Sustainability Consultancy ERM Partners With ESG Analytics Startup Novata

ERM, which positions itself as the world’s largest pure play sustainability consultancy, has inked a partnership with ESG analytics startup Novata. The relationship will help customers to collect, analyze, benchmark and report relevant ESG information, the two companies said.

Novata, based in New York, New York, was founded in 2021. The company, led by President and Co-Founder Scott Kennedy (pictured, top of page) had 84 employees listed on LinkedIn as of May 9, 2023. The public benefit corporation was created by a consortium that includes The Ford Foundation, Omidyar Network, S&P Global and Hamilton Lane.

Novata is building a platform to address "the private markets' critical and immediate need for simple, yet powerful tools to reduce the burden of collecting, managing, and benchmarking ESG data." Target customers include private equity, private credit, venture capital and limited partner organizations.

Sustainability Consulting: ERM Business Background

ERM, based in London, United Kingdom, had 8,935 employees listed on LinkedIn as of May 9, 2023. ERM helps customers to develop sustainable products and supply chains that ultimately align with sustainable economy strategies.

ERM assists customers with sustainability planning and target-setting, integrating and implementing decarbonization strategies across operations and value chains and supporting reporting and disclosure requirements, the company said.

ERM advises on:

• Corporate sustainability and climate change
• Mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
• Capital project delivery
• Low carbon economy transitions
• Operational performance
• EHS management and compliance
• Liability portfolio management and remediation
• Safety services
• Digital services
• Product stewardship

ERM has grown both organically and through acquisitions. Example ERM acquisitions include NINT in March 2023, Coho in February 2023 and Libryo in December of 2022.

ESG Partnership: Executive Perspectives

The Novata relationship involves ERM CVS, the independent assurance and certification provider arm of is part of the ERM Group. Together, the partners 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," the businesses said.

In a prepared statement about the relationship, Novata President and Co-Founder Scott Kennedy 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.”

Concluded Beth Wyke, global head of corporate assurance at ERM CVS: “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.”

ERM and Salesforce Net Zero Cloud Partnership

ERM partners with several key cloud companies and software providers. Additional relationships include Salesforce.com -- which involves ERM's decarbonization services and the Salesforce Net Zero Cloud.