Understanding 2026 CSA Scores Release, Review Periods, and Publication

In 2025 S&P Global started providing participating companies with 7 calendar day upfront notice regarding the public release of their CSA results.

Starting with the 2026 cycle, the 7-day notification will provide companies with confidential access to their scores as well as the assessed version of the questionnaire used to calculate the scores. This allows companies to understand exactly which data points were and were not accepted, added or changed during the assessment process.

This notice will be sent to the company user designated as the Main Contact in the Sustainability Reporting Portal, with all other company Administrators copied.

Once you receive the notification:

• Scores will be available in the Sustainability Reporting Portal’s (“Portal”) Benchmarking Database.
• Assessed data can be viewed directly in the assessed version of your CSA questionnaire in the Portal.

This information is confidential during the 7‑day notification window, and only visible to the company itself.

The 7‑day period allows companies to view their results before public release. Available actions depend on whether your company has participated in the CSA or is receiving a score based on public information. 

CSA Participants

After receiving the notification, your company has seven calendar days to:

• View Scores and assessed data; and
• Raise Assessment Queries, if applicable.

Raising Assessment Queries

• Queries must be submitted using the Assessment Query function embedded in the CSA questionnaire in the Portal, queries sent through other channels cannot be accepted.
• If a query is submitted within the 7‑day window, publication of Scores and Data is put on hold.
• Based on the information provided, the query may be escalated to Re‑assessment, and a related form will be opened for the company to complete.

When Are Scores Published?

Scores and Data will be published on the Portal, and on S&P Global platforms, if any of the following applies:

• No Assessment Query is submitted within the 7‑day window.
• If a query is submitted, reviewed, and not escalated to Re-Assessment, the company may receive a response after the original 7-day notice period, depending on submission timing. The Score and data are kept confidential until the response is sent. If the response is within the 7-day window, Scores and data stay confidential until the period ends.
• A query is escalated to Re‑assessment; the Re‑assessment is completed, and the company receives an explanation of the outcome.

Companies Assessed Based on Public Information

To access CSA results, a company must have a registered account on the Sustainability Reporting Portal. An account is considered registered if at least one company user has created an account and logged in within the past 12 months. If no user has logged in during that time, the account is considered inactive and the company will need to register again to regain access. S&P Global aims to complete the registration process within two business days.

With a Registered Sustainability Portal Account

After receiving the Score Release Notification, the company has seven calendar days to select a “Review & Add” participation window:

• Select a participation window.
• Review S&P Global’s initial assessment in the chosen window, and
• Update or add information as applicable.

Depending on availability and preference, the company can pick a window that already started, or one that starts in the future.

What Happens When a Participation Window Is Selected?

• Selecting a participation window puts the publication of Scores and data on hold.
• The company may review and update the assessed questionnaire.
• The questionnaire must be submitted by the end of the selected window or the deadline extension to be considered for assessment by S&P Global.

When Are Scores Published?

Scores and Data will be immediately published on the Portal, and on S&P Global platforms, if any of the following applies:

• No participation window is selected within seven days.
• The company does not submit the questionnaire by the end of the selected window or the extended deadline (if available).

For companies that completed the “Review & Add” step, scores and data will, when available, again be shared confidentially with a new seven day notice. The company may then request an additional review as described above in the section for participating companies.

Companies Without a Registered Sustainability Portal Account

How Are These Companies Notified?

Every company that is assessed in the CSA will be invited to participate prior to the assessment start (see invited companies lookup)

• If S&P Global has an email contact for the company, it will be notified by email.
• If no email contact is available, S&P Global will make reasonable efforts to notify the company via:
  
  
  • Online contact forms on the company website, or
  • Physical mail.

This outreach is typically done several weeks before the assessment begins and includes an invitation to create a Portal account. Companies are encouraged to register on the Portal, even if they do not yet intend to actively participate.

What If No Contact Information Is Available at Score Release?

If S&P Global lacks a company contact when the initial score is released, a notice announcing the start of the 7‑day window will be published on the CSA public website. The notice will explain how to access Scores and Data via the Sustainability Portal.

If the company registers and selects a “Review & Add” participation window within seven days, the same process as above applies.

The 7‑day notification window is designed to account for common public holiday patterns, including situations where holidays fall next to weekends, while still providing the company with at least two business days to review the assessment and trigger the process to hold publication if required.

For longer regional business holidays, such as:

• Japan Golden Week
• Chinese New Year

Score release notifications may be temporarily put on hold to ensure companies have at least two business days to review their Scores and Data.

These adjustments are managed by S&P Global’s Corporate Engagement Team and apply based on the company’s legal headquarter location.

In line with the practice followed in previous years, companies that participate in the CSA may request a detailed explanation of the assessment results for up to three CSA questions. Companies are not required to raise Assessment Queries within the 7-day notification period, and the functionality will be accessible until the time that either queries are filed, or the new assessment year begins.

The functionality to raise three Assessment Queries is only available once per assessment year. If you raise your queries during the 7-day window there will be no further opportunities to raise queries.

For further information on how to raise queries please see our tutorial: How to Raise Assessment Queries and Concerns. You may also wish to review the Company Concerns document, which outlines the process of both raising Assessment Queries and how these are escalated to Re-assessment.