With all the buzz around Generative AI, it’s easy to forget that artificial intelligence (AI) has been driving innovation across industries for years. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and risk management are no different. However, at the rate AI is advancing and as the amount of raw data available for analysis continues to expand, the need to understand AI is more pressing than ever.

AI is transforming ESG, turning complex data into predictive insights and reshaping our approach to risk. But what does this mean for the industry, and how can professionals leverage this technology to maintain a competitive edge? The future of AI in ESG and risk management is not just a matter of technological advancement but a narrative of how we evolve with it.

This ebook dives into how AI works when applied to ESG, shares a few practical examples of what it looks like in real life, and offers a few predictions for what comes next.

Dive deeper into the mechanics of how AI works in ESG and equip your organization with the insights needed to enhance your ESG practices. Fill out the form below to access your copy.

We are excited to announce the launch of SESAMm’s proprietary Controversy Exposure Score (CES), a new score designed to transform how ESG and finance professionals assess risks. The CES offers a dynamic, real-time view of a company's exposure to ESG controversies, enabling fast, informed decision-making.

What is the Controversy Exposure Score (CES)?

The CES is a continuously updated score ranging from 1 to 100, reflecting a company or project's evolving exposure to ESG controversies. Leveraging SESAMm’s proprietary Intensity and Volume Scores, the CES captures both the severity and frequency of ESG incidents, allowing stakeholders to monitor and understand risks as they develop.
Below, we’ve put together an example demonstrating how the CES for Renault compares to Stellantis based on their respective ESG controversies. As we see in the chart below, Renault has had fewer high–intensity events, which results in a lower, more stable CES compared to Stellantis.

Renault CES

Stellantis CES

How Does It Work?

The CES is powered by state-of-the-art Large Language Models (LLMs) that filter and analyze content from our data lake containing over 25 billion articles.
Two main components impact the score’s value:

• Intensity Score: Measures the severity of each ESG incident, considering its impact on a company’s reputational, stakeholder, financial, and legal standing. This score is derived from a Large Language Model (LLM) fine-tuned by SESAMm’s experts and trained on thousands of humanly annotated events.
• Volume Score: Assesses the number of articles associated with an event, calculated using a short-term rolling window. To ensure accuracy, the Volume Score is normalized against the average article volume concerning the company and relevant ESG topics over the past year, reducing potential bias.

Key Benefits of the Controversy Exposure Score

• Conduct initial risk assessments: Instantly evaluate a company’s risk exposure, enabling quick decision-making.
• Track ESG controversy trends: Evaluate how a company’s risk exposure has evolved. The CES is updated daily, ensuring that users have the most current data at their fingertips.
• Benchmark companies against their peers: Compare a company’s risk exposure to its peers, providing a comprehensive view of its relative risk.

Ready to Transform Your ESG Analysis?

For more information on how the Controversy Exposure Score can help you make smarter, data-driven decisions and to see it in action, request a demo.

Reach out to SESAMm

TextReveal’s web data analysis of over five million public and private companies is essential for keeping tabs on ESG investment risks. To learn more about how you can analyze web data or to request a demo, reach out to one of our representatives.

This is from SESAMm’s Deal Screening AI report. These reports are usually used by private equity deal teams and M&A teams to conduct pre-commercial due diligence on any company or project in minutes, and they contain insights and risks on the target company as well as a full competitive and market analysis.

ManTech International Corporation is a U.S.-based defense contractor specializing in cybersecurity, data analytics, and systems engineering solutions for national security and government agencies. Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, the company operates globally. It primarily serves U.S. defense, intelligence, and homeland security clients, delivering technology services that support mission-critical operations such as cybersecurity protection, artificial intelligence and analytics, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.

The broader defense and intelligence services market in which ManTech operates is expanding rapidly due to rising global defense spending, geopolitical tensions, and increasing demand for advanced digital and cyber capabilities. Within this context, ManTech has recently secured several growth signals, including a $200 million cybersecurity contract with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, partnerships to deploy secure AI technologies, and major analytics and systems contracts with the U.S. Army, reflecting continued demand for its technical expertise.

The report identifies several legal and reputational risks that could be relevant in a due diligence context. The most significant relate to labor and human rights issues, including allegations by former employees that the company confiscated passports and imposed hazardous working conditions under a U.S. Army contract in Kuwait, with a U.S. court allowing human-trafficking claims to proceed. Other previous issues include whistleblower retaliation claims linked to military contract billing practices and a civil fraud settlement involving misrepresentation of security clearance status. Environmental risks appear limited, with no major pollution or climate-related incidents identified.

In the competitive landscape, ManTech operates alongside firms such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Leidos, CACI International, SAIC, and General Dynamics Information Technology. While not the largest player in the sector, it is regarded as a capable provider of secure IT and cybersecurity solutions for classified government missions. Overall, the report concludes that ManTech benefits from strong demand for defense technology and cyber capabilities but faces reputational exposure primarily tied to labor practices and contract-related compliance risks.

Reach out to SESAMm

SESAMm’s AI Deal Screening Reports analyze web data across over five million public and private companies to help investors quickly identify legal, ESG, and reputational risks during due diligence. To learn more about how you can generate these reports or to request a demo, reach out to one of our representatives.