ERM, the world’s largest pure play sustainability consultancy has established a new partnership with Novata, the leading ESG data management platform that empowers private companies to collect, analyze, benchmark and report relevant ESG information. Founded with the mission to help enable a more sustainable and inclusive form of capitalism, Novata is a public benefit corporation formed by the Ford Foundation, Hamilton Lane, Microsoft, S&P Global, Omidyar Network, and more than a dozen private equity firms and pension funds.

ERM’s sustainability services, spanning strategic transformation and technical delivery capabilities, complement Novata’s data management and analytics platform to provide private companies and their owners with the actionable insights required to enhance ESG decision-making and reporting and deliver on their sustainability commitments.

Andrew Radcliff, Global Lead for M&A Advisory Services at ERM said: “Effective ESG data management and analysis is more critical than ever for private market companies and investors, as they focus on driving value creation through sustainability performance. Novata brings the highest standards of rigor and transparency to ESG data collection, analysis and reporting. ERM welcomes this opportunity to collaborate with Novata to turn that data into the action required for businesses to operationalize sustainability throughout their organizations.”

Working together, ERM CVS, an independent assurance and certification provider which is part of the ERM Group, and Novata will enable companies to gather and analyze the ESG data required to achieve independent assurance of their ESG performance, while helping them satisfy growing stakeholder demands for ESG transparency, meet increasing regulatory requirements and unlock commercial opportunities.

Beth Wyke, Global Head of Corporate Assurance at ERM CVS said: “The market for ESG assurance and certification services is growing rapidly, in line with increased disclosure requirements and stakeholder expectations. High quality data is integral to an organization’s ability to measure and manage their ESG performance. Novata’s data management platform will enable private market clients to demonstrate their commitment and drive improvements to their sustainability performance.”

Kushal Mashru, Head of Strategic Partnerships at ERM said: “ERM is continuing to develop its ecosystem of partners across each key area of the sustainability value chain, and our partnership with Novata reflects the growing demand we are seeing for enhanced management and measurement of ESG performance. We look forward to working with Novata to help more organizations use data to accelerate progress and deliver on their sustainability goals.”

Scott Kennedy, President and co-founder of NovataScott Kennedy, President & Co-Founder at Novata said: “As investor and stakeholder demands for accurate and reliable ESG information increase, Novata’s data management platform plays an important role to enable data collection and analysis in the private markets. Together, ERM CVS and Novata will help clients satisfy transparency requirements by providing high quality data and improving the accuracy and reporting of non-financial information and data.”

Margot Brandenburg, Co-Chair of Novata’s ESG Advisory Committee and Senior Program Officer at the Ford Foundation said: “Independent assurance is a critical step in validating ESG activities and initiatives that, in turn, increase transparency and meaningful reporting between firms and their stakeholders. Leveraging ERM CVS’ assurance expertise will provide Novata clients with confidence that their disclosures are accurate, reliable, and correctly aligned with the protocols and standards against which they are reported.”

About ERM
ERM is the business of sustainability.

As the largest global pure play sustainability consultancy, ERM partners with the world’s leading organizations, creating innovative solutions to sustainability challenges and unlocking commercial opportunities that meet the needs of today while preserving opportunities for future generations.

ERM’s diverse team of 7,500+ world-class experts in over 170 offices across 39 countries supports clients across the breadth of their organizations to operationalize sustainability. Through ERM’s deep technical expertise, clients are well-positioned to address their environmental, health, safety, risk, and social issues. ERM calls this capability its “boots to boardroom” approach – a comprehensive service model that allows ERM to develop strategic and technical solutions that advance objectives on the ground or at the executive level.

Source: erm.com