ESIC partners with Zeroe to revolutionise ESG reporting with scalable sustainability framework

Emirates Strategic Investment Company (ESIC) has teamed up with sustainability platform Zeroe in a strategic move to bolster ESG reporting across its investment portfolio. The initial focus is on East and West International Group (EWIG), the Abu Dhabi‑based investor revealed in an official statement covered by GCC Business News.

As per the announcement, this partnership aims to develop a data‑driven sustainability framework that boosts transparency, ensures consistency, and enhances long‑term value creation within ESIC’s holdings. The first phase will establish a harmonised baseline for Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions for EWIG, with future stages expected to include Scope 3 categories and broader efforts around decarbonising supply chains. This step fits into ESIC’s broader strategy to meet the growing regulatory and stakeholder demands for ESG disclosures that are both transparent and ready for audit.

“ESIC’s move to invest in a structured sustainability infrastructure shows a forward-thinking approach to responsible growth,” the announcement explained. “Starting with EWIG, we’re laying down a strong foundation that can be expanded across our portfolio as sustainability standards continue to evolve.” Dr. Charbel Abi Akl, ESIC’s Chief Sustainability Officer, added: “At ESIC, our dedication to ESG principles drives us to innovate towards a sustainable future, promoting social responsibility and environmental care, while also maintaining top governance standards. We truly believe that responsible practices will generate lasting value , not just for our communities but for the planet too.” These quotes were shared with GCC Business News.

The partnership aligns well with Zeroe’s stated product vision. The company claims its platform employs structured workflows and artificial intelligence to consolidate fragmented sustainability data into compliance-ready, audit-friendly reports, directly linking environmental, social, and governance metrics to specific cost centres and business systems. Zeroe’s marketing emphasizes its support for measuring, reporting, and cutting carbon emissions in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, positioning its software as a way to transform regulatory compliance into a competitive edge.

Industry experts typically see several reasons for investors to centralise ESG measurement and reporting. For instance, having a harmonised baseline for Scope 1 and 2 emissions gives immediate insight into direct emissions and those from purchased energy , which are increasingly scrutinised by regulators and investors alike. Expanding reporting to include Scope 3 emissions , which involve indirect emissions from supply chains and product life cycles , is more challenging, but often essential for effective decarbonisation efforts. According to Zeroe’s partner materials, implementing such systems generally involves setting up the platform, integrating data, training staff, and offering strategic services like target setting and regulatory reporting assistance.

This ESIC‑Zeroe announcement also echoes a wider trend of deploying enterprise-grade sustainability platforms. Big players like Salesforce have promoted similar solutions; their Net Zero Cloud, for example, aims to track and forecast emissions across all scopes and automate reports aligned with international standards. Salesforce reports that clients who adopt their cloud system see a significant reduction in reporting time, demonstrating how structured systems can speed up ESG disclosures. Of course, these comparisons don’t necessarily mean the features or results are exactly the same, but they do highlight how investors are increasingly viewing ESG reporting as a core operational task rather than just a periodic obligation.

In describing the initiative, ESIC stresses that scalability and adherence to global best practices are key. The company, which invests across real estate, equities, and specialised sectors, described the EWIG project as a pilot that could potentially be replicated across other assets in its portfolio. That’s a sensible approach , start small to establish robust data governance, then gradually expand reporting scope and detail as the systems mature.

While partnerships like these are often framed as routes to reliable, audit‑ready disclosures, the credibility of the process ultimately hinges on third-party verification and transparent methodologies. The announcement didn’t specify whether ESIC plans to seek independent assurance for the EWIG baseline or include Scope 3 data within a set timetable. Industry studies show that third-party validation and openly disclosed methodologies significantly enhance the trustworthiness of emissions inventories for both investors and regulators.

Zeroe’s partner network, meanwhile, is positioned as a way to help navigate these complexities. The company claims it collaborates with domain experts to provide both implementation services and strategic ESG advice, helping clients accelerate progress toward climate goals. ESIC’s choice of a platform backed by implementation support suggests a preference for combining automation with expert consultancy , a hybrid approach many large organizations now favor.

For UAE investors and stakeholders interested in climate tech, this partnership signals a focus on enterprise‑scale infrastructure rather than just ad hoc reporting. If adopted across ESIC’s holdings, it could lead to more standardised disclosures and clearer emissions paths for the assets under management, making it easier for regulators, lenders, and corporate clients to assess climate risk and progress toward decarbonisation.

The announcement frames the initial work with EWIG as a step that is measurable, with clear potential for growth. Whether it evolves into fully independent, rigorous, and verified reporting, and results in actual emissions reductions, will depend on additional phases, especially the integration of Scope 3 emissions and the governance decisions around validation and disclosure. Both ESIC and Zeroe have indicated that this pilot is designed to be a replicable model, something that can be expanded and refined as the regulatory landscape and sustainability standards continue to develop.

Source: Noah Wire Services