Report:
The Forrester Wave™: ESG Data And Analytics Providers, Q3 2024
How does Forrester define the ESG Data And Analytics Providers market in 2024?
Investors and corporates need an ever-growing variety of data to identify and evaluate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and climate-related risks and opportunities in their investment portfolios, third-party ecosystems, and supply chains. The growing recognition of corporate sustainability and climate risks, the influx of sustainable and climate finance, and new sustainability reporting standards and frameworks are driving the need for more comprehensive, accurate, transparent, and comparable ESG, carbon, and climate data. Customers should look for providers that keep expanding the breadth and depth of their ESG and climate data, enable tight data and workflow integration, and offer data solutions aligned with regulatory standards and frameworks.
Key Facts for The Forrester Wave™: ESG Data And Analytics Providers, Q3 2024 in 2024
- Publication Date: 08-Jul-2024
- Document ID:
- Summary: In our 25-criterion evaluation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data and analytics providers, we identified the most significant ones and researched, analyzed, and scored them. This report shows how each provider measures up and helps investment, sustainability, and risk professionals select the right one for their needs.
- Authors: Aurelie L'Hostis, Oliwia Berdak, Lok Sze Sung, Sam Bartlett
How did the ESG Data And Analytics Providers market evolve in 2024?
- Opaque ESG ratings are no longer satisfying investors, regulators, and corporates
- Regulators are looking to regulate ESG data and ratings providers
- Growing recognition of corporate sustainability and climate risks is driving market demand
- Influx of sustainable and climate finance is accelerating market growth
- New sustainability reporting standards and frameworks are creating need for more comprehensive data
- Market demands more accurate, transparent, and comparable ESG, carbon, and climate data
- Customers need ever-growing variety of data to evaluate ESG and climate-related risks and opportunities
- Data needs span investment portfolios, third-party ecosystems, and supply chains
- 12 providers evaluated in this Wave assessment
- Evaluation based on 25 criteria across current offering, strategy, and market presence
What product features are required to be included in this year's evaluation?
- A solution designed for investment decision-making or supply chain risk management. The product offering is relevant to investment, sustainability, and risk professionals. Each assessed vendor has clients in the financial services industry or corporations that use ESG data and analytics to identify ESG-related investment risks and opportunities, identify and evaluate ESG-related risks in their supply chain, and bolster their sustainability reporting.
- Significant market presence. The vendors have an existing customer base of enterprise-scale and global customers.
- Reported or estimated annual product revenue greater than $10 million in 2023. Vendors included in this evaluation offer a proven product and generate $10 million or more in annual revenue attributable specifically to their ESG data and analytics offering. All revenues include access to data or to interfaces for assessing data and do not include services revenue.
- Mindshare among Forrester's enterprise customers. The vendors are frequently mentioned in Forrester end-user client inquiries, shortlists, consulting projects, and case studies or by other vendors as viable competitors. Alternatively, the participating vendor may, in Forrester's judgment, have warranted inclusion because of differentiating features.
What are the common features of top products in the ESG Data And Analytics Providers space?
No common features specified.
Scope Exclusions
- Services revenue is excluded from revenue calculations
- Vendors below $10 million in annual product revenue
- Vendors without enterprise-scale and global customer base
- Solutions not designed for investment decision-making or supply chain risk management
Inclusion Criteria
Vendors must, among other requirements:
- A solution designed for investment decision-making or supply chain risk management relevant to investment, sustainability, and risk professionals
- Significant market presence with existing customer base of enterprise-scale and global customers
- Reported or estimated annual product revenue greater than $10 million in 2023
- Mindshare among Forrester's enterprise customers through frequent mentions in inquiries, shortlists, consulting projects, and case studies
Offering Strengths — Relative Weighting
- Data coverage — 10%
- Data collection — 5%
- Estimated and modeled data — 10%
- Data analysis — 5%
- Data timing — 5%
- Materiality analysis — 5%
- Data quality — 5%
- Data verifiability — 5%
- Transparency and explainability of methodologies — 5%
- Data access and delivery — 5%
- Data integration — 5%
- Systems integration — 5%
- Workflow integration — 5%
- Customized dashboards and data visualizations — 5%
- Alignment with standards and frameworks — 10%
- Disclosure capabilities — 5%
- Customer service — 5%
Strategy Strength — Relative Weighting
- Vision — 20%
- Innovation — 20%
- Roadmap — 20%
- Partner ecosystem — 20%
- Adoption — 10%
- Pricing flexibility and transparency — 10%
FAQs
Q: What does this research cover?
A: This research provides a comprehensive evaluation of 12 leading ESG data and analytics providers based on 25 criteria. It analyzes vendor capabilities in data coverage, collection, quality, integration, regulatory alignment, and innovation. The report evaluates how providers help organizations identify and manage ESG and climate-related risks and opportunities across investment portfolios, supply chains, and third-party ecosystems.
Q: Who should use this research?
A: Investment, sustainability, and risk professionals should use this research to select the right ESG data and analytics provider for their needs. It is particularly valuable for organizations seeking to integrate ESG factors into investment decision-making, manage supply chain sustainability risks, improve corporate sustainability reporting, and comply with evolving regulatory requirements such as CSRD, SFDR, and EU taxonomy.
Q: What are the mandatory features of vendors included in this market?
A: Vendors must offer solutions designed for investment decision-making or supply chain risk management with clients in financial services or corporations using ESG data for investment risk identification, supply chain risk evaluation, and sustainability reporting. They must have significant market presence with enterprise-scale global customers, generate at least $10 million in annual product revenue from ESG data and analytics offerings (excluding services), and demonstrate mindshare among Forrester's enterprise customers through frequent mentions in inquiries, shortlists, consulting projects, case studies, or recognition as viable competitors.
Q: What are some reasons for not being included in this report?
A:
- Annual product revenue below $10 million threshold
- Lack of enterprise-scale and global customer base
- Solution not designed for investment decision-making or supply chain risk management
- Insufficient market presence or mindshare among Forrester's enterprise customers
- Declined to participate in evaluation process
- Only partial participation in evaluation process
- Product offering not relevant to investment, sustainability, and risk professionals
Q: What should buyers consider when evaluating products in this market?
A:
- Look for providers that keep expanding the breadth and depth of their ESG and climate data and analytics, including emerging technology like satellite imagery or IoT, and AI capabilities with human oversight
- Seek vendors that enable tight data, system, and workflow integration with wide selection of integrations including APIs and strong partner ecosystems
- Evaluate providers' roadmaps and ability to respond to evolving global regulatory landscape for sustainability reporting
- Ensure alignment with reporting initiatives such as CSRD, CSDDD, EU taxonomy, IFRS, EBA Pillar 3 disclosures, and SFDR
- Assess data quality, transparency, verifiability, and ability to trace data back to sources
- Consider vendors' ability to provide granular raw data feeds for proprietary ESG risk management models
- Evaluate scope 3 emissions measurement capabilities for supply chain management
- Look for real-time and forward-looking data capabilities
Q: How has the ESG Data And Analytics Providers market evolved in 2024?
A:
- Opaque ESG ratings are no longer satisfying investors, regulators, and corporates
- Regulators are looking to regulate ESG data and ratings providers
- Growing recognition of corporate sustainability and climate risks
- Influx of sustainable and climate finance
- New sustainability reporting standards and frameworks driving need for comprehensive, accurate, transparent, and comparable ESG, carbon, and climate data
- Limited data interoperability and data standardization continue to be substantial challenges
- Global regulatory landscape for sustainability reporting is rapidly evolving
Q: What differentiates Strength of Offering vs. Strength of Strategy?
A: Strength of Current Offering evaluates the vendor's existing product capabilities across data coverage, collection, analysis, quality, integration, and alignment with regulatory frameworks. It focuses on what the vendor delivers today. Strength of Strategy assesses the vendor's future direction through vision, innovation plans, product roadmap, partner ecosystem development, market adoption trajectory, and pricing approach. It focuses on where the vendor is headed and their ability to adapt to evolving market needs.
Reference
- Forrester, The Forrester Wave™: ESG Data And Analytics Providers, Q3 2024, 08-Jul-2024, ID
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