The Benchmarking Database in the Corporate Sustainability Assessment Portal allows companies to understand their sustainability performance in relation to their industry and/or a customized peer group. Important changes to the Benchmarking Database have been made to accommodate a new approach to ESG Scores release, enabling companies to receive assessment results and benchmark their performance more quickly than ever before. Key changes to the CSA process and the CSA Portal’s Benchmarking Database in 2022:

• Enhanced functionality will support companies’ benchmarking analysis and communications.
• The first set of ESG Scores will be released in late September and thereafter in monthly waves. 

In past years, the first release of the most recent ESG Scores was coupled with the announcement of DJSI membership updates. ESG Scores were released for an Anchor Universe that included all companies invited for index eligibility (DJSI and other ESG indices). A company’s percentile rank was always measured against this Anchor Universe, even if it’s most recent ESG Score was first calculated (or updated) after the ESG Score release for the Anchor Universe. As S&P Global substantially increased the number of assessed companies to over 13,000 for the CSA 2022 and with the DJSI rebalancing moving from November to December, a new approach will now be taken.

S&P Global Sustainable1 will now release ESG Scores in waves, as early as September, to reduce the waiting time for companies that submitted early. The provision of results when only a subset of all companies has been assessed is meant to provide companies with insights into their performance, which will be most useful for internal results review as opposed to external benchmarking. The release of ESG Scores in waves is not a new approach. In previous years, as we have seen an uptick in companies being assessed, ESG Scores for some companies were released after the initial Anchor Universe ESG Score release.

This tutorial will answer key questions and provide screenshots of the updates to the Benchmarking Database, along with guidance on how to use the Database going forward.

How can I benchmark my company’s performance if not all scores are updated?

S&P Global is taking a new approach to the calculation of ESG Score statistics (Percentile Rank, Average Score, Best Score) for the selected industry/peer group in the Benchmarking Database. This approach allows companies to apply filters and create their own benchmarks for performance comparison across regions, industries, and investment benchmarks. Companies can further identify the share of companies where a 2022 ESG Score is already available, and for which share of companies benchmarking statistics would still rely on ESG Scores 2021. In addition, the overview tables will show in detail for which company a 2022 ESG Score is available and where 2021 ESG Scores are used.

The following screenshots provide details on the new functionality that will allow companies to understand their benchmarking universe. The numbered list below corresponds to the numbered points in the screenshots.

1. Selecting the “Base Year” determines the universe of companies that your company is benchmarked against. It refers to all companies invited to be assessed in a given Methodology Year (April to March).[1]
2. Understand the share of companies in the selected industry/peer group for which Base Year ESG Scores will be included and for which share previous year ESG Scores will be included in the analysis. The share ESG Scores available for Base Year and Previous Year might not add up to 100% if there are companies that were initially invited but are not yet scored.[2]
3. Understand how many companies are in your selected industry/peer group based on all filters applied (also any filters applied in the Starter or Expert upgrade versions of the Benchmarking Database).
4. You can select to exclude ESG Scores from previous assessment years if Base Year ESG Scores are not yet available for all companies in your industry/peer group in your analysis.  

Screenshot 1 featuring updates to the Benchmarking Database in the CSA Portal.

5. Clicking on any line in the Benchmarking table will open the detailed view of your peer group. Companies for which (so far) only scores for the previous year are available will be greyed out.

Screenshot 2 featuring updates to the Benchmarking Database in the CSA Portal.

You can visit our dedicated page to find more information about the Benchmarking Database functionalities and upgrades.

Why does the Benchmarking Database now contain a mix of 2021 and 2022 ESG Scores?

The mix of 2021 and 2022 ESG Scores balances the following tradeoff:

• The need to wait until enough companies in the current CSA methodology year (April to March) are assessed to publish a most reliable percentile ranking for all companies[3].
• The benefit of publishing 2022 ESG Scores to companies that completed the CSA as early as possible.

In order to publish the ESG Scores as early as possible and still provide meaningful benchmarking, especially with regards to a company’s Percentile Rank and Average Peer Group Scores, we are using a company’s 2021 ESG Score (if available) as the best available estimate for their 2022 ESG Score if it is not yet available. Users need to keep in mind that the CSA methodology is updated every year and ESG Scores from different years are not fully comparable, especially at total or dimension level.

How can I communicate my company’s performance considering these changes?

Please see this webcast for guidance on how to communicate your performance. In addition, we provide this tutorial with further guidance and sample statements.

How can I benchmark against the same peer group as in past years?

Running a benchmarking assessment after the December 2022 ESG Scores release will provide the most comparable overview of performance to previous year's ESG Score releases, as most index-eligible companies will have been assessed at that time.

When will the 2022 ESG Scores be available on the S&P Global Sustainable1 public website and the S&P Capital IQ Pro platform?

Companies will be able to familiarize themselves with their 2022 ESG Scores in the Benchmarking Database before they are made available to the public.

*The S&P Global Website features ESG scores of companies that actively participated in the CSA and in addition companies that are assessed based on public information and that are eligible for inclusion in either any Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) or the S&P Global LargeMidCap Index. 

Can I infer DJSI membership based on my company’s industry position in the Benchmarking Database before DJSI membership updates are officially announced?

No. Membership in any Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) is based on the DJSI methodology and cannot be inferred from a ranking in the CSA Portal’s Benchmarking Database.

Why is the release of S&P Global ESG Scores now decoupled from the announcement of DJSI Membership?

The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) is one of the index families that use S&P Global ESG Scores as a key component to determine index membership. The DJSI is independent of the CSA and not the same. DJSI is an index product, the CSA is the methodology and process behind the S&P Global ESG Scores. Only about 3,500 companies are eligible for inclusion in one or more DJSI. Eligibility to be invited for any DJSI is rule-based and a key component is the company's free float asset capitalization. 

In past years, the first release of the most recent ESG Scores was coupled with the announcement of DJSI membership updates. This made sense as most of the invited companies were also eligible for DJSI inclusion. As S&P Global substantially increased the number of assessed companies to over 13,000 for the CSA 2022 (with still only about 3,500 of those eligible for DJSI) and with the DJSI rebalancing moving from November to December, a new approach will now be taken. As of 2022 S&P Global ESG Scores will be released in monthly waves, starting in September.

How does the release of ESG Scores in waves work?

ESG Scores based on the CSA 2022 will be released in monthly waves, depending on a company’s assessment group and submission date. The first ESG Scores based on the CSA 2022 will be released in the Benchmarking Database on September 23^rd and thereafter each third Friday of the month. See the CSA timeline for details about the assessment groups.

How many companies will be covered after the October release?

After the October ESG Score release the CSA Portal Benchmarking Database will cover ~2,000 active CSA participants that submitted their questionnaire within the original campaign deadline, alongside ~3,300 companies that have been assessed based on public information.

Why can my company’s percentile rank change without a change to my company’s ESG Score?

Your company’s percentile rank can be reduced if newly scored companies score higher than your company. As the ESG Scores for companies (not previously included) are released, it expands the base of our calculations. The addition of companies will bring percentile ranks closer together. And unless the recently added companies have scores higher than yours, this will increase your percentile rank. While we reserve the option to add more companies to the Base Year universe throughout the assessment year, the vast majority of companies will have been included with the October ESG Score release (with 2021 or 2022 scores, as available).