At SESAMm, we’re committed to helping our clients navigate the complexities of ESG risk management and compliance. Our Partner Network, set to launch in 2025, is a new initiative designed to provide clients with seamless access to expert remediation services—something that is especially important in light of new regulations like CSDDD. Whether conducting on-site audits, providing grievance mechanisms, or offering cybersecurity due diligence, our partners are carefully selected to address diverse client needs.

Why the Partner Network?

Identifying risks is only part of the battle—effectively mitigating them is just as crucial. The SESAMm Partner Network bridges this gap by connecting clients with top-tier partners offering important mitigation services.

Key Features of the Partner Network

• Remediation Options: Comprehensive services for CS3D compliance and financial regulations.
• Streamlined Processes: Pre-negotiated agreements ensure fast access to expert teams.
• Seamless Integration: Automated recommendations and real-time results tracking via SESAMm’s platform.

The Partner Network

Discover our partners below - and keep an eye out for new additions; the Partner Network is growing fast.

Proactive M&A Cyber Due Diligence with CybelAngel

CybelAngel offers a cutting-edge external risk protection platform that proactively identifies and mitigates external threats before they can be exploited. Recognized for its excellence by Gartner, CybelAngel has become a trusted partner for organizations globally.

CybelAngel's M&A Cyber Due Diligence reports provide a comprehensive external assessment of a third party's cybersecurity posture. By combining advanced threat intelligence with expert human analysis, these reports offer crucial context and actionable insights into potential cyber exposures. This approach enables organizations to make informed decisions about mergers, acquisitions, or partnerships by revealing vulnerabilities that may not be apparent through traditional due diligence methods.

The reports include:

• Exposure scores and detailed metrics
• Benchmark of cyber exposure to industry standards
• Detailed analysis, technical findings, and data samples
  

Learn more about CybelAngel.

ESG & Sustainability Assessments, Due Diligence, and more with Indefi

Indefi are strategy consultants dedicated to serving investment managers and financial investors globally. They partner with business leaders on growth strategy, market entry, product development and enhancement, sustainability, M&A and transaction support.

Through this collaboration, SESAMm clients can now access Indefi’s industry-leading services, including ESG and sustainability assessments, buy- and sell-side commercial due diligence, sustainable investment strategies, and sustainability reporting (SFDR, Article 29, and CSRD). This partnership ensures an efficient and effective response to identified risks while supporting clients in meeting regulatory and sustainability goals.

Learn more about Indefi.

Looking Ahead

The SESAMm Partner Network will officially launch in Q1 2025. Stay tuned for updates as we welcome new partners to the network and continue to develop innovative solutions for risk and ESG management.

SESAMm’s AI Technology Reveals ESG Insights

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.

In October 2022, this multinational integrated energy and petroleum company found itself in the crosshairs of two non-government organizations (NGOs), accusing it of "exploiting a gas field used to manufacture kerosene used by Russian planes in their bombings in Ukraine," according to the French daily Le Monde. The accusations expressly point out the 16 March 2022 strike, which killed around 600 civilians taking shelter at a Mariupol theatre.

The company? TotalEnergies.

The NGOs? Razom We Stand (Ukraine) and Darwin Climax Coalitions (France).

Also, in October, TotalEnergies posted a third-quarter net profit amid these allegations. "The French group reported an adjusted net income of $9.86 billion, compared with $4.77 billion for the same period in 2021 and $9.8 billion in the second quarter of this year," per Reuters.

Should investors and asset and portfolio managers be concerned? Is this one instance of allegations a nothing burger, or is it a sign—one of many red flags—to evaluate? Let's find out in this edition of Alternative Data Trends: TotalEnergies.

Analyzing TotalEnergies's ESG and sentiment data

Company polarity and mentions volume

In the last year, mentions of TotalEnergies have gradually increased, spiking in March 2022. The spike in mentions coincides with a dip in the company's sentiment. These abrupt changes occurred when news broke about a lawsuit targeting TotalEnergies, claiming that the oil and gas group misled the public in its rebranding campaign, and a former French presidential candidate, Yannick Jadot, accused TotalEnergies of being complicit in war crimes.

After the spike in controversies in March 2022, TotalEnergies's web mentions continued to increase. And as a reflection of the mentions volume increases, the company's polarity decreases, moving in the direction of negative sentiment. News events triggering these movements include the legal case for allegedly fuelling Russian bombers and refinery strikes over wages.

ESG risks

A screening of TotalEnergies's ESG risks uncovers a similar trend. For example, our platform detects an increase in social risks as early as January 2022. This signal coincides with the company's exit from Myanmar because of human rights abuses.

Examining TotalEnergies's environmental risks

Environmental-related mentions volume

Let's take a closer look at TotalEnergies's environmental risks, specifically for general environmental strategy, climate change and atmospheric pollution, and biodiversity. The topic of climate change and atmospheric pollution takes the largest share of mentions. Web data driving this volume include:

• Accusations of downplaying climate risks
• TotalEnergies sued for alleged greenwashing.
• Investors pressuring TotalEnergies to align with the Paris Climate Agreement
• Pan-African civil society pressures TotalEnergies to halt EACOP
• Oil leak at TotalEnergies in Antwerp
• Paris and New York join climate litigation against TotalEnergies.

Studying TotalEnergies's social risks

Social-related mentions volume

TotalEnergies's social risks reveal even more controversies, looking at human rights, human capital, and customer relations topics. Human rights and human capital topics almost equally dominate topic mentions. Controversies highlighting the human rights topic include:

• Total and Le Drian turn a blind eye to a torture center in Yemen.
• Lawsuits regarding affiliations with oil projects in East Africa linked to the eviction of more than 100,000 people.
• And more.

Human capital topic controversies include:

• Multiple strikes on TotalEnergies's UK offshore platforms
• French union calls all-out strike for wages at TotalEnergies

Gauging TotalEnergies's governance risks

Governance-related mentions volume

Finally, let's look at TotalEnergies's governance risk, specifically within topics for influence strategy and communication, corruption, and board of directors (executive and company management). The influence strategy and communication topic dominates the mentions volume. These controversies relate to greenwashing, such as:

• Protests due to false claims regarding the company's transition to a "zero oil platform"
• Clashes with Greenpeace over 'inaccurate' greenwash claims
• Controversial rebranding
• Downplaying climate risks
• Misleading commercial practices

Recapping TotalEnergies's ESG risks and public perception

We only scratched the web data surface for information on TotalEnergies, but even with this overview, you can probably see a pattern. Should investors, asset managers, and portfolio managers be concerned about the latest allegations against TotalEnergies? Maybe. At the very least, the data shows you should dig into the research and ask more questions to mitigate any risks in your portfolio companies.

Reach out to SESAMm

SESAMm is a leading NLP technology company serving global investment firms, corporations, and investors, such as private equity firms, hedge funds, and other asset management firms, by providing datasets or NLP capabilities to generate their own alternative data for use cases, such as ESG and SDG, sentiment, private equity due diligence, corporation studies, and more.

For questions, access to the full report, or to request a TextReveal® demo, contact us here:

Northvolt was Europe's flagship battery champion, backed by Volkswagen, Goldman Sachs, BMW, and BlackRock, and capitalized with over $13 billion in debt and equity. Yet between 2022 and 2025, it became the largest industrial bankruptcy in modern Swedish history,  shocking the industry and investors alike. We took a look back at SESAM’s controversy data to see if there were any early warning signals.

The Warning Signs

In September 2022, the first public reports of production delays emerged at Northvolt's Skellefteå gigafactory. By the end of 2023, less than 1% of the planned 16 GWh capacity for 2024 had been delivered. Then came the fatal workplace accidents linked to electrical experiments, and in June 2024, BMW canceled a €2 billion contract. By September, 1,600 employees had been laid off, the cathode expansion was abandoned, and the CFO was replaced. 

The Fallout

The consequences were swift. A Chapter 11 filing in the U.S. in November 2024. The resignation of founder and CEO Peter Carlsson. Over 5,000 jobs lost. Major write-downs across the cap table, from sovereign-backed pension funds to global automakers. In March 2025, Northvolt filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, the largest industrial failure in the country's modern history. The reputational damage extended well beyond the company itself, reaching investors, suppliers, and the broader European battery ambition.