Sustainable1 Methodologies

S&P Global Sustainable1 is committed to providing transparency on all our methodologies.  Please see below for available methodology documentation, noting that this list will continue to expand and evolve.

Our Approach

S&P Global ESG Scores

The S&P Global ESG Score measures a company’s performance on and management of material ESG risks, opportunities, and impacts compared to their peers within the same industry classification, informed by a combination of company disclosures, media and stakeholder analysis, modeling approaches, and in-depth company engagement via the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). The S&P Global ESG Score uses a double materiality approach whereby a sustainability issue is considered to be material if it presents a significant impact on society or the environment and a significant impact on a company’s value drivers, competitive position, and long-term shareholder value creation.

Fund ESG Weighted Average Metric (WAM)

Fund ESG WAM' refers to the 'Fund ESG Weighted Average Metric', which is defined as the sum product of the S&P Global ESG scores for the issuers within the ETF/ Mutual fund and their holding weight. Mapping sustainability data, which is mainly researched at the parent or ultimate parent level, to subsidiaries provides an important link to equity and fixed income securities. Financial products, such as mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs), may be analysed based on the sustainability data of the constituents of an investment vehicle.

Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA)

The S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) is an annual evaluation of companies’ sustainability practices, with 62 industry-specific assessments covering over 10,000 companies from around the world. The CSA focuses on sustainability criteria that are both industry-specific and financially material, and the results form a key component of the ESG Global Score.

Methodology resources available include annual updates, question weights, the CSA Handbook and an FAQ document.

CSA Fundamentals and CSA Standard for Non-listed and Small Companies

CSA Fundamentals is a derivative of the CSA Standard questionnaire, developed for the assessment of ESG policies, practices and performance of non-listed micro and nano cap companies.

Media & Stakeholder Analysis

The S&P Global Media and Stakeholder Analysis (‘MSA’) forms an integral part of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (‘CSA’) and enables S&P Global to monitor companies’ sustainability performance on an ongoing basis by assessing current controversies with potentially negative reputational or financial impacts. The main objective of the MSA process is to gain insight into a company’s ability to mitigate financially material and reputational risks, as well as impacts on stakeholders and the environment, whilst protecting their shareholder value.

Supplier Risk Management

The S&P Global Supplier Risk Management (SRM) indicator is designed to measure a supplier’s management of ESG impacts and risks informed by the supplier’s disclosures submitted through the S&P Global Supplier Risk Management Assessment. The assessment is designed to support a customer in implementing their Supplier Code of Conduct and to enhance their regulatory compliance, minimize operational and reputational risks, and strengthen operational efficiency. It also supports suppliers in displaying, benchmarking, and improving their sustainability management practices.

Risk Exposure Assessment

The S&P Global Risk Exposure Assessment (REA) is a measure of the business, financial and operational risks an entity is exposed to, driven by its business activities and geographic profile. The Risk Exposure Assessment captures the exposure of an entity to risk assessed across social, environmental and governance dimensions, with 14 dimension-specific Risk Factors.

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