Sentometrics BV

2024 marks a record number of new signatories for the UN Global Compact in Belgium, and we are proud to announce that, with the support of our board, the UGent/VUB spinoff Sentometrics BV is now a signatory as well. Why this surge in signatories? It’s becoming increasingly standard for procurement processes to require suppliers to adhere to the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact. Investors are also making this a condition for their investments. Informally, we have also learned that board directors are beginning to ask for this commitment directly. This is a key mechanism to avoid agency problems, as it requires CEOs to personally commit to all stakeholders and the general public. CEOs must pledge to integrate the ten principles into the company’s strategy, culture, and daily operations, while also collaborating toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This public communication fosters accountability. Challenges? What could potentially hinder companies from fulfilling these commitments? One critical need is a tool to assess and monitor UN Global Compact risk incidents. This is where Sentometrics BV comes in—we make it easier to track risk incidents across the value chain, ensuring that companies can proactively manage their adherence to the UNGC principles.

Companies often face more controversies than what international data providers report. This discrepancy arises from a focus on large, publicly listed companies and English-language sources. While this article highlights that bias, at Sentometrics, we offer a solution to bridge the gap: partnerships with local news media and leveraging local expertise through human-in-the-loop assessments. Our approach ensures that crucial risk and opportunity factors are not overlooked—helping businesses stay ahead by seeing the full picture.

🌍 The Declining Attention Around the UN Climate Conference: What It Means for Investors The UN Climate Conference still manages to spark attention around climate change, but the impact is waning. Media coverage spikes have become predictable, with little influence on stock markets. Interestingly, the recent spikes are substantially lower compared to COP26 in Glasgow. 💼 Investor Insights: For those holding brown stocks, the risk of a sudden surge in climate concern driving divestment remains low. As the willingness to hold brown stocks (investor "taste") increases, the long terms premium to hold brown stocks may shrink further. 📊 Keep Tracking: Climate-related risks remain dynamic. Monitoring daily media attention to climate change is a useful way to gauge shifts in sentiment and market trends. Bottom line: The narrative may be quieter, but the financial and reputational risks are still evolving. Stay informed with Sentometrics BV! 🌱

Our CTO and co-founder, Olivier Delmarcelle, is behind the magic of transforming product mockups into robust, digital-ready solutions! In this post, Olivier shares his insights on our new ESG Incidents product. Thanks to his vision and commitment, we were able to move from concept to implementation in under a month—a remarkable achievement that reflects his dedication to innovation and impact. Check out his full post below to learn more about our innovative dataset on ESG incidents in which Belgian companies are involved.

Press Release: Extensive study of over 20 million news articles since 2015 shows that most of the ESG incidents involving BEL 20 companies are not resolved. This implies societal and financial risk. The financial performance of the BEL 20 index is covered daily, but there is no systematic tracking of how the BEL 20 companies address the negative impact of ESG incidents in which they are involved. To address this shortcoming, Brussels-based news analytics company Sentometrics has launched a comprehensive platform that consolidates and summarizes incidents with a high likelihood of negative impact on human rights, labor practices, environmental standards and involvement in corruption. Sentometrics uses artificial intelligence to identify accusations with negative consequences in more than 20 million news articles published in the Belgian media since 2015. An ESG expert then analyzes these accusations and translates them into a list of unique incidents with an assessment based on a weighing of the accusations and the company's responses. While media reporting may indicate widespread ESG accusations against BEL 20 companies, Sentometrics has identified only 38 unique cases involving these companies. Among them, KBC Bank & Verzekering faces the most exposure with 8 potential violations, followed by Ackermans & van Haaren with 7 cases, and Umicore with 5 cases. Regarding the United Nations Global Compact's four core themes (environment, labor, human rights and anti-corruption), the analysis showed the following breakdown across the 38 UNGC-related cases: • Environment: 17 cases (45%) • Anti-corruption: 11 cases (30%) • Human rights: 10 cases (26%) • Labor rights: 2 cases (5%) In particular, companies such as Umicore, Solvay and Elia Group were most often linked to environmental incidents, while KBC Group faced the largest number of human rights and corruption cases. For KBC group, no incident was classified as highly severe. The very low number of labor rights cases can be attributed to the robust Belgian legal framework on labor rights, together with the well-established social dialogue system and the strong presence of trade unions, which together contribute to limiting labor rights risks. Unresolved risks Of the 38 UNGC-related incidents identified, 25 cases (66%) remain unresolved, indicating insufficient recovery, ongoing legal proceedings or ongoing external oversight. As of October 2024, the companies most exposed to unresolved cases are Umicore with 5 cases, followed by KBC Group and Ackermans & Van Haaren, each with 4 cases. You can read more in our press release available at our company website: https://lnkd.in/d2vJjmpx

Press Release: Extensive study of over 20 million news articles since 2015 shows that most of the ESG incidents involving BEL 20 companies are not resolved. This implies societal and financial risk. The financial performance of the BEL 20 index is covered daily, but there is no systematic tracking of how the BEL 20 companies address the negative impact of ESG incidents in which they are involved. To address this shortcoming, Brussels-based news analytics company Sentometrics has launched a comprehensive platform that consolidates and summarizes incidents with a high likelihood of negative impact on human rights, labor practices, environmental standards and involvement in corruption. Sentometrics uses artificial intelligence to identify accusations with negative consequences in more than 20 million news articles published in the Belgian media since 2015. An ESG expert then analyzes these accusations and translates them into a list of unique incidents with an assessment based on a weighing of the accusations and the company's responses. While media reporting may indicate widespread ESG accusations against BEL 20 companies, Sentometrics has identified only 38 unique cases involving these companies. Among them, KBC Bank & Verzekering faces the most exposure with 8 potential violations, followed by Ackermans & van Haaren with 7 cases, and Umicore with 5 cases. Regarding the United Nations Global Compact's four core themes (environment, labor, human rights and anti-corruption), the analysis showed the following breakdown across the 38 UNGC-related cases: • Environment: 17 cases (45%) • Anti-corruption: 11 cases (30%) • Human rights: 10 cases (26%) • Labor rights: 2 cases (5%) In particular, companies such as Umicore, Solvay and Elia Group were most often linked to environmental incidents, while KBC Group faced the largest number of human rights and corruption cases. For KBC group, no incident was classified as highly severe. The very low number of labor rights cases can be attributed to the robust Belgian legal framework on labor rights, together with the well-established social dialogue system and the strong presence of trade unions, which together contribute to limiting labor rights risks. Unresolved risks Of the 38 UNGC-related incidents identified, 25 cases (66%) remain unresolved, indicating insufficient recovery, ongoing legal proceedings or ongoing external oversight. As of October 2024, the companies most exposed to unresolved cases are Umicore with 5 cases, followed by KBC Group and Ackermans & Van Haaren, each with 4 cases. You can read more in our press release available at our company website: https://lnkd.in/d2vJjmpx

Sentometrics' UNGC risk incidents database helps track risks across the value chain, allowing companies to manage their commitments proactively. As of October 28, 2024, our database includes over 300 incidents involving entities in Belgium: • 37% of these incidents are assessed as having "high" severity. • 61% remain unresolved, presenting ongoing risks. • Nearly 75% of incidents relate to one or more of the 10 UNGC principles; the remaining 25% address other ESG issues. • The most frequent issues involve corruption (30%) and environmental concerns (26%). In the coming weeks, Sentometrics will provide a more detailed analysis of the Bel20 companies’ adherence to UNGC principles, including specific data on the number and percentage of risk incidents. Stay tuned as our database continues to grow and is updated daily!

Seeds & Growth For Media: Where Technology Meets Content Production This initiative serves as a fertile environment to nurture our new product focused on the UN Global Compact principles and actively promote its adoption among media partners. By leveraging this platform, we aim to establish a dynamic feedback loop of structured company information derived from the news, transforming every journalist into a potential company analyst, enhanced by our own domain expert assessments.

On May 10, 2024, the Belgian sovereign wealth fund (SFPIM) communicated to have acquired a 5% stake in Umicore. Our analysis indicates that Umicore has been involved in at least two incidents that potentially violate principle 7 (Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges) and principle 8 (Businesses should undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility). The assessment is that one incident has low severity while the other one has high severity. They are both currently unresolved. The accusation leading to the incident creation occurred prior to SFPIM’s communication of the acquisition of Umicore shares. Further details on these risk incidents can be accessed through the UN Global Compact Risk Incidents Monitor developed by Sentometrics, which currently tracks approximately 250 risk assessments across Belgian companies.

On May 22, 2024, the Belgian sovereign wealth fund (SFPIM) acquired a 58.13% stake in Proximus (Proximus Group). Our analysis indicates that Proximus has been involved in at least one incident that potentially violates principle 4 (businesses should uphold the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour) and principle 10 (businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery) of the UN Global Compact. This incident occurred prior to SFPIM’s acquisition of Proximus shares. The evaluation is that the incident has a low severity and is currently resolved. Further details on these risk incidents can be accessed through the UN Global Compact Risk Incidents Monitor developed by Sentometrics BV, which currently tracks approximately 250 risk assessments across Belgian companies.