MuniESG Solutions

Struggling to find robust and actionable ESG data?

The global trend toward Sustainable Investing has caught up with the municipal bond market. Interest in Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) related data is at an all-time high. Yet many market participants feel overwhelmed by the abundance of real-world data. They want a practical analytical framework to help them make sense of it all. They also seek a simple scoring system to support their investment decisions.

MuniESG Solutions is DPC DATA’s response to this critical market need. We developed this product line in collaboration with top ESG subject matter experts to offer these key benefits:

• Climate risk scoring in context. Both financial and climate data are available on MuniESG’s integrated platform, so users can analyze climate exposure in the context of the municipal issuer’s overall fiscal resources.
• Multiple use cases. MuniESG can be used by issuers and sell-side capital committers, as well as institutional investors and market regulators.
• Individual bond level analysis. Because MuniESG incorporates DPC’s  MuniCREDIT Mapping methodology, climate risk and other ESG scores can be mapped directly to municipal obligors and bond issues at the individual Cusip-9 level.
• Easy to access. MuniESG is available as a stand-alone data feed as well as an add-on component of MuniCREDIT Online, DPC’s new web-based financial data lookup application.
• Easy to use. MuniESG scores are presented in a highly visual, color-coded format, so users can understand and compare scores at a glance. With MuniCREDIT Online, users can review data on-screen and have the option to download MuniESG reports in a pdf format.

Climate Risk Scores for Local Governments & School Districts

MuniESG includes both Physical and Carbon Transition Risk scores for over 90% of U.S. Local Governments and School Districts. Information is derived primarily from U.S. government sources. The scores were developed by Spatial Risk Systems (SRS), a spatial finance firm, whose cutting-edge methodology integrates geospatial data into investment and asset risk models.

MuniESG users also have access to key financial ratios combining climate data with DPC’s comprehensive financial data.

About MuniESG Scores

MuniESG Scores are built on SRS’s Spatial Risk Scores, which are comprised of numerous socio-demographic, environmental, climate, and weather metrics. The Scores measure exposure to location-specific factors with long-term impact on asset value, environmental impact, operational effectiveness, and social sustainability.

Here’s a look at the various scores available in MuniESG.

Environment Risk Scores measure risk from exposure to harmful environmental factors. These include exposure to lead paint, various air quality indicators and issuer’s proximity to toxic sites. Figure 1 illustrates how these scores appear in DPC’s MuniCREDIT Online platform.

Climate Impact Scores (Figure 1) represent the overall risk of monetary damage from 18 possible types of natural disasters. They factor in asset exposure, historic loss ratio, and hazard frequency when determining risk magnitude.

Figure 1. All scores are shown on a relative basis with other similar governmental units in the same state and across the entire country. (Scoring: 1 = Extremely favorable to 10 = Extremely vulnerable)

Community Vulnerability Scores (Figure 2) represent the relative level of susceptibility of the community to natural disasters, environmental hazards, and other adverse events. These scores take age, gender, wealth, poverty, race, special needs, and service sector employment into account.

Community Resilience Scores (Figure 2) represent the relative level of a community’s ability to prepare, mitigate, recover and adapt to a major disaster. These scores take into account quality of life, economic and financial outlook, building and housing infrastructure, governance, as well as community capital.

Figure 2. Community vulnerability and resiliency scores address a community’s susceptibility & ability to prepare for major disasters.

Carbon Transition Liability Scores (Figure 3) use Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions estimates to determine the Carbon Transition Liability, factoring in a social cost of carbon of $42. These scores provide “common sense” context by comparing the Carbon Transition Liability with real world financial and demographic metrics, such as population, total revenues, assessed valuation, net capital assets, and median household income.

Figure 3. Carbon transition risks ratios are expressed as both a numerical value and as relative state and national scores.

Learn more

To learn more about MuniESG Solutions or request a free sample report, contact your DPC DATA representative or email Sales@DPCDATA.com.

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