ESG data science company RepRisk announced that it has published its ESG data methodology on its website, aiming to boost transparency and enable more sustainable capital allocation by allowing investors to make better informed decisions.

The company has also published ‘Jupyter notebooks’ on its website, providing access to code, algorithms, and sample datasets that can be used to build and customize ESG scores and portfolios.

RepRisk uses a combination of machine learning and human intelligence to offer quantitative risk analytics and proprietary metrics for more than 185,000 public and private companies and over 50,000+ infrastructure projects, covering every global sector and market. The RepRisk ESG data covers a broad range of issues, including human rights, labor practices, corruption and the environment. The company’s solutions are used to provide ESG data for clients of some of the largest investors and investment services providers, including BlackRock and JPMorgan.

RepRisk’s announcement comes as the use of ESG ratings and data services by investors is rapidly growing, but the market for the solutions which are becoming increasingly central to the investment process is lacking in transparency. IOSCO, the leading international policy forum and standards setter for securities regulators published a report this week calling for improved transparency into the methodologies and data used by providers, following a study into the market which found a lack of clarity and alignment on definitions on what ratings or data products intend to measure, and concerns related to conflicts of interest between the providers and the entities they cover. IOSCO is also urging regulators to boost oversight of the sector.

Philipp Aeby, CEO of RepRisk, said:

“This is a pivotal day for transparency in ESG and for RepRisk by being the first and only ESG data provider to publish our detailed methodology, publicly, on our website. While we have always been transparent with our clients and partners, we now want to make it available to the world. Being transparent enables our clients to make better informed decisions – and it’s the right thing to do. As a pioneer in the ESG data industry, we are excited to see the growth, acceptance, and adoption of ESG data.”

Click here to view RepRisk’s methodology review on its website.