Helen Droz

To tackle climate change effectively, our clients need to be strategic, and that strategy is built on the work of Helen and her team. Together, they build models to quantify climate risks of companies and understand how aligned companies and portfolios are to global climate targets.

“We create models to estimate the so-called transition risks of climate change for companies. For example, we look at the current emissions of a company, then quantify the costs and the impact on the valuation of reducing their emissions in alignment with the 2°C Paris climate target.”

It’s often an experimental process, as the team test out a variety of prototypes and visualisations of the data using Python and tools such as Jupyter notebooks.

“This is really fun, because it allows us to play around with the models, test different settings and always generate tons of visualizations which can be really helpful. Once we are happy with our prototype, we can then start writing production code in very close collaboration with the Tech team.”

Working in a cross-functional team of experts like this has also been a fantastic learning opportunity for Helen.

“The team is brilliant, we have a very collaborative environment, and it is really fun to work with everyone. Through working with our talented software engineers, I’ve even been able to learn a lot about coding!”

But the biggest draw for Helen to work at MSCI is the potential impact her has. By equipping global investors with innovative tools and solutions to understand climate risks and impacts, she helps tackle climate change at its roots.

“I really care about climate change, which is why I studied environmental engineering at university. At that time, I was focused on developing models and methodologies to quantify the environmental impact of economic activity, and now I get to continue that work at our Climate Risk Center.”