How S&P Global data helps investors navigate the risks of corporate controversies

When investors evaluate portfolio risk, understanding any controversies companies are involved in can be a critical step. Controversies can include human rights violations, labor abuses, environmental damage and corruption — all of which can erode trust among stakeholders and, in some cases, lead to litigation, regulatory action, operational disruption and reputational harm.

To help investors understand these risks, S&P Global Sustainable1 has launched the UNGC Screening dataset.¹ This dataset provides a structured assessment of more than 16,500 companies globally, flagging potential misalignment with the 10 principles that make up the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). The objective is to help investors integrate controversy exposure into investment decision-making, portfolio construction and ongoing risk oversight.

We analyzed MSA data from June 2024 through March 2026 and BIS data from the 2025 assessment year for more than 16,500 companies and identified a total of 285 controversies that were assigned a “Not Aligned” or “Watchlist” flag within the UNGC screening dataset. Our analysis shows that controversy risk exposure is unequally distributed across the 10 UNGC principles. Human rights controversies related to UNGC Principle 1: Protect human rights and UNGC Principle 2: Non-complicity in human rights abuses account for almost half (49%) of all recorded cases.

Environmental principles also account for a significant share of controversy exposure. UNGC Principle 7: Precautionary approach to environmental challenge and UNGC Principle 8: Promote environmental responsibility collectively represented 29% of cases, suggesting that environmental risk management and operational environmental impacts remain key considerations for overall risk management.

In addition, 13% of cases were tied to UNGC Principle 10: Corruption, including extortion and bribery — underscoring persistent governance-related concerns globally, including ethical conduct, compliance failures and regulatory breaches.

Corporate controversies can lead to measurable financial and reputational risk, particularly when incidents might indicate weaknesses in governance, operational controls or value-chain oversight. As a result, systematic screening for controversy-linked UNGC misalignment can be a practical, decision-relevant complement to company disclosures and public commitments.

The S&P Global Sustainable1 UNGC Screening dataset provides a structured method to flag potential misalignment with the 10 UNGC principles. Across our analysis, the concentration of cases tied to human rights — and, to a lesser extent, environmental impacts and corruption — provides a tool for investors about where they may face the most persistent and material sources of controversy-driven risk. By integrating these tools and information into portfolio construction and ongoing oversight, investors can more consistently identify elevated exposure, engage companies from a clearer baseline of evidence and strengthen accountability expectations aligned with the UNGC principles.

This content (including any information, data, analyses, opinions, ratings, scores, and other statements) (“Content”) has been prepared solely for information purposes and is owned by or licensed to S&P Global and/or its affiliates (collectively, “S&P Global”).

This Content may not be modified, reverse engineered, reproduced or distributed in any form by any means without the prior written permission of S&P Global. You acquire absolutely no rights or licenses in or to this Content and any related text, graphics, photographs, trademarks, logos, sounds, music, audio, video, artwork, computer code, information, data and material therein, other than the limited right to utilize this Content for your own personal, internal, non-commercial purposes or as further provided herein.  

Any unauthorized use, facilitation or encouragement of a third party’s unauthorized use (including without limitation copy, distribution, transmission, modification, use as part of generative artificial intelligence or for training any artificial intelligence models) of this Content or any related information is not permitted without S&P Global’s prior consent and shall be deemed an infringement, violation, breach or contravention of the rights of S&P Global or any applicable third-party (including any copyright, trademark, patent, rights of privacy or publicity or any other proprietary rights).

This Content and related materials are developed solely for informational purposes based upon information generally available to the public and from sources believed to be reliable. S&P Global gives no representations or warranties regarding the use of this Content and/or its fitness for a particular purpose including but not limited to any regulatory reporting purposes and references to a particular investment or security, a score, rating or any observation concerning an investment or security that is part of this Content is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold such investment or security, does not address the suitability of an investment or security and should not be relied on as investment or regulation related advice.  

The Content should not be relied on and is not a substitute for the skill, judgment and experience of the user, its management, employees, advisors and/or clients when making investment and other business decisions. S&P does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor except where registered as such. While S&P has obtained information from sources it believes to be reliable, S&P does not perform an audit and undertakes no duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

S&P Global shall have no liability, duty or obligation for or in connection with this Content, any other related information (including for any errors, inaccuracies, omissions or delays in the data) and/or any actions taken in reliance thereon. In no event shall S&P Global be liable for any special, incidental, or consequential damages, arising out of the use of this Content and/or any related information.  

The S&P and S&P Global logos are trademarks of S&P Global registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. You shall not use any of S&P Global’s trademarks, trade names or service marks in any manner, and in no event in a manner accessible by or available to any third party. You acknowledge that you have no ownership or license rights in or to any of these names or marks.  

Adherence to S&P's Internal Polices 

S&P Global adopts policies and procedures to maintain the confidentiality of non-public information received in connection with its analytical processes. As a result, S&P Global employees are required to process non-public information in accordance with the technical and organizational measures referenced in the internal S&P Global Information Security and Acceptable Use policies and related guidelines. 

Conflicts of Interest 

S&P Global is committed to providing transparency to the market through high-quality independent opinions. Safeguarding the quality, independence and integrity of Content is embedded in its culture and at the core of everything S&P Global does. Accordingly, S&P Global has developed measures to identify, eliminate and/or minimize potential conflicts of interest for Sustainable1 as an organization and for individual employees. Such measures include, without limitation, establishing a clear separation between the activities and interactions of its analytical teams and non-analytical teams; email surveillance by compliance teams; and policy role designations. In addition, S&P Global employees are subject to mandatory annual training and attestations and must adhere to the Sustainable1 Independence and Objectivity Policy, the Sustainable1 Code of Conduct, the S&P Global Code of Business Ethics and any other related policies. 

See additional Disclaimers at https://www.spglobal.com/en/terms-of-use

Copyright© 2026 S&P Global Inc. All rights reserved.