Watch CEO Sylvain Forté discuss SESAMm’s solutions for corporations focused on supply chain and client reputational risk monitoring during an interview with FF News at FinovateEurope last March.
Watch the full recording:
Watch CEO Sylvain Forté discuss SESAMm’s solutions for corporations focused on supply chain and client reputational risk monitoring during an interview with FF News at FinovateEurope last March.
Watch the full recording:
As global scrutiny of sustainability claims intensifies, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is stepping up its regulatory game to combat greenwashing and strengthen investor trust. In a decisive move, ESMA is tightening rules around ESG fund labeling and expanding its oversight to include ESG ratings providers—ushering in a new era of accountability and transparency across the sustainable finance landscape.
In May 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) introduced final guidelines regulating the use of ESG and sustainability-related terms in fund names. These rules respond to concerns that many investment products were using “green” or “sustainable” labels without sufficient alignment to actual portfolio practices—raising risks of greenwashing.
Following the publication of official translations in August 2024, the guidelines became effective on November 21, 2024. New funds must comply immediately, while existing funds have until May 21, 2025, to align. The rules require funds using ESG-related terms to ensure that at least 80% of their assets reflect stated environmental or social characteristics. Those using terms like “sustainable” or “impact” must also apply stricter exclusions, based on EU benchmarks.
The objective is to restore trust in sustainable investing by ensuring fund marketing reflects substance, not just strategy. These guidelines mark a move from self-declared ESG ambition to measurable regulatory alignment.
In May 2025, ESMA extended its oversight by publishing a draft set of Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) to regulate ESG ratings providers under the EU’s new ESG Ratings Regulation, adopted in late 2024. These rules are now under public consultation until June 20, 2025.
The draft RTS introduces key requirements: ESG ratings providers operating in the EU must be authorized and supervised by ESMA. They must also publicly disclose their methodologies, data sources, and underlying assumptions—addressing long-standing concerns over opacity and inconsistency in the ESG ratings industry.
Additionally, the proposed framework imposes safeguards to prevent conflicts of interest, particularly where firms offer ratings and related services such as consulting or data sales. The goal is to raise the independence, reliability, and comparability standards across the ESG data ecosystem.
These regulatory initiatives reflect ESMA’s growing focus on creating a more credible, harmonized ESG landscape. From product labeling to third-party assessments, the authority is closing loopholes that have allowed inconsistencies and misrepresentations to persist.
The message for asset managers and ratings firms is clear: ESG marketing is no longer a grey area. Regulators expect proof of substance behind sustainability claims. Whether naming a fund or issuing a rating, firms must demonstrate transparency, governance, and alignment with new EU standards.
ESMA’s efforts also solidify Europe’s leadership in ESG regulation. While other jurisdictions still debate voluntary disclosures, the EU is moving ahead with enforceable rules that are reshaping expectations for financial products and ESG analytics. As the consultation period closes and final rules are adopted, firms operating in the EU—or servicing EU clients—will need to prepare for closer scrutiny.
Discover unparalleled insights into ESG controversies, risks, and opportunities across industries. Learn more about how SESAMm can help you analyze millions of private and public companies using AI-powered text analysis tools.
Paris, September 16th, 2025 – Clarity AI and SESAMm, two pioneers in AI-driven sustainability and risk analysis, today announced a partnership to enhance ESG controversy monitoring in private markets, giving investors unprecedented insights into millions of non-listed companies.
Private markets account for ~$22 trillion in assets under management (AUM), but remain significantly less transparent than listed firms when it comes to sustainability and reputational risks. By combining Clarity AI’s end-to-end sustainability analysis platform with SESAMm’s advanced controversy detection, investors will gain broader, deeper insights into companies that have historically been hard to assess. This lack of visibility creates added challenges for asset managers and financial institutions, particularly as they work to comply with regulations such as SFDR and CSRD.
Through the partnership, Clarity AI’s comprehensive coverage of both public and private companies will be enriched by SESAMm’s real-time controversy data on millions of additional private entities. SESAMm’s multilingual large language models analyze content from over 4 million sources in 100+ languages, surfacing potential red flags such as human rights violations, corruption, and environmental breaches, even in hard-to-assess, non-listed firms.
“SESAMm's technology leads the industry in detecting ESG controversies within private companies. Through our partnership with Clarity AI, we are now bringing this powerful capability directly to investors globally, ensuring they have a full picture of the risk in these markets,” said Sylvain Forté, CEO and co-founder of SESAMm.
“At Clarity AI, our mission is to bring transparency to sustainability, wherever capital flows,” said Daniel González, Global Partnership Director at Clarity AI. “This partnership is a breakthrough for private markets, where opacity has long hindered investors’ ability to monitor ESG risks. By combining SESAMm’s controversy detection with Clarity AI’s end-to-end sustainability platform, we are giving investors the most comprehensive view of both public and private companies. That means stronger due diligence, faster monitoring, and greater confidence in meeting evolving regulatory demands, all in one place.”
This collaboration reinforces Clarity AI's offering for private markets, now including environmental metric estimations for 2.3 million non-listed companies. Together, both firms are taking a significant step toward closing the information gap between public and private markets, equipping asset managers, private equity firms, and financial institutions with actionable insights to better understand reputational and sustainability risks, while supporting due diligence, risk monitoring, and regulatory compliance.
Clarity AI is the leading sustainability technology company, delivering data-driven insights to investors, companies, governments, and consumers. Its AI-powered platform offers flexible access to advanced analytics, supporting use cases from portfolio management and research to regulatory reporting, strategic planning, and consumer applications. Trusted by clients managing over $70 trillion in assets, Clarity AI also powers sustainability intelligence through integrations into leading investment platforms such as BlackRock Aladdin, SimCorp or Caceis. The company operates globally, backed by top-tier minority investors including BlackRock, Softbank, and Visa.
SESAMm is a global leader in controversy data, leveraging advanced large language models and generative AI to uncover ESG, reputational, and supplier risks in seconds. Our AI-powered platform surfaces real-time insights, even in low-disclosure markets, on millions of companies and infrastructure projects, supporting more informed decisions, enhanced due diligence, and regulatory alignment at scale. We work with leading firms, including Carlyle, Warburg, Natixis, RBI, Sustainable Fitch, Oddo, and others. SESAMm has raised $50M from renowned investors and operates across four continents.
Learn more at www.sesamm.com.
Discover unparalleled insights into ESG controversies, risks, and opportunities across industries. Learn more about how SESAMm can help you analyze millions of private and public companies using AI-powered text analysis tools.
As sustainability expectations rise, so does scrutiny. This ebook explores how industries are performing against the UNGC’s Ten Principles—and where risks are being overlooked.
Backed by SESAMm’s AI-powered UNGC violations screening, it offers a data-backed view into ESG alignment and accountability.
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