Banking and financial stakeholders announce launch of Synesgy platform

The launch of a reliable tool to assess the degree of compliance of companies with the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) criteria that companies must meet in order to ensure their sustainable development, has been announced by banking, financial and other stakeholders.

According to a press release, Artemis Credit Bureau, the Cyprus Credit Bureau, in collaboration with the Association of Cyprus Banks and the banks represented in it as well as with ICAP CRIF S.A., a member of the CRIF S.p.A. international Group, collaborated closely in the last year and are establishing today an important infrastructure Project in the field of ESG: the Interbank Businesses Evaluation based on ESG criteria Project in the Cypriot market through the global digital platform Synesgy.

As mentioned, through the Project, an international, reliable tool for the assessment of businesses’ adherence to the ESG criteria which companies must meet in order to ensure their sustainable development is introduced to the Cypriot economy.

It is noted that “Synesgy”, the global digital platform for collecting and evaluating ESG data, which is an innovation of CRIF S.p.A., is the tool of the Interbank Project. It enables every company, regardless of size and industry, to assess its degree of sustainability and receive a certificate with the degree of compliance with ESG criteria. The certificate has a validity of one year.

It is added that the ESG certificate can be published on the company's website and used to strengthen its relationships with its customers and partners. At the same time, based on the assessment’s results, the company is provided with a customised Action Plan with recommendations on how can improve its ESG performance.

Specifically, as it is explained, through the Synesgy platform, the company is invited to fill in a questionnaire that assesses its actions regarding the ESG pillars. The respective questionnaire is adapted to the size of the company and the industry in which it operates, as well as to the regulatory requirements of the country in which the company operates. The company's ESG data evaluation methodology is based on current international and European regulations and standards and is constantly adapted to their relevant changes. The Synesgy questionnaire is certified by the CRIF Rating Agency, recognised at a European level.

It is important to note that the platform allows easy and direct access by the businesses. The authorised representative of the company is required to answer questions regarding the company's practices and document the answers through documents uploaded to the platform and which will also be shared with the bank.

It is added that completing the questionnaire is a process that requires due diligence and responsibility from the organization’s side because the accuracy of the answers is of utmost importance. Although the platform is very user-friendly, for clarifications and assistance regarding the questionnaire the authorised representative of the business can contact the ICAP CRIF Synesgy Customer Service, it is added.

It is noted that by filling in the questionnaire, the company automatically receives the results of its evaluation while at the same time the results are communicated, through Artemis Credit Bureau, to the company's partner banking institution for the purposes of evaluating the company using Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance criteria.

It is also added that as the Project is inter-bank, companies that are common customers of different banks will be asked to fill in a single questionnaire for all banks, while correspondingly, the banking institutions involved will receive homogeneous information about the company, which, for transparency purposes, will be exactly the same received by the company itself.