Covalence
Covalence SA is a Geneva-based ESG data firm founded in 2001 that provides monthly AI-powered ESG ratings for 15,000 listed companies, plus portfolio reports, exclusions monitoring, and greenwashing detection, to institutional investors, NGOs, and academics.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersCarouge, Switzerland
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Covalence does
Covalence SA is a Geneva-based (Carouge, Switzerland) private company founded in 2001 that provides ESG ratings, data, and advisory services to professional investors, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions. Its core product is a monthly-updated ESG rating covering 15,000 globally listed companies, generated by an AI-powered scoring system that combines a reputation measure (media and NGO sentiment) with a disclosure score (company-reported ESG indicators), codified across 50 GRI-inspired criteria mapped to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Global Compact, SASB materiality, and SFDR Principal Adverse Impacts. Adjacent modules include a Norms-based Exclusions Monitor (tracking 60+ exclusion lists covering 1,000+ companies), bespoke portfolio reports, a continuous ESG news feed delivered via API/FTP/email, a greenwashing risk indicator that compares prospective versus retrospective media sentiment, SDG/thematic scores, and the ZKB Tracker Certificate Dynamic on Sustainable Swiss Small and Mid-Caps co-developed with Zurich Cantonal Bank and Sussland & Co.
The business model is a mix of recurring subscriptions (ESG ratings, portfolio reports, ESG news data, exclusions monitor) and professional services, including sustainable-finance training through the CAS Sustainable Finance program at HEG Geneva, the ISFB Sustainable Finance Certificate, and SBA-aligned seminars for banks and asset managers. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct to institutional and NGO buyers, supplemented by API/data delivery and thought-leadership content in Le Temps and illuminem, plus academic-citation footprint at CREST, ENSAE, and several European universities. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; the Norms-based Exclusions Monitor is offered as a one-time purchase or annual subscription. The company is small (1–10 employees), single-office, privately held, and led by co-founder and Managing Partner Antoine Mach, with no disclosed funding rounds, parent company, or revenue figures.
Covalence firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Covalence
- Legal name
- Covalence SA
- Website
- https://covalence.ch
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Covalence SA is a Geneva-based ESG data firm founded in 2001 that provides monthly AI-powered ESG ratings for 15,000 listed companies, plus portfolio reports, exclusions monitoring, and greenwashing detection, to institutional investors, NGOs, and academics.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Covalence industry classification
Industry- Product category
- ESG Data and Ratings
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- ESG Data, Ratings & Research (Providers, Methodologies, Analytics) (FSAAALAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- ESG & Sustainability Research (FSACAGAH), ESG Reporting, Disclosure & Regulatory Compliance (SFDR, EU Taxonomy, TCFD/ISSB) (FSAAALAK), ESG Data Platforms, Controls & Audit Readiness (Data quality, internal controls) (EUAHAJAN), Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)
Keywords
Where Covalence is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Carouge
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Covalence business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- ESG Ratings Subscriptions: Monthly ESG ratings covering 15,000 listed companies for portfolio monitoring, risk management, and investment decision-making
- Portfolio Reports: Bespoke portfolio reports aggregating ESG ratings into 3-4 page analysis documents containing ESG, E, S, G scores, disclosure, reputation, controversy, and greenwashing risk indicators
- ESG News Data: Continuous ESG news monitoring since 2001, available via interactive visualization tool, FTP, email, API, or email alerts
- Norms-based Exclusions Monitor: Quarterly updated tool tracking 60+ exclusion lists from institutional investors, asset managers, and UN entities covering 1,000+ companies
- Professional Training: Training services including SAQ recertification recognized programs, CAS Sustainable Finance, and ISFB Sustainable Finance Certificate
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
Covalence product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Covalence provides monthly AI-powered ESG ratings for 15,000 listed companies globally, combining corporate disclosure scores with reputation scores derived from media and NGO news sentiment. It supplements these ratings with portfolio reports, a Norms-based Exclusions Monitor (60+ lists over 1,000 companies), continuous ESG news data feeds, a greenwashing risk indicator, SDG/thematic scores, and professional sustainable-finance training. Customers are primarily professional investors, non-profits, and academic institutions.
Product overview
Covalence provides an ESG data and analytics platform centered on AI-powered ESG ratings for 15,000 globally listed companies, updated monthly. The core product combines corporate disclosure scores with reputation measures derived from media and NGO sentiment analysis. Additional modules include the Norms-based Exclusions Monitor (tracking 60+ exclusion lists), Portfolio Reports, ESG News Data feed, Greenwashing Risk Indicator, and SDG/Thematic Scores. The company also offers the ZKB Tracker Certificate for sustainable Swiss equities and professional training services in sustainable finance.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- ESG Ratings Monthly-updated ESG ratings for 15,000 listed companies globally, combining a reputation score (stakeholder perception from media and NGOs) with a disclosure score (company-reported ESG indicators), produced for professional investors and used for portfolio monitoring, ESG integration, and positive/negative screening.
- Norms-based Exclusions Monitor Quarterly-updated tool that aggregates 60+ published exclusion lists from institutional investors, asset managers, and UN entities, covering 1,000+ companies, used by institutional investors to manage norms-based exclusion requests for responsible-investment compliance.
- Portfolio Reports On-demand 3–4 page bespoke portfolio reports aggregating ESG, E, S, G, disclosure, reputation, controversy, and greenwashing-risk scores for a client's investment portfolio.
- ESG News Data Continuous ESG news feed tracking positive sustainability efforts and controversies since 2001, delivered via an interactive visualization tool, FTP, email, API, or email alerts in .xlsx, csv, or json formats.
- Greenwashing Risk Indicator Standalone indicator that identifies discrepancies between corporate sustainability commitments and actual ESG performance by comparing prospective media sentiment (promises) with retrospective sentiment (realized actions).
- SDG and Thematic Scores ESG data recoded against the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (and aligned with UN Global Compact, SASB materiality, and SFDR Principal Adverse Impacts) to show company exposure to SDGs and to document positive impacts for thematic investment and impact analysis.
- ZKB Tracker Certificate Dynamic on Sustainable Swiss Small and Mid-Caps Investment certificate co-developed with Sussland & Co SA and Zurich Cantonal Bank, providing diversified exposure to Swiss small and mid-cap stocks that meet Covalence's ESG criteria and demonstrate positive community impact.
- Sustainable Finance Training and Education Professional training and education services covering CAS Sustainable Finance (HEG Geneva), the ISFB Sustainable Finance Certificate, and SAQ-recognition-recognized in-house seminars for banks and asset managers, aligned with Swiss Bankers Association guidelines on ESG investments and AMAS self-regulation on sustainability.
Companies that use Covalence
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Covalence technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature4 records
Covalence partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- PictetminorCo-host of Business Lunch de la Plateforme Climat de l'Économie on 'Le secteur financier au cœur de la transition climatique' (The financial sector at the heart of climate transition)
- PeaceNexus FoundationcoreCo-management of the Peacebuilding Business Index, which ranks the 300 economically most impactful companies in fragile countries according to their contribution to peace and stability. This index defines the investment universe of the Cadmos Peace Investment Fund.
- WWF-UKcoreProvided ESG ratings on luxury companies for the ground-breaking Deeper Luxury report featured in the Financial Times
- Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)minorProduced research report on The Public Image of Nutrition analyzing how nutrition is covered in stakeholder and corporate communications
- UNRWAminorHelped the United Nations Relief and Works Agency better understand ESG performance of companies active in its region of operations
- Sussland & Co SAcoreCo-development partner with Zurich Cantonal Bank for the ZKB Tracker Certificate Dynamic on Sustainable Swiss Small and Mid-Caps, providing a diversified portfolio of ESG-compliant Swiss companies
- Zurich Cantonal BankcorePartnership for ZKB Tracker Certificate Dynamic on Sustainable Swiss Small and Mid-Caps, offering investment in ~80 Swiss companies with market caps between CHF 500 million and 20 billion with above-average ESG scores
- Plateforme Climat de l'Économie GenèveminorCo-organizer of Business Lunch events on climate finance topics with participation from Geneva's sustainable finance ecosystem
- Haute école de gestion de Genève (HEG)coreCo-director of CAS Sustainable Finance program, awarded Best Pedagogical Innovation Award at FIR-PRI Finance & Sustainability Awards 2019
- Institut supérieur de formation bancaire (ISFB)minorDirector of Certificat ISFB Finance Durable (ISFB Sustainable Finance Certificate) professional training program
- Swiss Bankers Association (SBA)minorTraining designed to help banks and asset managers comply with SBA guidelines on ESG investments and sustainable mortgages, and AMAS self-regulation on sustainability. SAQ recertification recognized.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Covalence competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- RepRisk: Zurich-based ESG risk analytics firm that uses news, media and stakeholder sentiment to score company ESG risks. Closely comparable to Covalence in methodology (media/NGO-based sentiment) and Swiss/European institutional customer base.
- Sustainalytics (Morningstar): Global ESG ratings and research provider (owned by Morningstar) covering thousands of companies, with strong positioning in risk ratings and norms-based screening — directly overlapping Covalence's core ratings and exclusions monitor offerings.
- Trucost (S&P Global): Provides corporate carbon, environmental and ESG data and analytics; comparable to Covalence's ratings and portfolio-level analytics, particularly on the environmental side, with the backing of S&P Global's distribution.
- ISS ESG: Provides ESG ratings, screening, climate solutions and governance research for institutional investors. Comparable to Covalence on ratings, exclusions and stewardship data, with a broader governance/corporate proxy focus.
Broad incumbents
- LSEG (Refinitiv) ESG: Provides ESG scores, controversies and reference data for institutional investors via Refinitiv Workspace. Comparable to Covalence's ratings, exclusions and ESG news feeds, distributed through one of the largest financial data platforms.
- MSCI ESG Research: Largest dedicated ESG ratings business, providing ESG ratings, screening and analytics on thousands of companies globally. Directly competes with Covalence's ratings and exclusions products for the same institutional investor buyers, but at vastly greater scale.
- Moody's ESG Solutions (formerly Vigeo Eiris): Provides ESG scores, climate and sustainability assessments and second-party opinions globally. Directly competes with Covalence's ratings and SDG/thematic scores and benefits from Moody's distribution scale.
- Bloomberg ESG Data: Provides ESG data within the Bloomberg Terminal, serving institutional investors with ratings, controversies and disclosures. Overlaps with Covalence's ratings and news data but is bundled into a much broader market data franchise.
Regional players
- Inrate: Swiss sustainable investment rating agency providing ESG ratings on Swiss and European issuers. Comparable to Covalence on ratings and exclusions, with a similarly Swiss-centric customer footprint but a stronger focus on listed Swiss equities.
Emerging players
- CSRHub: Aggregates ESG data from multiple sources to produce consensus ratings on companies. Comparable to Covalence as an alternative ESG data provider, though smaller and more aggregator-led in approach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Covalence social profiles
Digital presenceCovalence financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Covalence leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Covalence funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Covalence M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Covalence
What does Covalence do?
Covalence provides monthly AI-powered ESG ratings for 15,000 listed companies globally, combining corporate disclosure scores with reputation scores derived from media and NGO news sentiment. It supplements these ratings with portfolio reports, a Norms-based Exclusions Monitor (60+ lists over 1,000 companies), continuous ESG news data feeds, a greenwashing risk indicator, SDG/thematic scores, and professional sustainable-finance training. Customers are primarily professional investors, non-profits, and academic institutions.
Is Covalence a public or private company?
Covalence is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Covalence founded?
Covalence was founded in 2001. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Covalence based?
Covalence is headquartered in Carouge, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Covalence make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. ESG Ratings Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are portfolio Reports, ESG News Data, norms-based Exclusions Monitor and professional Training.
Who are Covalence's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are RepRisk, Sustainalytics (Morningstar), Trucost (S&P Global) and ISS ESG. Broad incumbents are LSEG (Refinitiv) ESG, MSCI ESG Research, Moody's ESG Solutions (formerly Vigeo Eiris) and Bloomberg ESG Data. Inrate is listed as a regional player. CSRHub is listed as an emerging player.
Does Covalence have an API?
Yes. Covalence offers an API for delivering ESG data. Data can be delivered via API in various formats including .xlsx, csv, and json. Additional delivery methods include FTP and email.
What industry is Covalence in?
Covalence's product category is ESG Data and Ratings. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAAALAJ, ESG Data, Ratings & Research (Providers, Methodologies, Analytics), with a secondary code of FSACAGAH, ESG & Sustainability Research. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 8742.