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BNP Paribas and Bloomberg collaborate on Sustainability Hackathon empowering teams to innovate
Bloomberg Professional Services
As sustainability continues to be a factor in the future of finance, the ability to manage and utilize disparate data sets will be a defining factor in maintaining competitive advantage. To stay ahead of the game, financial firms such as BNP Paribas are continually exploring new ways to integrate sustainability factors into their investment strategies and enhance their offering for financial institutions and corporates.
The Sustainability Hackathon organized by BNP Paribas and Bloomberg earlier this year showcased the value of partnerships and cross-functional collaboration to uncover new ideas and generate innovative investment themes.
The hackathon brought together BNP Paribas professionals from financial advisory, structuring, debt capital markets, asset management, investor relations, research, and quant functions. Participants were placed into mixed teams, each with access to Bloomberg’s sustainability and financial datasets, covering everything from water stress indicators to corporate carbon emissions and supply chain resilience. This data was enhanced by access to bespoke large-language model (LLM) tools to help extract financial and sustainability data from available sources.
Having helped to design the hackathon, Bloomberg experts also provided insights on which content sets would be most useful for different investment objectives.
From data to investment strategy
Throughout the day, teams looked to develop sophisticated investment strategies that address real-world sustainability challenges around adaptation, conservation, transition and societal resilience.
With Bloomberg’s datasets providing market-leading sustainability insights through its comprehensive data and AI tools, BNP Paribas teams were able to develop exciting sustainable investment themes. Some teams further explored how alternative data sources, such as supply chain disclosures, could refine their approach.
Key takeaways
1. Breaking down silos drives better innovation
The mixed-team structure, bringing together professionals from different disciplines, allowed for a unique and collaborative experience, and fostered the open thinking needed for innovation.
2. Sustainability data can unlock new investment frontiers
Combining financial expertise with comprehensive, reliable and timely sustainability data is essential for innovative thinking in how to align sustainability and economic value. The ability to map structured (financial) and unstructured (sustainability) data dynamically allows for a level of efficiency and depth in structuring investment products.
3. Sustainability is now a competitive edge
Sustainable investment is a catalyst for opportunity. The teams identified high-growth areas in water technology, resource efficiency, and resilient infrastructure, demonstrating that sustainability-driven investments are becoming core to competitive financial strategies.
This hackathon is a proof of concept for how sustainability and collaboration can support investment decision-making. For investment professionals seeking to deepen their sustainability expertise, workshops like these offer a practical, data-driven approach to building the next generation of investment products.