How to pick a Participation Window?

This tutorial explains what to consider when selecting a participation window or deadline extension. As a reminder, your company’s selected participation window impacts the expected score availability date, which may impact eligibility to be considered for The Sustainability Yearbook.

CSA 2026 timeline overview

Starting in mid-February, companies will be able to reserve a 2-month participation window that best meets their own reporting cycle and project planning needs directly in the Sustainability Reporting Portal (subject to quota availability). Book early to ensure your company gets the most convenient window to complete the CSA. The 2026 CSA questionnaire is available for all companies to view as of 1 April 2026, independent of any chosen participation window start date. Companies will not be able to view the questionnaire before 1 April.

Selecting a participation window

To book a window, a user registered as an Administrator for your company must log into the Sustainability Reporting Portal and navigate to the CSA. There are two ways to access the CSA: 

1. Select 'Frameworks' from navigation menu at the top of the screen. From there, under CSA, select Response and ensure you are on the ‘Confirmation’ tab.
2. Click on the ‘2026 Corporate Sustainability Assessment’ link in the Dashboard.

In the Confirmation tab, below ‘Plan your company's participation’ you will find all available participation windows. Once you have selected and saved a window, scroll down the page to select and save a confidentiality designation option for datapoints. You will not be able to start the questionnaire, when your window opens, unless you select and save a confidentiality designation.

Participation window types

There are two participation window types:

1. Self-Paced:
   Our company will participate. (Where available, the questionnaire can be pre-filled with last year's assessed data). The company responds to the questionnaire after the start of the selected window. If the company has previously participated or was assessed on public information in the previous year, it may opt to use a pre-fill from the prior years assessed data. Once finished with data entry, the company submits the questionnaire to S&P Global for analyst review and scoring.
2. Review & Add:
   Our company will participate. (We would like to review and add to S&P Global’s assessment of our latest, publicly available information): The company responds to the questionnaire after first pre-filling with information from their most recent disclosures. The first column of the table in the Portal indicates the date by which the company's most recent reporting should be publicly available (website). The ~30 days following this date is the period when S&P Global analysts will review the company's publicly available data and enter information that meets the CSA methodology requirements in the company’s CSA questionnaire. The dates in the second column show the date when the company's participation window will start, allowing registered users to add to the pre-filled questionnaire. Once the company completes their review and if applicable provides additional or updated disclosure, it will submit the questionnaire back to S&P Global for final review and scoring.
    

Impact of submission date on eligibility for The Sustainability Yearbook

All companies participating in the CSA can be considered for inclusion in The Sustainability Yearbook 2027, provided they submit the 2026 CSA by the eligibility deadline explained below.

The latest participation window for companies to be considered for inclusion in The Sustainability Yearbook is August 17th- October 16th, with a latest submission date of October 16th (provided that the relevant deadline extension is available and booked by the company in the CSA Portal). Companies that submit their 2026 CSA after October 16th, or that pick a window starting in or after September, will not be considered for The Sustainability Yearbook 2027.
 

Dow Jones Best-in-Class Indices (DJBICI) invited companies

Results calculated from the CSA are a key component for selecting companies for inclusion in the Dow Jones Best-in-Class Indices (DJBICI) and other S&P Scored & Screened Indices. Please check which index, if any, your company is eligible for on the invited companies look up page.  The decision to select companies into indices is made by S&P Global Dow Jones Indices and follows the DJBICI Methodology.

For companies that submit their 2026 CSA by December 31st, 2026, the ESG Research team at S&P Global Sustainable1 will submit a CSA Score based on the company’s active participation in the CSA to S&P Dow Jones Indices for the consideration of the company’s inclusion in any Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index (DJBICI)*. The final participation window for companies to meet this deadline is November – December.  

For companies that do not submit their 2026 CSA, the ESG Research team at S&P Global Sustainable1 will submit a CSA Score based solely on the company’s publicly available disclosures to S&P Dow Jones Indices for the consideration of the company’s inclusion in any Dow Jones Best -in-Class Index (DJBICI).

In both cases final CSA Scores will be provided to S&P Dow Jones Indices on March 31st, 2027.  

*S&P Global CSA Scores will be licensed to S&P Dow Jones Indices for use in the selection of eligible companies into any Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index. S&P Global is committed to the independence and objectivity of its products and services and has policies in place to help maintain an appropriate separation between the different business units, including S&P Dow Jones Indices and S&P Global Sustainable1 which develops S&P Global ESG Scores, a key component of which is the S&P Global CSA Score. For further information on the use of scores in any S&P Global indices please reach out to index_services@spglobal.com.