(US and Canada) Eric Bigelsen, Global Head of Industry Engagement and Senior Advisor for ESG, EDM Council, speaks with Robert Lutton, Vice President, Sandhill Consultants, about ways to manage ESG data and the upcoming initiatives from EDM Council.

Bigelsen begins by mentioning the ways to address challenges faced by companies with ESG data. He says that while regulations can develop and evolve, companies need to first decide on responsibility and accountability for ESG data within the organization. It could be the CFO’s office, the Chief Sustainability Officer, or anyone else.

Next is a data management and quality problem. There should be processes to ensure the quality of information collected internally and externally, and to identify the data lineage. 

Regarding the ESG papers, Bigelsen says that these were possible due to the collaboration of over 80 different companies, and that it’s in the DNA of the EDM Council to facilitate industry collaboration. The ESG reports can be accessed on the council’s website, edmcouncil.org.

Bigelsen then sheds light on the new reports, saying that one is on investment product creation and the second is on the asset owner. The council also intends to summarize the data management best practice journey throughout the ecosystem with a report.

He notes that the council is looking at two different workstreams. The focus is on the overall ecosystem with other key industry constituents, and then the actual opportunities to use a registry of taxonomies with specific use cases.

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