Finance
With more than $1 trillion assets in sustainable funds in Europe, ESG investments have become mainstream and even outperformed the larger market in the last 10 years. In response to the coronavirus pandemic and the climate crisis, the sustainable finance industry experienced substantial growth in the last year, demonstrating resilience.
Simultaneously, mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (mHREDD) regulations for corporations, including financial institutions, are gaining momentum. To manage risks, firms will need to identify, prevent and remedy human rights and environmental abuses and keep a paper trail.
Finance
With more than $1 trillion assets in sustainable funds in Europe, ESG investments have become mainstream and even outperformed the larger market in the last 10 years. In response to the coronavirus pandemic and the climate crisis, the sustainable finance industry experienced substantial growth in the last year, demonstrating resilience.
Simultaneously, mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (mHREDD) regulations for corporations, including financial institutions, are gaining momentum. To manage risks, firms will need to identify, prevent and remedy human rights and environmental abuses and keep a paper trail.
Ulula helps financial corporations strengthen ESG screening
Ulula’s suite of solutions help corporations remotely gather ESG data on large scale investments to better monitor, respond to and report on ESG performance in real time.Â
Financial firms are finding they benefit from mHREDD legislation and are seeking to secure hard data that proves they are avoiding investment risks.
Improving ESG Screening
Voluntary supply chain due diligence and reporting has proved insufficient to ensure an institution’s suppliers are complying with ESG regulations and expectations, financial institutions included. Financial firms are finding they benefit from mHREDD legislation and are seeking to secure hard data that proves they are avoiding investment risks.Â
Firms can scale remote data collection and monitor their exposure to ESG risks through all phases of a project on one centralized platform.Â
Institutions can leverage real-time ESG analytics to proactively respond to material risks, thereby protecting themselves, investors and other stakeholders.
Research has shown that 65% of projects funded under the Equator Principles show no evidence of stakeholder engagement or grievance mechanism
Engaging Stakeholders, Resolving Grievances
Research has shown that 65% of projects funded under the Equator Principles show no evidence of stakeholder engagement or grievance mechanism. Especially without accountability, these large scale projects greatly impact vulnerable groups including low skilled workers, child laborers and community members that tend to be difficult to reach and engage.
Ulula’s grievance mechanism can bring financial institutions into compliance with the stakeholder engagement requirements outlined in the Equator Principles, and therefore out of dangerous reputational territory.
Direct and anonymous two-way mobile phone communication enables corporations to gain valuable insights. If needed, grievance review and response can be delegated to third parties through flexible micro-permissions.
Engaging Stakeholders, Resolving Grievances
Research has shown that 65% of projects funded under the Equator Principles show no evidence of stakeholder engagement or grievance mechanism. Especially without accountability, these large scale projects greatly impact vulnerable groups including low skilled workers, child laborers and community members that tend to be difficult to reach and engage.
Ulula’s grievance mechanism can bring financial institutions into compliance with the stakeholder engagement requirements outlined in the Equator Principles, and therefore out of dangerous reputational territory.
Direct and anonymous two-way mobile phone communication enables corporations to gain valuable insights. If needed, grievance review and response can be delegated to third parties through flexible micro-permissions.
Ulula’s solution is GDPR compliant.
Read more about our commitment to protecting personal data.
Building Financial Disclosures
New laws, such as the Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) in the EU, require financial institutions to carry out thorough due diligence. The SFDR requires institutions to include 34 Principle Adverse Impact indicators in disclosures. Financial institutions will need to ensure compliance with these new regulatory requirements.
Corporations can leverage Ulula’s remote surveys, tailored to measure key mandates, to identify ESG risks and meet reporting requirements.
Issues are identified and visualized on Ulula’s dashboard, allowing authorized users to prioritize urgent risks and outline remediation plans.
Ulula can help develop, implement and monitor corrective plans.
 Identifying Hidden ESG Risks
McKinsey & Company has charted an increasing frequency of noneconomic disruptions to supply chains since 1980. Even indirect involvement in a project can put financial institutions at risk of noncompliance with regulations or cause financial and reputational damage.
Ongoing data collection
Companies can deploy and scale Ulula’s tools easily and start collecting data on an ongoing basis.
Quickly identify hotspots
Ulula’s dashboard enables organizations to view ESG risks in relevant supply chains to identify hotspots of disruptive activity early and avoid taking a reactive approach to noneconomic disruptions.
 The Impact of COVID-19 on Finance Sector
The pandemic caused unforeseen volatility on the stock market, exposing investments to risk. Despite the downturn of the market, companies with strong ESG commitments and public perception proved to be more resilient compared to traditional investments. Indeed, companies with strong ESG and sustainability strategies outperformed their sector average globally in the first quarter of the crisis.
As social factors such as employment, health and safety, labor and community relations become increasingly material to the bottom line, companies will need to invest in solutions to improve their social impact if they want to strengthen their position in the market.
With Ulula, you can:Â
Deploy a digital solution across stakeholders — employees, remote workforces, impacted communities and even the general public — to gather real-time analytics on ESG performance.Â
Deploy multilingual surveys and a grievance mechanism across multiple communication channels, including SMS, voice, WhatsApp, web and app making it one of the most accessible digital engagement and data collection tools available
Centralize ESG analytics on a single dashboard, enabling decision makers to identify potential risks and opportunities to strengthen their overall performance
Ulula Across Sectors
See how Ulula solutions address challenges across other sectors.
Gather ESG data on your investments
Get in touch to learn how Ulula solutions can help you remotely gather ESG data on large scale investments to better monitor, respond to and report on ESG performance in real time.