After a competitive bid process, the London Metal Exchange selected IHS Markit to develop a digital document register to store and maintain certificates of analysis (COAs) and sustainability credentials for listed metal brands traded at the exchange. The platform, LMEpassport, will act as a centralized library available to metal industry participants. essDOCS developed the smartphone application for LMEpassport enabling users to connect to the platform via mobile device.

Robin Martin, LME Head of Market Development commented: "Working together with IHS Markit and essDOCS, we have developed a digital solution for the metals market that enables users to source robust quality assurance data quickly and confidently. LMEpassport also provides transparency and access to provenance data by enabling users to append disclosures related to a given metal's sustainability credentials."

Kathy Benini, Managing Director, Co-Head of Sustainable Finance, IHS Markit said: "We are excited to be working with The London Metal Exchange (LME) and essDOCS on this initiative. Our goal is to bring efficiency, scale and digitization to the metal industry starting with COAs."

Alex Goulandris, Co-CEO essDOCS said: "It has been a pleasure working with LME and IHS Markit on accelerating the digitization of the metals market. While this project focuses on the COA, we look forward to exploring a broader range of solutions with them in due course."

LMEpassport launches today.

IHS Markit's Sustainable Finance Team

The Sustainable Finance Team provides infrastructure solutions and services for both the environmental and commodities markets. Our Commodity Tracker product automates inventory reconciliations by digitizing paper statements and constructing a third-party view of inventory.

About essDOCS (www.essdocs.com)

essDOCS enables paperless global trade management. Its CargoDocs platform digitizes, automates, and accelerates trade operations, finance, logistics, compliance, and visibility. Its essCert platform digitizes the certification of preferential and non-preferential certificates of origin and other export/import-related documents issued by Chambers of Commerce or other authorities. 59,000+ companies, ranging from 31% of the Fortune Global 100 to innovative SMEs, use essDOCS solutions globally in warehouses as well as bulker, tanker, container, and barge movements. Customers are supported from offices in London, Athens, Galway, New York, Shanghai, Kolkata, Adelaide, and Singapore.

S&P Global provides industry-leading data, software and technology platforms and managed services to tackle some of the most difficult challenges in financial markets. We help our customers better understand complicated markets, reduce risk, operate more efficiently and comply with financial regulation.

This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.