MSCI Develops Solution to Centralize Private Market Climate and Sustainability Disclosures

MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of mission-critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, today announced the launch of MSCI Private Company Data Connect – a centralized hub that provides general partners (“GPs”) access to private companies' sustainability and climate data and disclosures.

MSCI Private Company Data Connect is designed to drive transparency and a common language for investors in private markets considering companies’ sustainability and climate data by enabling GPs to:

• Execute due diligence and risk management processes;
• Respond to client and regulatory sustainability reporting requirements;
• And develop sustainable value creation strategies, such as engagement and target-setting for their portfolio companies.

Companies retain ownership of their self-reported data and can approve or decline data requests from GPs and lenders directly on the platform. MSCI Private Company Data Connect also allows companies to search for institutions and market participants that are active on the hub to proactively provide access to their data.

“As companies’ sustainability and climate considerations are increasingly being used in capital allocation, lending, and other decision-making processes, investors need an efficient and effective way to share and analyze this critical data,” said Eric Moen, Head of ESG at MSCI. “In recent years, there has been an uptick in global regulator and client demand for more reporting and data around the overall sustainability of GPs’ investments. MSCI Private Company Data Connect is designed to give investors similar levels of insight into private companies’ sustainability practices with which they assess publicly traded corporations, underscoring MSCI’s deep commitment to enhancing transparency across the global private asset investment landscape and helping investors manage complex, total portfolios.”

MSCI Private Company Data Connect will leverage the template developed by the ESG Integrated Disclosure Project (“ESG IDP”) – an industry initiative bringing together leading lenders in the private credit and syndicated loan markets to improve transparency and accountability. The ESG IDP was formed by the Alternative Credit Council, the private credit affiliate of the Alternative Investment Management Association, the Loan Syndications and Trading Association, and the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, in co-operation with a group of leading alternative asset managers, credit investors and a coalition of market stakeholders.