ESGSignals
ESGSignals® is an asset-level environmental and physical risk data platform operated by RS Metrics, founded in 2011.
Publisher review
ESGSignals® is an asset-level environmental and physical risk data platform operated by RS Metrics, founded in 2011. It provides granular, consistent, and verifiable data on individual assets—such as factories, power plants, and real estate—rather than relying on company-level or sector-level approximations. The platform is designed for corporates, asset managers, rating agencies, index providers, and financial institutions that need objective, comparable sustainability metrics to assess risks, meet regulatory obligations, and reduce greenwashing exposure. By focusing on observable, asset-specific data, ESGSignals® aims to address the fundamental lack of transparency and consistency that plagues traditional ESG ratings.
The platform works by sourcing and analyzing data at the asset level, offering an extensive list of environmental and physical risk metrics—including emissions, water stress, biodiversity impact, and physical climate risk. Users can perform single-asset analysis for isolated views, or apply filtering and customization at the company, industry, or sector levels. ESGSignals® also supports a 'Bring Your Own Assets' (BYOA) feature, allowing clients to upload their own asset lists for tailored analysis. The data is designed to align with key disclosure frameworks such as the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D), which mandates comprehensive due diligence on human rights and environmental risks in supply chains and introduces civil liability for noncompliance.
In the ESG data market, ESGSignals® competes with providers like Position Green, Coolset, ESG.AI, Matter, illuminem, BuzzWord, Vasanda, ESG Analytics, and Abydos Intelligent Solutions. Its differentiation lies in its asset-level granularity—a response to the well-documented problem that ESG ratings from different agencies show only about 60% correlation (per a 2021 ESMA study), leading to inconsistent index construction and fund holdings. By offering verifiable, independent data at the asset level, ESGSignals® aims to provide a more reliable foundation for sustainability assessment than the opaque, methodology-driven scores of traditional rating agencies.
The honest trade-offs: While asset-level data is more objective and verifiable, it may not capture the full strategic or governance context of a company—social and governance factors are harder to measure at the asset level. The platform's reliance on physical and environmental metrics means it is less suited for users focused on social or governance scoring. Additionally, the lack of explicit pricing information in public sources makes it difficult for potential buyers to assess cost without direct engagement. Finally, the platform's value depends on the quality and frequency of its underlying data sources, which may vary by geography and asset type, potentially limiting coverage in certain regions or industries.
How it works
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Asset-level data granularity
Provides data on individual assets (e.g., factories, power plants) rather than company-level averages, enabling precise sustainability assessment.
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Environmental and physical risk metrics
Covers emissions, water stress, biodiversity, and physical climate risk, with metrics aligned to TNFD and CS3D frameworks.
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Single-asset analysis
Allows users to isolate and analyze a single asset's performance, useful for due diligence or portfolio screening.
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Filtering and customization
Users can filter and customize views by company, industry, or sector, adapting the data to specific investment or compliance needs.
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Bring Your Own Assets (BYOA)
Clients can upload their own asset lists for tailored analysis, integrating proprietary portfolios into the platform's data layers.
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Objective, verifiable data
Relies on observable, independent data sources rather than self-reported company disclosures, reducing greenwashing risk.
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Framework alignment
Data aligns with TNFD LEAP approach and EU CS3D due diligence obligations, supporting regulatory compliance.
Strengths and trade-offs
Strengths
- Provides asset-level data that is more reliable than company-level or sector-level approaches for sustainability assessment, addressing a key deficiency in traditional ESG ratings.
- Helps corporates, asset managers, rating agencies, and index providers access standardized, comparable metrics, improving risk identification and opportunity spotting.
- Enhances investor trust by offering objective, verifiable data that reduces greenwashing risks, a critical issue in the ESG space.
- Supports compliance with evolving regulations like the CS3D directive, which mandates comprehensive due diligence and introduces civil liability for noncompliance.
Trade-offs
- Focuses primarily on environmental and physical risk metrics, offering limited coverage of social and governance factors that are harder to measure at the asset level.
- Lacks publicly available pricing information, forcing potential buyers to engage directly with RS Metrics to understand costs and subscription models.
- Data coverage may vary by geography and asset type, potentially leaving gaps in regions or industries with less accessible or lower-quality source data.
- The platform's value depends on the frequency and freshness of its underlying data, which may not match real-time needs for high-frequency trading or dynamic risk monitoring.
Pricing context
Not publicly disclosed in the provided sources; potential users must contact RS Metrics directly for pricing details.
Getting started with ESGSignals
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Sign up for ESGSignals
Visit the RS Metrics website and complete the registration form to create an account. Provide your organization details and specify your use case, such as asset management or regulatory compliance, to receive tailored onboarding instructions.
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Upload your asset list
Use the Bring Your Own Assets (BYOA) feature to upload a CSV or spreadsheet containing your asset identifiers, such as facility names or coordinates. This allows the platform to overlay its environmental and physical risk data on your specific portfolio.
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Configure data filters
Set filters by company, industry, or sector to narrow the analysis to relevant assets. Choose the environmental and physical risk metrics you need, such as emissions or water stress, to align with your assessment goals or regulatory frameworks like TNFD.
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Run single-asset analysis
Select an individual asset from your uploaded list to view its detailed risk profile. Examine metrics like physical climate risk or biodiversity impact to evaluate its sustainability performance for due diligence or portfolio screening.
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Schedule regular data updates
Configure the platform to refresh your asset data at a frequency that matches your monitoring needs, such as quarterly or annually. This ensures your risk assessments remain current for ongoing compliance and reporting obligations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ESGSignals and how does it work?
ESGSignals is an asset-level environmental and physical risk data platform by RS Metrics. It provides granular data on individual assets like factories and power plants, using observable sources to assess emissions, water stress, and climate risks for corporates and financial institutions.
What types of environmental and physical risk metrics does ESGSignals cover?
ESGSignals covers emissions, water stress, biodiversity impact, and physical climate risk. These metrics are designed to align with frameworks like TNFD and the EU's CS3D directive, supporting comprehensive due diligence on environmental risks in supply chains.
How does ESGSignals help with regulatory compliance like CS3D?
ESGSignals aligns with the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, which mandates due diligence on environmental risks and introduces civil liability for noncompliance. Its asset-level data helps companies meet these obligations by providing verifiable, comparable metrics.
What is the Bring Your Own Assets feature in ESGSignals?
The Bring Your Own Assets feature lets clients upload their own asset lists for tailored analysis. This allows users to integrate proprietary portfolios into ESGSignals' data layers, enabling customized sustainability assessments for specific assets or supply chains.
How does ESGSignals compare to traditional ESG ratings?
Traditional ESG ratings from different agencies show only about 60% correlation, per a 2021 ESMA study. ESGSignals offers more reliable asset-level data based on observable sources, reducing greenwashing risk and providing consistent metrics for index construction and fund holdings.
What are the limitations of ESGSignals?
ESGSignals focuses on environmental and physical risks, with limited coverage of social and governance factors. Data coverage may vary by geography and asset type, and pricing is not publicly disclosed, requiring direct contact with RS Metrics for cost details.
Alternatives
How ESGSignals compares
Direct head-to-head against 3 competitors. Picked by 7wData.
ESGSignals
- Pricing
- Not publicly disclosed in the provided sources; potential users must contact RS Metrics directly for pricing details.
- Target
- ESGSignals® is an asset-level environmental and physical risk data platform operated by RS Metrics, founded in 2011.
- Strength
- Provides asset-level data that is more reliable than company-level or sector-level approaches for sustainability assessment, addressing a key deficiency in traditional ESG ratings.
- Watch for
- Focuses primarily on environmental and physical risk metrics, offering limited coverage of social and governance factors that are harder to measure at the asset level.
Plan A
- Pricing
- Custom/Contact sales
- Target
- Corporates needing carbon accounting
- Deployment
- Cloud
- Strength
- TÜV-certified GHG Protocol compliance
- Watch for
- Primarily environmental focus, less on S/G pillars
Workiva
- Pricing
- $10k+/year (enterprise-scale)
- Target
- Public companies with integrated financial/ESG reporting
- Deployment
- Cloud
- Strength
- Audit-ready reporting with financial data integration
- Watch for
- Complex setup for pure ESG use cases
Tracera
- Pricing
- Custom/Contact sales
- Target
- AI-driven ESG data unification
- Deployment
- Cloud
- Strength
- Automated data collection across ESG pillars
- Watch for
- Newer entrant with limited public case studies
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Sources
Reporting on this tool draws on these publicly available sources.