Verisk Maplecroft shortlisted for Principles for Responsible Investment award for human rights data solution

Verisk Maplecroft’s Asset Risk Exposure Analytics (AREA) has been shortlisted for the Recognition for Action – Human Rights award by the UN supported Principles for Responsible Investment.

AREA, which assesses 85 risks for 4 million+ corporate assets across 50,000 publicly traded companies, was singled out by the judges as “a technically sophisticated tool that allows investors to map human rights risks at the asset level with unprecedented granularity.”

Launched in July of 2024 in response to growing investor demand for granular, asset-level risk analytics, AREA is underpinned by Verisk Maplecroft’s country risk data. It provides listed equity and fixed income investors with a comprehensive, birds-eye view of company risk exposure, including 30 human rights issues, spanning civil, political and labour rights and human security risks.

Used by investors for portfolio risk management, enhanced stewardship, reporting and disclosures, and as a complement to traditional ESG metrics, AREA works by integrating three unique datasets to deliver unparalleled insights into corporate exposure:

• 85 country risk indices covering, political, social, climate and environmental risks
• Industry-specific risk data, covering 80 different sectors
• Comprehensive data on the global operational footprints of public companies

For its unique human rights data, Verisk Maplecroft incorporates the UN’s 'Protect, Respect and Remedy' framework into its methodology, using the 'structure-process-outcome' indicators as developed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. This approach enables the company to measure the strength of a country’s laws, the implementation of those laws and the number and severity of breaches of human rights.

“Verisk Maplecroft’s AREA is a standout contribution to human rights-aligned investing, offering a pioneering solution to a long-standing gap in ESG risk analysis: the lack of asset-level visibility into civil, political, labour, and security-related risks,” the judges added.

The winners will be announced on September 23^rd.