Net Environmental Contribution: the holistic metric

helping to reliably guide companies
and investors’ environmental action

An environmental score to guide action

The Net Environmental Contribution (NEC) rates economic activities in regards with their environmental impacts on a scale from -100% to +100%, enabling economic actors to identify contributors, activities contributing to the ecological transition, with transition opportunities, and destructors, activities damaging the environment, exposed to transition risks.

Beef | -100%

The impact comes mainly from deforestation (soybean production for livestock), methane production (enteric fermentation), fertilizer use and high water consumption.

Beef

Fuel for electricity production | -63%

The impact comes mainly from the combustion of fuel oil, which is a major emitter of CO2e. Fuel oil also generates soil pollution, which negatively impacts local biodiversity.

Fuel for electricity production

Cotton | -24%

The impact comes from the very high water consumption necessary for cotton production. Cotton is also one of the biggest consumers of pesticides, impacting biodiversity and polluting the soil.

Cotton

Aluminium | -40%

The production of aluminum requires large amounts of electricity and water. The extraction of bauxite in open-pit mines severely degrades local biodiversity and pollutes the soil.

Aluminium

Milk | +17%

The impact comes mainly from deforestation (soybean production for livestock), methane production (enteric fermentation), fertilizer use and high water consumption.

Milk

Wood structure | +43%

Wood, which is sustainably managed, is a renewable material with a lower carbon footprint than the main solutions for building load-bearing structures.

Wood structure

Electric train | +100%

The train is one of the most efficient solutions for moving large numbers of people or goods over long distances. GHG emissions and associated air pollution are low compared to other alternatives.

Electric train

-100% -63% -24% -40% 0% +17% +43% +100%

Unlike other sustainability metrics, we’ve taken a holistic approach: the NEC metric assesses impact not only on climate, but also on biodiversity and resources. It is a relative metric that analyses a product or service’s environmental impact throughout its life cycle.

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An environmental compass to guide all economic players

Financial actors

Whether you are an asset owner, asset manager or work in private equity, we help you at every step of your investment strategy. Learn more

Companies

Small, mid or large cap listed or non-listed, and no matter your sector or where you are based, we can help guide your environmental strategy. Learn more

A historically reliable metric

The NEC metric was conceived between 2015 and 2018 by a group of leading financial and environmental experts. After these 4 years of research and development and stringent testing, the mission-driven NEC Initiative was created in 2021 to accelerate its use among economic actors. Our team works tirelessly to keep the metric up to date with today’s environmental realities.

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2015

Sycomore Asset Management launches a 4-year R&D process for the creation of the metric.

2019

Tested and validated on +1500 issuers, the NEC becomes open and transparent.

2021

NEC Initiative becomes a mission-led company and opens its capital to 4 shareholders.

2023

Release of the updgraded and enriched version of the methodology.

Recognitions

Thanks to its robustness and holistic approach, the NEC metric is recognized as a leading sustainability assessment tool. It has been acknowledged by many institutions as an example of “best practice”.

We are mission-driven

Leading the way to a more sustainable economy by equipping economic actors with a compass to reliably guide their environmental action.

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Our shareholders support us

The NEC Initiative is surrounded by strong, longstanding, environmentally committed economic leaders.