How to Choose a Climate Risk Assessment Vendor for Private Markets

Limited partners (LPs) now expect private equity managers to assess climate risk, and most generic tools were not designed for solving private markets’ most pressing problems. Verdantix research published in October 2026 found that physical risk identification has become a commodity among leading general partners (GPs). Scenario analysis, third-party climate data, and asset-level risk mapping are now standard. The competitive frontier has shifted decisively: from measuring risk to generating decision-useful intelligence that informs investment decisions, portfolio management, and value creation.

That shift changes everything about how private markets decision-makers evaluate vendors.

The real question is no longer "does this platform identify our climate exposure?" It is "does this platform help us do something about it — and create value in the process?"

The GPs winning on climate are not just reporting on it. They are using it as an active input to portfolio management and value creation.

The criteria below are designed to surface whether a platform genuinely serves private markets workflows or simply repackages public-market tools with a new label.

What criteria should GPs use to choose a climate risk vendor?

Private markets GPs and sustainability teams should judge climate risk vendors on seven criteria.

1. The vendor handles unstructured data. Tools that extract material climate risk information from any document respond directly to private markets pain points.

2. The vendor covers physical, transition and nature risk in one workflow. Separate tools for each risk type create gaps, inconsistent scenarios and duplicate work for sustainability teams.

3. The vendor strengthens GP <> PortCo workflows. Providers need to help GPs and portfolio companies (PortCos) directly collaborate on uploading data, discussing results, and planning sustainable strategy to encourage maximum autonomy for PortCos.

4. The vendor assesses risk at fund, portfolio company and site level. Fund-level scores satisfy a report but rarely give PortCo management teams the detail needed to act.

5. The vendor supports the full investment cycle. A climate risk tool should cover pre-deal screening and due diligence, ongoing portfolio monitoring and exit preparation.

6. The vendor produces LP- and regulator-ready reporting. Outputs should map to the frameworks GPs report against, such as TCFD-aligned disclosures, ISSB, SFDR and LP questionnaires, without rework.

7. The vendor links climate risk to value creation. Climate risk assessments should feed operational resilience plans and the value creation plan, building on top of compliance requirements.

The UN PRI’s guidance for private equity investors is explicit that climate risk assessment is "a value-creating proposition for investors" — not merely a compliance exercise. Your vendor selection should reflect that.

How does Unwritten meet these criteria?

Unwritten is the only purpose-built climate risk solution for private markets focused on value creation and resilience, and its platform maps directly to each criterion.

Criterion	Unwritten capability	Problem solved for GPs and sustainability teams
Solves unstructured data	AI agents automate data ingestion and analysis	Upload complex datasets in seconds and identify what is material in minutes, not weeks
Physical, transition and nature risk	All three risk types overlap and are assessed in one workflow with structured scenario analysis	One consistent view instead of three tools and three methodologies
GP <> PortCo collaboration	Dedicated PortCo workspace allowing GPs to invite PortCos to securely collaborate	Empowers PortCos to take ownership of managing and designing climate risk strategies
Fund, PortCo and site level	Unwritten Workspaces module gives portfolio companies their own site-level climate risk assessments	PortCo management teams get detail they can act on
Full investment cycle	Pre-deal screening, due diligence, portfolio monitoring and portfolio-level exports	Climate risk is part of every investment committee (IC) decision, not an annual exercise
LP- and regulator-ready reporting	AI-guided reporting templates for multiple disclosure standards	Analysis and reporting cut from weeks to hours
Linked to value creation	Insights on resilience, relevant policy, net zero roadmaps and taxonomy-aligned capex	Climate risk feeds the value creation plan and access to sustainability-linked finance

For private equity and infrastructure GPs

Deal teams use Unwritten to screen climate risk before committing to full due diligence, so material physical, transition and nature risks reach the IC early. Portfolio-level views show where climate risk concentrates across the fund and which PortCos need attention.

For sustainability and ESG teams

Sustainability teams use Unwritten to automate the data workflows that usually take weeks of spreadsheets and consultant time. Outputs are ready for LP reporting and disclosure frameworks, which frees small teams to focus on engagement with PortCos.

For portfolio company management

Through Unwritten Workspaces, PortCo teams see site-level climate risk for their own operations and can build operational resilience plans.

About Unwritten

Unwritten is a London-based climate risk platform for private markets. Its platform helps private equity and infrastructure investors assess physical, transition and nature risk at fund, portfolio company and site level.

The platform uses artificial intelligence to automate complex climate risk data workflows and drive value-creation opportunities for private markets investors, asset managers and corporate risk leaders. Unwritten helps leaders move beyond minimum compliance to actively manage risk and build operational resilience that creates value at the PortCo level.