Streamlining ESG reporting: a new opportunity for infrastructure investors

The ESG Data Convergence Initiative (EDCI) was created to help investors in private markets by converging on a global, standardised set of ESG metrics. This currently allows GPs and portfolio companies to better understand their current performance through benchmarking themselves, while also enabling greater transparency and more comparable information for LPs and investment managers. 

Now the EDCI plans to welcome infrastructure investors. Helping them to gather and benchmark key metrics - such as emissions, renewable energy use, and injury rates - that are easy to collect, globally relevant, and actionable.

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) advises the EDCI’s member-led Steering Committee, supports the membership and creates the annual benchmark. So Vlad Benn, Policy and Research Manager at GIIA, caught up with Ben Morley, Partner and Associate Director who leads BCG’s support of the initiative, and asked him about how the EDCI can serve infrastructure investors. 

For GIIA members who might not be familiar with the EDCI, can you share a bit about the initiative?

The EDCI is a global effort to standardize ESG metrics, data collection and reporting in private markets. Now in its third year, its membership has grown to a community of more than 450 GPs and LPs around the world, with the 2024 annual benchmark consisting of over 150,000 data points from 6,200 portfolio companies. 

This rich benchmark is made up of aggregated and anonymized portfolio company data that enables investors to better understand the sustainability performance of private companies, alongside benchmarking their own portfolio’s performance.

While the initiative was originally established to support the needs of the private equity industry, it has quickly evolved to include private credit, and now infrastructure, who can all equally benefit from the initiative.

Can you tell us more about how the EDCI is relevant for infrastructure?

With growing interest from infrastructure investors, BCG and GIIA co-hosted an EDCI working group earlier in 2024, offering a forum for global infrastructure GPs and LPs to discuss how the EDCI could extend to support this asset class. 

The group reviewed the initiative’s core metrics – data points like emissions, renewable energy usage and injury rates – and determined that these are equally as meaningful for infrastructure assets as for private companies. However, the group also recommended making some minor adjustments to the initiative’s reporting mechanisms to ensure it is as useful as possible for infrastructure investors. 

As such, the new ‘EDCI for Infra’ will begin welcoming new GPs and LPs for the 2025 reporting year and will include the following adjustments:

• Asset stage: Infrastructure companies will report if they are operational or in development (as opposed to venture, growth, buyout)
• TICCS Classification: Asset classification options from The Infrastructure Company Classification Standard (TICCS) will now be included 
• EDCI metrics guidance: guidance will be enhanced, with clarity for infra investors reporting to the EDCI and engaging with the benchmark

How can infrastructure investors benefit from joining the initiative?

Infrastructure investors stand to benefit in several ways.  All EDCI members can benefit from leveraging the standardized metrics and template to help streamline their ESG data collection and reporting processes. 

In addition, all GPs who contribute data to the initiative go through a thoughtful validation process to support data accuracy and quality. Once validated, all members receive access to the member portal featuring summary benchmark dashboards, alongside analysis from BCG on key findings and trends from the aggregated dataset.

Members can also choose to upgrade to a premium EDCI membership to unlock additional benefits including tailored benchmarks, with BCG helping to construct like-for-like comparisons for individual assets. 

By joining the EDCI, infrastructure investors can track their portfolio’s sustainability performance in a more meaningful and insightful way, supporting strategic decision-making and identifying new sources of sustainable value creation. 

How can GIIA members learn more?

I encourage anyone looking to learn more about the EDCI to visit our website and reach out to the initiative’s helpdesk at info@esgdc.org with any questions.