The corporate sustainability assessment
The Sustainability Yearbook aims to distinguish those companies within their industries that have each demonstrated strengths in corporate sustainability.
Yearbook members and distinction levels are selected based on their 2023 Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) Score, which is the S&P Global ESG Score without the inclusion of any modelling approaches. The selection methodology reflects exclusion screening criteria.
As of December 22, 2023, over 9,400 companies assessed for the 2023 CSA were considered for inclusion in The Sustainability Yearbook 2024.
Distinctions are calculated against the top performing company in each Industry, and exclusions applied thereafter. This year, only 759 companies made it into the Sustainability Yearbook.
More information on methodology and exclusions are provided below.
Find out who made it to the top
Top 1%
Within each industry, companies with a minimum CSA Score of 60, whose score is within 1% of the industry’s top-performing company.
Top 5%
Within each industry, companies with a CSA Score of at least 57, whose score is within a range of 1% to 5% of the industry’s top-performing company. This distinction is not assigned if no company in the industry achieved a minimum CSA score of 60.
Top 10%
Within each industry, companies with a CSA Score of at least 54, whose score is within a range of 5% to 10% of the industry’s top-performing company. This distinction is not assigned if no company in the industry achieved a minimum CSA score of 60.
Industry Mover
The company achieved an improvement in its S&P Global CSA Score of at least five percent and accomplished the strongest improvement in their industry. On the condition that the company is a Yearbook Member and participated in the CSA this year and last year.
Member
Companies within the top 15% of their industry by number and achieved a minimum CSA Score above 30 and falling within 30% of that industry’s top performing company.
Disclaimer
The S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook Emblems are trademarks of S&P Global and may only be used in line with the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook Emblem Guidelines in connection with corporate communication or marketing activities of the eligible companies (e.g. the eligible companies may refer to the S&P Global Sustainability emblem in their annual report/sustainability report, in the corporate profile on their homepage, etc.). However, these emblems may not be used in conjunction with any other products or services neither from the eligible companies nor from other companies. Please also see Important Legal Information.
S&P Global has no control over the information on websites linked to company sites, and thus cannot guarantee the accuracy, reliability nor the veracity of this information. All brand names or company names mentioned or shown on these websites are properties of the respective companies.
Universe
The selection of companies in The Sustainability Yearbook 2024 is based on the 2023 Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA).
The underlying universe of companies was determined on December 22, 2023, covering all companies assessed in the 2023 CSA until that date. S&P Global continues to assess companies against the 2023 CSA after December 22, 2023. However, these companies are not eligible for inclusion in The Sustainability Yearbook 2023 with the exemption of companies that submitted their CSA prior to October 16, 2023 and an earlier CSA score publication was delayed for reasons caused by S&P Global.
Exclusion Screening
Companies with the following specific business activities are excluded from the eligible universe:
|
Screen group |
Screen Name |
Involvement Type |
Level of involvement threshold (Revenue) |
Significant Ownership Threshold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Consumer Products & Services
|
Tobacco |
Production |
>0% |
>=25% |
|
Related Products and Services |
>=5% |
N/A |
||
|
Retail and Distribution |
>=5% |
N/A |
||
|
Defense & Weapons
|
Anti-Personnel Mines
|
Customized Weapons |
>0% |
>=25% |
|
Related Products and Services
|
>0% |
>=25% |
||
|
Biological and Chemical Weapons
|
Customized Weapons |
>0% |
>=25% |
|
|
Related Products and Services |
>0% |
>=25% |
||
|
Blinding Laser Weapons |
Customized Weapons |
>0% |
>=25% |
|
|
Related Products and Services |
>0% |
>=25% |
||
|
Cluster Munitions |
Customized Weapons |
>0% |
>=25% |
|
|
Related Products and Services |
>0% |
>=25% |
||
|
Depleted Uranium |
Customized Weapons |
>0% |
>=25% |
|
|
Related Products and Services |
>0% |
>=25% |
||
|
Incendiary Weapons |
Customized Weapons |
>0% |
>=25% |
|
|
Related Products and Services |
>0% |
>=25% |
||
|
Nuclear Weapons |
Customized Weapons |
>0% |
>=25% |
|
|
Related Products and Services |
>0% |
>=25% |
||
|
Small Arms
|
Production of Key Components |
>0% |
>=25% |
|
|
Production of Small Arms Weapons for Non-Civilian Use |
>0% |
>=25% |
||
|
Production of Small Arms Weapons for Civilian Use |
>0% |
>=25% |
||
|
Retail and Distribution of Small Arms Weapons |
>=5% |
N/A |
||
|
Military Contracting
|
Integral Military Weapons |
>10% |
N/A |
|
|
Weapon Related |
>10% |
N/A |
||
|
Energy & Fossil Fuels |
Coal |
Thermal Coal Mining |
>=5% |
N/A |
|
Thermal Coal |
Generation |
>=5% |
N/A |
|
|
Oil Sands or Tar Sands |
Extraction and/or Production |
>=5% |
N/A |
The Exclusion Screening applied for the Yearbook is aligned with the methodology used for ESG indices managed by S&P Dow Jones Indices. Learn more about S&P Global Business Involvement Screens and the S&P ESG Index Series Methodology.
Controversy Screening
As a prerequisite, a screen based on the S&P Global Media and Stakeholder Analysis (MSA) is applied to determine eligibility for inclusion in The Sustainability Yearbook regardless of the score derived from the CSA. The MSA is based on an examination of media coverage and publicly available stakeholder information provided by RepRisk ESG Business Intelligence and evaluates a company’s response to critical sustainability issues that may arise during the year.
After initial release of the Yearbook, a company’s designation level in the Yearbook may be revoked at the sole discretion of S&P Global if a company receives a severe case rating in MSA process.
S&P Global CSA Scores
S&P Global CSA Scores are based on the assessment of corporate sustainability performance in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). Scores are from 0 – 100 (best).
The CSA uses 62 industry-specific questionnaires. The scores should not be used to rank companies across industries and should be reviewed within the context of each CSA industry.
All scores used for initial Yearbook selection reflect the results of S&P Global’s Media & Stakeholder Analysis (MSA) as of January 26, 2024 as well as any exclusions based on companies with a severe case rating in the S&P Global Media and Stakeholder Analysis process.
The most recent S&P Global CSA Scores are available on the S&P Global website www.spglobal.com/esg/scores. Please also see Important Legal Information.
Corporate Actions
S&P Global monitors corporate actions throughout the year. For merged companies, the surviving entity will be considered for the Yearbook based on the CSA Score of the company assessed which S&P Global deems to be the surviving entity. If a company is delisted because of a corporate action prior to the end of November, it will no longer be eligible for inclusion in the Sustainability Yearbook, given that the entity no longer exists. Company names and countries are reviewed periodically and updated to the best of S&P Global’s knowledge at the time of publication. Changes occurring after this date may not be reflected in the printed version of the Yearbook but may be updated on the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook website.
