How a Leading Financial Firm Achieved Investor-Grade ESG Governance and Halved Collection Time

Key Takeaways

• Customer: A leading US-based financial services firm.
• Problem: Fragmented data across 18+ spreadsheets and a lack of clear audit trails for internal stakeholders.
• Solution: Centralized ESG data management with Novisto to ensure "investor-grade" accuracy and automated workflows.
• Outcome: 50% reduction in time spent chasing data owners; increased executive confidence; and 100% "audit-ready" transparency.

The Journey from Storytelling to Strategy

For this firm, the move toward sustainability wasn't just a trend; it was a hallmark of corporate maturity. When the company hit the Fortune 500 milestone, the board of directors recognized that it was time to start publishing its first sustainability report.

Early reports were about "dipping toes in the water"—capturing the good work already being done at the firm without a heavy reliance on deep data. However, as the program matured over eight years, the landscape shifted and the function moved from the Marketing department to Finance, a move that reflected a broader industry trend toward disclosure-driven reporting, where the stakes for data accuracy were significantly higher.

The "Bear" of Manual Reporting and Internal Audits

Before Novisto, the firm faced the classic "Excel nightmare" familiar to many ESG practitioners. The company relied on a third-party consultant who provided 18 different Excel spreadsheets aligned to GRI and SASB frameworks. The Head of Sustainability then had to manually assign data points to over 30 different data users across various business units.

The process was functional until the firm underwent its first internal audit. "Information was all over the place," she recalled. Data owners would often provide numbers without attaching the necessary proof, or the supporting evidence would be buried in a third-party consultant's email inbox. While she never deleted an email, finding a specific piece of evidence months later was "a bear."

The risk was clear: if a number was challenged by an auditor or an investor, the trail to verify it was fragmented. As the program matured, the shift in mindset necessitated a "fail-safe" system that could provide a definitive audit trail.

Implementing a "Fail-Safe" for ESG Governance

The firm's search for a software partner was driven by a need for reliability and expertise. After a previous software vendor went bankrupt shortly after being hired, the Head of Sustainability performed rigorous homework, interviewing "Big Five" firms and narrowing the field to four contenders for demos.

Novisto was the first demo, and the bar was set high immediately. "We got off of the Novisto call and we're like, this is amazing," she said. What stood out wasn't just the software's capabilities, but the "house full of expertise" behind it. Unlike larger, rigid legacy providers, Novisto was honest about the fact that ESG is a "work in progress" that is constantly growing and changing—a level of authenticity that resonated with her.

The implementation focused on building a system tailored to the firm's needs that mirrored the company's rigorous financial reporting standards. Key features included:

• A Robust Audit Trail: The ability to see exactly who provided data, when it was entered, and who overrode or approved any changes.
• Customized Attestation: The firm required at least one reviewer and one senior sign-off for every data point, all managed within the platform.
• Centralized Evidence: Every number in the sustainability report now links directly back to a supporting document stored within Novisto.
• Peer Benchmarking: Using Novisto's library to see what "forward-thinking" peers are doing, helping to drive internal strategy.

Cutting "Chasing" Time in Half

The transition to Novisto has fundamentally changed how the firm manages its ESG data. The most immediate impact was on efficiency. The Head of Sustainability estimates that Novisto has cut the time spent chasing data owners by 50%.

Instead of sending dozens of individual "one-off" emails to check on the status of data requests, the team uses Novisto's automated reminder system. "The reminders cut your time down way more than half because you're not having to look up who hasn't responded through your email," she explained.

Beyond time savings, the platform has delivered a newfound sense of confidence. "Novisto is my source of truth," she noted, referring to the peace of mind that comes from having an airtight audit trail for every public disclosure. This confidence has allowed the team to move the entire reporting process in-house, reducing reliance on expensive third-party consultants and ensuring that the firm "owns" its own narrative and data.

Finally, the platform has transformed her role from a "data collector" to a "strategic partner." By using Novisto's benchmarking tools, she can present data-backed gap analyses to business units like procurement or facilities, showing them exactly where the firm stands relative to the industry and building a long-term Sustainability roadmap together.

"Just because I run the Sustainability department does not mean I'm in charge of sustainability for the entire firm," she said. "It involves every single employee... and once you get that trust and understanding from people, they'll jump through hoops for you." With Novisto, this financial services leader has the tools to sustain that trust and continue its journey as a leader in financial sustainability.

Want to experience this level of success? Reach out to our team today to schedule a demo.