Benchmarks & Proxy Data
Access comprehensive sustainability benchmarks and proxy data to assess performance, fill gaps, and make informed decisions.
Novata Benchmarks, Built for Private Markets
Why should I use Novata Benchmarks?
Novata’s benchmark library gives private markets investors a reliable way to understand sustainability performance.
With 300+ benchmarked metrics and 49,000+ benchmark data points segmented by industry, geography, company size, revenue, and FTE, you can:
- Move beyond broad averages
- Compare against the peers that actually matter
- Make decisions with real confidence
What are Novata Benchmarks?
Novata Benchmarks are sustainability benchmarks specific to private markets that show how companies perform relative to peers.
- Grounded in reported private market data
- Segmented by sector, industry, geography, and size
- Normalized by revenue or FTE
How are Novata Benchmarks built?
Novata’s sustainability benchmarks are created from aggregated private market data and reviewed for quality and consistency.
- 1.24M data points collected, cleaned, and analyzed
- Minimum sample size and sector thresholds
- De-identified and aggregated data
- Outlier removal and variance testing
- Statistical analysis and expert oversight
Novata Benchmarks drive confident decisions
300+
Benchmarked Sustainability Metrics
49K+
Annually Refreshed Private Markets Sustainability Benchmarks
450+
Regional Benchmarks
750+
Benchmarks Normalized by FTE or Revenue
100%
SASB SICS Sector Coverage
How to Access Novata Benchmarks
Benchmark Explorer
- Understand benchmark composition and metric completion rates
- See patterns across sectors, industries, and regions
- Explore deeper breakdowns, such as by quartile or company size
- See how your sector operates within the sustainability space
Benchmark Builder
- Filter by geography, sector, or company size (FTE)
- Add or remove columns to focus on the metrics you care about
- View a consolidated performance summary
- Customize and export charts and tables for reporting
Proxy Data, Powered by Novata Benchmarks
Why should I use Novata proxy data?
Novata’s trusted proxy data helps you estimate emissions and meet reporting needs when primary data isn’t available.
- Estimate emissions when spend and activity data may not be available
- Fill portfolio data gaps across funds and companies
- Simplify disclosures for SFDR and other frameworks
What is proxy data?
- Representative sustainability data based on sector, geography, and size
- Designed to provide directional insight
- Documented with clear assumptions
How is Novata proxy data built?
Novata proxy data is derived from Novata’s private market benchmarks and built with the same rigor applied to our benchmarks.
- De-identified and aggregated data
- Minimum sample size and sector thresholds
- Statistical testing and expert review
EP 47: The Truth About ESG Proxy Data: Benchmarks, Risk & Real-World Use
What Do the Novata Benchmarks Tell Private Market Investors and Companies?
To truly understand a company’s performance, investors, executives, and stakeholders must look beyond the financials....
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FAQ
Sustainability benchmarks and proxy data provide essential context and coverage when direct company data is missing.
In private markets, especially for LPs, private credit, secondaries, fund-of-funds, and minority investors, access to full data sets can be limited. Novata’s benchmarks and proxy data help investors assess portfolio-level risk and performance so you can maintain a clear view of your sustainability goals.
Novata’s proxy data is built on a foundation of high-quality, standardized metrics from thousands of private market organizations. By combining this proprietary data with recognized industry standards, we provide consistent and defensible estimates that you can rely on for internal analysis and external reporting.
Proxy data works best when direct, company-reported data isn’t available yet — think early-stage companies without established operations, pre-investment due diligence, risk screening, and forward-looking target-setting. It’s designed to supplement your data, not replace it: use it to fill material gaps while you build toward full primary collection.
Yes. Many evolving regulations allow for the use of proxy data when direct data is not yet available. Novata’s solutions are designed to align with major frameworks, helping you fill gaps in your disclosures while maintaining the transparency and audit-readiness that regulators expect.
Novata’s ESG benchmarks are built from real, reported data submitted by private companies using the Novata platform.
Each year, data from thousands of private companies is anonymized and aggregated into a contributory benchmark database. This ensures benchmarks reflect actual private-market performance rather than public-market assumptions or synthetic datasets.
Benchmarks allow you to see where your companies stand relative to their peers. This insight helps you identify leaders, support laggards, and set realistic targets for improvement. It turns raw data into a strategic roadmap for value creation.
Investors without control rights often face lower data completion rates across portfolio companies or managers.
Novata combines collected company data with statistically robust proxy estimates to provide portfolio-wide visibility. This supports use cases like SFDR reporting, net-zero commitments, and climate disclosures, that require comprehensive coverage.
Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions are the hardest data to collect directly — and the most in demand across every sector. Novata’s proxy data is built to close exactly this gap, giving you a credible starting point for emissions reporting while your primary data collection matures.
Measure against the market.
Access sustainability benchmarks and proxy data to compare performance, identify gaps, and support reporting.