Sustainability: Addressing Global Challenges Through Intelligent Capital Allocation with the Help of Granular Data Insights?
Suvi Tyni, Mikael Fast, Pekka Junes & Maria Simon — Euroclear, Impact Cubed, Alexandria Group & Nasdaq Helsinki
Euroclear Finland, Impact Cubed, Alexandria Group, and Nasdaq leaders emphasize sustainability's vital role in finance, highlighting challenges in ESG data standardization, customization, and regulation complexity. They advocate for AI-driven solutions enabling hyper-personalized, transparent investment products aligned with individual values, addressing environmental, social, and governance aspects. Despite market fluctuations and regional differences, sustainable investing remains crucial amid ongoing global warming, demanding collaborative innovation, improved data normalization, and enhanced customer experience to foster responsible growth across financial ecosystems.
"To truly make a sustainable impact, we need to provide something new—meaningful insight from data that delivers actual outcomes, tailored to individual values, driving real progress in reducing carbon footprints and improving our world."
Summary
- Sustainability is deeply personal and drives business innovation, reflecting concerns for future generations. - Data is central for tracking progress in sustainability, but must be simplified and customized for meaningful use. - Raw, objective data (e.g., water use, board diversity) is preferred over subjective ratings to create transparency. - AI and better data structuring are key to offering personalized, effective sustainable investment products. - Collaboration across stakeholders and ongoing innovation are essential to improving sustainable finance ecosystems.
Article
Sustainability needs data revolution, say finance leaders at Nordic Fintech Summit
Industry experts called for a radical rethink of how financial markets use sustainability data at this year's Nordic Fintech Summit, arguing that technological innovation and clearer, more personalized information are essential to drive meaningful change in sustainable investing.
The panel discussion, "Sustainability: Addressing Global Challenges Through Intelligent Capital Allocation with the Help of Granular Data Insights?" brought together leaders from across the financial sector to explore how data can transform sustainable decision-making.
'Keep it simple, stupid': the challenge of sustainability data
Speaking at the summit in Helsinki on 14 May 2025, Mikael Fast, partner at Impact Cubed, emphasized that the fundamental issue with sustainability data hasn't changed in a decade.
"Ten years ago at Impact Cubed, we asked customers what data they wanted. The clients already said then: keep it simple, stupid! There's too much data. You need to crystallize it, make it useful," Fast told attendees.
Maria Simon, director of product development for European data products at Nasdaq, agreed that while data is central to sustainability efforts, its current form often limits its utility. "Data is definitely at the center. If we think about how we're going to develop better practices and track progress, data is definitely central," she said. "But not all of it is normalized or in the same format."
The panel, moderated by Suvi Tyni of Euroclear Finland, highlighted that sustainability reporting remains inconsistent and difficult for investors to navigate, creating barriers to effective decision-making.
The 'iPhone moment' for sustainability
Pekka Junes, chief customer officer at Alexandria Group, called for an "iPhone moment" in sustainability data presentation, arguing that current approaches are too complicated for most investors to understand.
"Right now, it's similar to the old Nokia Communicator: lots of buttons and features, and hard to navigate," Junes said. "Customers don't want five-star ratings or trees – they just want a simple answer, like 'I want to reduce my carbon footprint by 30%. How do I do it? Give me the answer.'"
Fast echoed this sentiment, explaining his company's approach: "Our approach has been not to do ratings or scores, but just to give you the number – how many liters of water does the company use, how many women do they have on the board. Using that raw data is one way to simplify it for the end user."
Hyper-personalization: the future of sustainable investing
A central theme throughout the discussion was the need to move beyond standardized products toward customized solutions that align with individual values. Fast, who described himself as a grandfather concerned about future generations, stressed that current approaches fail to recognize investors' diverse priorities.
"The problem today is that many banks think they can create one solution to fit all, but technology today should provide mass optimization, where every client – even retail clients – could say, 'These are my values,'" he explained.
Junes added that the multifaceted nature of ESG (environmental, social and governance) considerations makes personalization essential: "ESG has three parts... The difficulty is it doesn't mean the same thing for every customer."
AI as the catalyst for transformation
The panel identified artificial intelligence as the key to unlocking better sustainability data and more customized investment solutions. Simon noted that at Nasdaq, "We use AI across many initiatives, especially in data, and there's a lot of opportunity there."
Junes emphasized AI's potential to revolutionize customer experience in sustainable finance: "Hyper-personalization is key, and there seems to be no limit to how much relevant data customers want to see. AI also helps make things like ESG more understandable."
Sustainability endures despite market fluctuations
Fast addressed the shifting market sentiment toward sustainable investing, noting that while enthusiasm has waned in some quarters, the fundamental issues remain unchanged.
"When I say that ESG went bust, you need to remember that, back in the day, I was a sales guy for mutual funds and everyone was happy because everyone was buying green funds. Now that's not the case," he said. "But the underlying issues remain: the planet is still 'sailing down shit creek.' Global warming is worse than ever. People still have values, and people are becoming even more individualized. Nothing has changed at the core."
Simon cautioned against overly simplified narratives about sustainability's decline: "In the media, sustainability looks very black and white, but there are more nuances. Even though, globally, there have been ups and downs, our clients – including US companies – still need and use sustainability data."
Collaboration key to sustainable growth
The discussion concluded with a call for greater collaboration across the financial ecosystem. Tyni emphasized that "to truly improve the ecosystem by developing innovative solutions and using sustainability data, we need collaboration among different stakeholders."
The panel argued that despite regulatory challenges and market shifts, sustainability considerations should remain central to all product development and investment decisions.
As the event drew to a close, the speakers painted a picture of a financial sector at a crossroads – with the potential to harness data and technology to create truly sustainable investment solutions, but requiring significant innovation and cooperation to make this vision a reality.
Part of Nordic Fintech Summit