Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI), an asset owner-backed company climate analysis platform, is planning to launch a centre that will provide free and publicly available in-depth data on how 10,000 companies are aligning with a net-zero pathway, it was announced today.

This would represent a significant scaling of existing coverage across global equity markets, of 400 companies, according to the announcement.

The TPI Global Transition Centre is intended to be opened in early 2022 and based at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Adam Matthews, chair of TPI and chief responsible investment officer of Church of England Pensions Board, said the new centre would “underpin the global climate transition directly empowering all investors to take action and judge climate performance through the same lens”.

“It’s a critical component of the post-Glasgow COP financial infrastructure enabling investors to deliver on their commitments.”

He continued: “Information drives markets, and the independent freely-available insights from the TPI Global Climate Transition Centre will help markets clearly see which companies are serious about climate and which are not.

“It will enable climate factors to inform decision making as to whether company debt is refinanced as well as support investors to understand the risks and opportunities presented by sovereign debt. For wider society, it will bring transparency and accountability at scale to empower action.”

BlackRock today announced it would be joining TPI as a supporter. Sandy Boss, global head of BlackRock Investment Stewardship, noted that TPI data already served as the “analytical backbone” for the investor engagement initiative Climate Action 100+.

Analysis from TPI also informed a recently published net-zero standard for oil and gas companies.

BlackRock’s Boss said: “We consistently hear from investors around the world on the need for quality data to inform decision making, and so we are pleased to support TPI as it scales its analysis to provide valuable input.”

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The headline was updated after publication to correct the magnitude of the increase in the number of companies to be covered by TPI assessments. It previously stated the increase would be 24-fold.