Strong oversight and accountability are crucial to the management of material ESG issues as well as a company’s ability to execute its long-term business strategy. Sustainalytics flagged corporate governance concerns at both Volkswagen and Fiat months before the respective emissions scandals broke.
Sustainalytics’ Corporate Governance Research & Ratings enable investors to better assess portfolio companies’ corporate governance structures, practices and behaviors. These qualities have long been embraced by investors as potential sources of investment risk and, more recently, opportunity.
Our Corporate Governance Research & Ratings also form the baseline assessment for our ESG Risk Ratings.
Latest Newsletters
Governance in Brief – March 30, 2023
Governance in Brief – March 23, 2023
Governance in Brief – March 16, 2023
Key Features & Benefits
Better understand companies’ corporate governance systems and practices and the potential risks and opportunities they pose to long-term value creation.
Leverage insights from our independent analyses to inform your investment decisions as well as proxy voting and engagement activities.
Benchmark companies’ corporate governance performance on a variety of metrics to identify strengths as well as potential red flags.
Speak directly to our in-house team of subject matter experts.
Coverage
~4,200 COMPANIES
Global coverage of major indexes
Corporate Governance Reports
Data-driven contextual reports that provide corporate governance ratings and information on a global universe of approximately 4,200 companies. We assess a company’s corporate governance structures, practices and behaviors along six pillars that are deemed crucial for good governance: Board Integrity & Quality, Board Structure, Remuneration, Shareholder Rights, Financial Reporting and Stakeholder Governance. Select reports also include an analyst view and outlook for the company.
Corporate Governance Pillars
Board & Management Quality and Integrity
Do the board’s experience, track record and behavior sufficiently demonstrate its ability to provide strategic leadership and oversight?
Board Structure
Do the organization and structure of the board provide sufficient oversight, representation and accountability to shareholders?
Ownership and Shareholder Rights
Do the constitution of the company and its ownership structures respect the right of outside shareholders relative to the board, management, and major holders?
Remuneration
Do the company’s remuneration policies and practices provide appropriate incentives for management to build value?
Audit & Financial Reporting
Are the company’s financial reports reliable and subject to appropriate oversight?
Stakeholder Governance
Does the company’s management of extra financial risks and broader stakeholder relationships raise concerns regarding its governance of long-term value creation?
Delivery Options
Global Access
Access our research through our user-friendly investor interface with easy to use screening and reporting tools. You can also access onscreen & PDF reports
Data Services Regular data feed (SFTP/FTP) or API
Access our research through an internal or a third-party system of your choice: Bloomberg, Factset and Markit
Why Sustainalytics?
A Single Market Standard
Consistent approach to ESG assessments across the investment spectrum.
Award-Winning Research and Data
Firm recognized as Best ESG Research and Data Provider by Environmental Finance and Investment Week.
End-to-End ESG Solutions
ESG products and services that serve the entire investment value chain.
30 Years of ESG Expertise
800+ ESG research analysts across our global offices.
A Leading SPO Provider
As recognized by Environmental Finance and the Climate Bonds Initiative.
Related Insights and Resources
Governance in Brief – March 23, 2023
SVB Financial Group sued after the collapse of Silicon Valley bank unit SVB Financial Group, the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, and two of its top executives, CEO Greg Becker and CFO Daniel Beck, are being sued by shareholders following the bank’s collapse. The lawsuit, filed by retail shareholder Chandra Vanipenta on behalf of a group of shareholders, accuses the bank and its two top executives of filing false and misleading financial reports.
Governance in Brief – March 16, 2023
Canada introduces climate reporting framework Canadian regulators have issued new guidance for the country's banks and insurance companies to better manage climate-related risks. The framework, which requires disclosure on governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics related to financial institutions’ greenhouse-gas emissions, was first drafted in 2022.
Governance in Brief – March 9, 2023
The U.S. Congress has passed a resolution repealing a Department of Labor (“DOL”) rule empowering retirement plan managers to consider climate change and ESG factors in their investment decisions. The rule, introduced by the Biden administration, falls under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), a federal law which sets protection standards for participants in private pension plans. Biden’s ruling entered into force in January this year, overturning prior Trump-era DOL rules that limited pension fund managers to restrict their investment strategies to “pecuniary factors.”
Related Products
ESG Voting Policy Overlay
Receive voting recommendations based on sustainability principles, ESG research and engagement signals.
Thematic Engagement
Our Thematic Engagement program includes several corporate governance related engagement themes.
ESG Risk Ratings
Take a coherent and consistent approach to assessing financially material ESG risks.