Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1489908
10 COMMERCIAL 12.1.2023 Could advanced technologies put an end to ESG pitfalls? WITH the increasing demand for greater transparency and accounta- bility from companies, investors, cus- tomers and other stakeholders, ESG elements are increasingly influencing investing. Between 2020 and 2021, money in- vested into ESG funds more than dou- bled and it continued to grow in 2022. While the S and G part of ESG con- tinue to grow in importance, the im- minent challenge of dealing with the climate crisis is very much driving this ESG trend, which is expected to con- tinue in the coming years. Bloomberg reported that, by 2025, it is expected that around 33% of all global assets under management will have ESG mandates. Despite the growth of ESG funds and capital allegedly flowing into this sec- tor, it is still extremely difficult to un- derstand whether this is actually the case. Without enough regulation or uni- versal standards, ESG is still in its "wild west" stage. Regulators are increasing their scru- tiny in the sector as greenwashing al- legations surge. In 2022 we saw BNY Mellon agree to pay a fine of $1.5m for misstating and omitting information about ESG con- siderations for its mutual funds. This was the first case where the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled with an investment ad- viser concerning ESG statements. Given the nature of today's ESG sec- tor, how do we know if capital is truly going to companies that have a veri- fiable positive impact on the environ- ment? One issue plaguing the market is the lack of high quality data, creating a general deficiency in ESG transparen- cy and allowing for greenwashing to occur. And it is no surprise why - the pro- cesses for corporate climate-relevant data collection have historically been challenging. Aside from the fact that companies are voluntarily reporting data with varied or incomplete ESG standards, they have often relied on manual data collection, which is not only prone to error, but is also a time consuming and costly process. Blockchain technology and tokeni- sation may be a timely and effective solution to our ESG problems. Despite the aftermath of FTX's re- cent collapse causing some tradition- al financiers to shy away from digital assets, this debacle is likely to be an example of basic financial fraud found in a traditional centralised financial system. Blockchain technology and decen- tralised finance were not the culprits - they could have helped prevent fraud like this. Mixed assets only ESG funds to keep money in volatile markets Larry Fink, initially a sceptic of to- kenisation, recently asserted that "the next generation for markets, the next generation for securities, will be to- kenisation of securities". When it comes to green finance and ESG, a blockchain-based system is not the only solution available, but it does provide all stakeholders with greater trust and more predictable time and cost in the gathering, recording and sharing of information - ultimate- ly contributing to the acceleration of positive climate action. A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger - each block of transaction data on this decentralised growing list of records contains information about the block previous to it, thus forming a chain that is resistant to modifica- tion. It is secure by design, making it very suitable for situations where transpar- ent and traceable information is im- portant. A blockchain-based system, com- bined with other technologies, ensures organisations can capture and record accurate, verifiable climate-relevant information at the asset level that is tamper-proof, retaining a high degree of provenance. This technology-enhanced, direct methodology for extracting, recording and sharing climate-relevant data can materially accelerate processes that are often entirely manual and open to human error, only requiring manual inspection where and when necessary. This results in more timely data, greater predictability, reduced cost, and vastly improved auditability. It is likely that in the foreseeable fu- ture, we will see more organisations utilise advanced solutions for the cap- turing, recording and sharing of ESG data, and the creation of environmen- tal financial products dependent on such data. Ultimately, this is what is required to accelerate positive climate action on the timeline we need. It is likely that in the foreseeable future, we will see more organisations utilise advanced solutions for the capturing, recording and sharing of ESG data