Private credit is fast becoming a force in ESG reporting, but it’s not simply following in private equity’s footsteps. In this episode of Sustainable Intelligence, host Ella Williamson speaks with Alex Jackson, Senior Customer Success Manager at Novata, about what’s driving the surge in sustainability momentum across credit markets.
From shifting LP expectations to increasing collaboration across the capital stack, Alex unpacks the trends, tools, and tensions shaping how credit GPs are approaching ESG. Whether you’re just starting your data collection journey or refining your reporting strategy, this conversation offers practical insights and a reminder that progress beats perfection.
Tune in to learn why sustainability is becoming a team sport in private markets, and how credit firms can lead with clarity, collaboration, and confidence.
About Sustainable Intelligence
Novata’s Sustainable Intelligence podcast brings honest, forward-thinking conversations about sustainability in the private markets. From carbon accounting to turning data into impact, each episode explores how investors and business leaders are tackling real challenges, meeting rising regulations, and building long-term value. Join us for expert insights, practical strategies, and authentic dialogue that empower action and progress in the evolving sustainability landscape. Listen to more episodes on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Conversation with Alex Jackson (Transcript)
Ella Williamson: Welcome to Sustainable Intelligence, where we discuss all things sustainability for the private markets. I’m Ella Williamson, and I’m thrilled to be your host. Joining us today is Alex Jackson, Senior Customer Success Manager here at Novata. Alex joined Novata nearly three years ago, right as the platform was launching. Since then, he’s been a key partner to hundreds of private equity and credit firms, helping them navigate this evolving space. Private credit is rapidly emerging as a key force in sustainability reporting. We now have over 50 funds across 30 industries reporting on Novata, which really makes it clear the momentum is building.
In this episode we’ll unpack the trends, tensions, and tools shaping how credit investors are approaching ESG and impact. So Alex, great to have you on. So let’s start with this milestone that we’ve talked about, 50 funds across 30 industries and 3.5 trillion AUM. What does this say about sustainability momentum in private credit?
Alex Jackson: So let’s get some stage setting out of the way. While there are key differences that we’ll get into, both private equity and private credit are subsets of the private markets, meaning both face the same headwinds, crosswinds, and tailwinds that we see today. From being subject to increasingly fragmented global regulatory frameworks as well as key LPs pushing the industry forwards as well as a thematic forward focus on what comes next. My observation is that it, the momentum continues to grow. I’ll get into some summary statistics later on, but we already see leading firms collaborate to share primary the source of data across the capital stack out of mutual self-interests. I think this is a cycle of collaboration that could continue to build resilience across the industry.
And I also think that transparency is a positive outcome for all stakeholders. While executing on the ongoing theme of connecting sustainability data to financial performance will remain with the sponsor stack ranked amongst other operational priorities. I think that the lending community does have an opportunity to leverage the size of their portfolios and relationships within the PE community to softly frame a conversation with appropriate talking points over time. I think that as these trends continue, streamlining the data collection exercise across different stakeholder groups will be something to look out for.
Ella: Thanks so much for that, Alex. And if we can stick in the vein of talking about private equity. Would you say that there are big differences with how private credit GPs are approaching ESG reporting compared to those in private equity?
Alex: Yeah, absolutely. So from a process perspective the credit industry is not dissimilar to equity when looking at a data collection cycle. I think that success can mean different things to different people at different times. So building backwards from a realistic desired end state would be my suggested sort of path forward.
And where I’ve seen success in the past over time, and before diving head first into the deep end of data collection. Initiating a human conversation with each stakeholder group before embarking on the journey would be something that I would also ask everybody to consider first. Getting tactical with data collection. We do work with clients by, one, finalizing their frameworks alongside an engagement strategy.
Two, we do our best to support the GP and their portfolio companies through the reporting season. And three, the outcomes of the reporting season roll forward into the GPs reporting and engagement strategies and learnings for the next cycle.
Ella: Yes, and I think your point that you made about the first part of this. Journey engaging all stakeholders across the business. What we found is that sustainability reporting is a team sport and the companies that are most successful are those who have buy-in across the business. Could you also go into a bit more detail on where credit really diverges from the rest of the industry?
Alex: Yeah, absolutely. And Ella to your previous point as well, I think that one of the differences that I have observed through working with the firms that I have over time is that the ability to work through the different stakeholder groups to execute all in a line and executing in the same way absolutely helps a successful reporting season at the end of the day.
Given credits nature there are additional stakeholders to work with. Sourcing data can come either from the company, directly, the sponsor, or another co lender. In some instances, this presents both challenges and opportunities, from my perspective. We see credit firms adapt by leaning into standardized frameworks like the ESG data convergence initiative to lower the hurdle of engagement. picking specific themes within regulatory frameworks or industry initiatives that lean potentially more decision-useful compared to asking everybody everything enables an ability to move away from collecting, just to collect. Compared to PE that can directly launch to their portfolio, credit have a little bit more front end planning to do. I touched on the collaboration piece previously, but since launching a feature to share a subset of metrics or an entire report from a portfolio company, we’ve seen this being used more than 60 times since it’s released over a few months ago. So we’ve seen data flow from sponsor to agent as well as agent to agent or lead lender to a co lender.
Ella: And that sharing of data, I think is just going to get more and more important as frameworks get more complex. The themes diverge between credit firm to credit firm, so that’s a really exciting piece that it’s being used and leveraged on the platform. How would you say sustainability reporting within private credit has evolved over the past few years up to today?
Alex: What a question. Using the number of reports requested as a high level statistic, that lacks a little bit of nuance, but I think paints a valid picture still. We see a 67% compounded annual growth rate in the number of report requests sent from lenders on our platform over the last three years. I don’t think that this is a small number. Some additional summary statistics include the average number of report requests per client. So typically this corresponds to the number of borrowers that you go out to was 46 in 2022, and 86 in 2024, around double. And the median number of report requests sent per client was 29 in 2022, and then 37 in 2024. Again, high level numbers are indicative and please take with a grain of salt.
Ella: Absolutely. But I think they’re really important numbers because when we’re looking at 50% increase or a hundred percent increase in some cases they’re pretty serious stats. What. Would you say these numbers really mean from a progression perspective?
Alex: So from my perspective, I think that as large lenders continue to ramp up their data collection efforts, I think it is feasible that these numbers can increase across the industry. If additional credit firms entrust us with being partners to their data collection journey we might be able to speak to a greater cross section moving forwards. I can only speak for myself for usual, but I would like to thank each and every client that I work with that entrusts me to be one of their partners alongside their journey. Thank you for your good faith. I aspire to return at every turn for leaning forward with feedback, trust, and patience. And for our mutual brainstorming sessions I learn alongside you and I think that we all go further farther together.
Ella:The community piece within sustainability is so key. We are all learning together, we’re all developing, and we’re all working out the best way forward. So I love that you’ve touched upon that there. And to finish on Alex, what would be a few pieces of advice that you would give to credit GPs looking to start, improve their ESG data collection journey?
Alex: So outside of the things that I’ve mentioned previously, I would suggest, don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress. Never underestimate the power of a meaningful conversation and understand each firm may be siloed, but you are not alone. I think that if you’re in this industry, you joined for a reason. Horrible dad joke incoming, but and I could be wrong, but I think that we are all on the same side of advancing the narrative of sustainability in a credit worthy way. And I think that this takes time and I think that this takes meaningful relationships. And I’m always happy to brainstorm and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions, comments, concerns, at any point.
Ella: Thank you so much Alex, for all of this information. I found it absolutely fascinating and learned a lot about the private credit space. It does seem like over the last few years things have really heated up in terms of sustainability reporting and that momentum is super exciting as we progress.
My personal key takeaways that you’ve shared today, ESG and credit is evolving on its own terms. It’s not just following those private equity leaders that you spoke about and your advice is really key. Start small, leverage your community. Stay human and aim for progress over perfection ’cause we’re all learning together.
If this has resonated with you, please subscribe and share the podcast and feel free to reach out to Alex via LinkedIn or via Novata’s website. Thank you so much for listening to Sustainable Intelligence. Find out more at Novata.com and see you next time.
