Strategic Focus: Transitioning To Investor-Grade ESG Data And Decision-Making

Access this research

Access all Corporate Sustainability Leaders content with a strategic subscription or buy this single report

Need help or have a question about this report? Contact us for assistance

Executive Summary

Corporates can count on 2022 and 2023 to bring higher expectations from customers, investors and regulators for more accurate, auditable and timely ESG and sustainability disclosures. To respond to demands from internal and external stakeholders, firms will need to invest in approaches that improve the processes of gathering ESG and sustainability data and sharing the data externally at scale and with accelerated timeframes. This report identifies the design principles and approaches firms can incorporate into their requests for proposals (RFPs) to support the necessary transition from traditional sustainability data to investor-grade ESG data. The result should yield a level of data quality to support not only reporting and disclosures, but also benchmarking and ESG-related decision-making. Verdantix defines the digital strategy necessary for enabling investor-grade ESG data as an ‘ESG information architecture’.

Firms Are Facing A Major ESG Data Challenge 
ESG Data Requirements Are Only Growing More Complex 

ESG Information Architecture Provides A Roadmap For Achieving ESG Investor-Grade Data 
ESG Information Architecture Design Principles Focus On Reporting And Decision-Making 
ESG Information Architecture Building Blocks Enable Flexibility For The Future 
Firms Have Multiple Options For Achieving An ESG Information Architecture 

Figure 1. ESG And Sustainability Data Barrier  
Figure 2. Defining Investor-Grade Data  
Figure 3. Stakeholder Decisions And Timeframes  
Figure 4. ESG Information Architecture Components: Best Practices 

About the Authors

Kim Knickle

Kim Knickle

Research Director

Kim Knickle is a Research Director at Verdantix, bringing more than two decades of analyst experience to the evolving world of sustainability. Her current research spans ESG a...

View Profile
Sam Renshaw

Sam Renshaw

Industry Analyst

Sam is an Industry Analyst in the ESG & Sustainability practice. His current research agenda focuses on ESG solutions across financial markets including ESG information provid...

Rodolphe d’Arjuzon

Rodolphe d’Arjuzon

Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder

Rodolphe co-founded Verdantix in 2008. As Chief Product Officer, he leads the firm’s research strategy and intellectual agenda. With over 20 years of experience in techn...

View Profile
Connor Taylor

Connor Taylor

Senior Analyst

Connor is a Senior Analyst at Verdantix. He focuses on delivering research to help senior executives navigate decarbonization decision-making and build effective strategies to...

View Profile

Other related content

Blog
Corporate Sustainability Leaders
Look Around, The Drivers Of Sustainabil...

At the start of 2025, I expected an exciting year for sustainability. Well, it certainly has been exciting, just not exactly in the ways I’d hoped. From the EU Omnibus to President...

05 September, 2025

Blog
Corporate Sustainability Leaders
Europe’s Sustainability House Of Cards:...

On August 21, 2025, the US and the EU unveiled their joint Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade. Buried under headlines about tariffs and energy dea...

28 August, 2025

Blog
Corporate Sustainability Leaders
Where Sustainability Shines In The US –...

I’m based in the US, where it doesn’t take much effort to find anti-ESG news. Stating the obvious: President Trump falls into the anti-ESG camp. And many federal government agencie...

27 August, 2025

Blog
Corporate Sustainability Leaders
Another Rule, Another (Proposed) Rollba...

The Trump administration just took one of its most momentous steps yet in dismantling US federal climate policy. On July 25, 2025, the EPA announced a proposal to rescind the 2009 ...

05 August, 2025

Blog
Corporate Sustainability Leaders
Can The EU Put A Price On Nature?

In July 2025, the European Commission published its Roadmap towards Nature Credits, signalling the EU’s intent to establish and directly support a dedicated nature credits market. ...

05 August, 2025

Webinar
Building Digital Platforms & Operational Tech
Breaking The Silo-nce: How To Get Opera...

As attention shifts away from net zero target setting to asset level decarbonization, many firms are discovering critical disconnect between their energy management efforts and cor...

Upcoming / 24 September, 2025