG & Sustainability Research at J.P. Morgan. “While Europe is leading the way in terms of legislation, using double materiality as a guiding principle for ESG reporting and investing is on the rise globally and gaining traction in the UK, Switzerland, Japan and the U.S.,” added Hecker.
In addition to incorporating Datamaran analytics into its proprietary model, J.P. Morgan will use the Datamaran platform to monitor emerging issues and identify those that may have an impact on the financial markets in the future. They join Datamaran’s global community of C-Suite Executives and top-tier partners in driving strategic ESG opportunities forward with its technology.
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