“NLP for SDGs: Measuring Corporate Alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals“

When considering sustainable initiatives in asset allocation initiatives, investors often struggle with measuring the numerous Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) dimensions; however, in this paper, the authors propose that machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) can be used to assess if companies are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The writers provide initial proof of concept of how investors can apply ML and NLP techniques to overcome challenges in measuring companies’ contribution to the SDGs and propose new avenues of research for how ML and NLPs can be used for SDPs. This piece discusses how to measure corporate alignment with sustainable development goals.