Low Carbon Transition Rating
ESG Risk Ratings Indicator Library
September 2024
Morningstar Sustainalytics uses indicators to measure a company’s performance in managing its material ESG issues. Indicators provide a systematic and consistent way of assessing clearly delineated and standardized criteria. The criteria speak to key areas of risk and benchmark a company’s performance against relevant best practices. Indicators are scored on a scale of 0 to 100.
Types of Indicators
Policy Indicators
Policy indicators measure the strength and quality of an issuer’s policy commitment to addressing a material ESG issue. One often-used policy indicator is Environmental Policy. It is part of the Management Indicator sets for several MEIs, in particular: Carbon – Own Operations, Emissions, Effluents and Waste, and Resource Use.
Programmes and Management Systems Indicators
Programmes and Management Systems indicators evaluate a company’s operational systems for managing its material ESG issues. These indicators are aligned with and reflective of recognized management systems, such as the ISO 9001 quality standard or the ISO 14001 environmental management standard. Their assessment is based on the following criteria:
- Managerial responsibility
- Risk/impact assessment
- Training or other initiatives to ensure compliance with policies
- Objectives or targets
- Monitoring and measurement
- Incident investigation and corrective action
Disclosure and Compliance Indicators
Disclosure and Compliance indicators assess whether companies are sufficiently transparent to investors about their ESG risks and management practices. Typically, they assess companies’ use of generally recognized practices, such as reporting using the Global Reporting Initiative structure and including the fulfillment of respective requirements (e.g. providing transparency on pay structures associated with ESG targets).
Performance Indicators
Performance indicators measure the effectiveness of policies, programs and management systems and are tracked yearly to show a trend over time. For example, the 'Carbon Intensity Trend' indicator tracks a company’s carbon emissions over time to provide information regarding the effectiveness of its carbon emissions reduction programs.
Sustainalytics Indicator Descriptions
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V
W
This indicator assesses a company's programmes to promote access to basic services such as energy, electricity, gas and water to poor or disadvantaged groups and of the quality of its reporting on such programmes, including details on the programmes and setting/ disclosing quantitative details.
This indicator assesses a company’s programme to promote access to health care equipment and services (excluding medicine). Access to health care measures include value-based pricing models, differential pricing models for low-income patients, product donations in developing countries and supporting voluntary licensing or waiving intellectual property rights.
This indicator assesses a company's performance with regard to the quality and scope of its programmes for maintaining assets, such as plants and pipelines, in a fit-for-service condition. Extending assets' remaining life in the most reliable, safest and cost-effective manner is assessed. This indicator is designed in line with ISO 55001 (a standard for any asset type) and PAS 55 (covers management of physical assets) requirements.
Learn more about S.3.1.17 Asset Integrity Management here
This indicator assesses a company's public commitment regarding the appropriate collection, use, disclosure and safeguarding of a consumer’s personal information (PI). It also assesses the extent to which a consumer is made aware of their privacy rights and how to exercise them.
Learn more about S.3.1.3 Data Privacy Policy here
This indicator assesses a company's initiatives to increase the use of renewable energy for its own operations, as well as the quality of these renewable energy programmes. We consider renewable energy sources such as solar, wind energy, hydropower, ocean and geothermal, along with the mechanisms in place to support companywide renewable energy use. We consider consumption from bioenergy only when generated from operational by-products.
Learn more about E.1.8 Renewable Energy Programmes here
This indicator assesses a company's disclosure of products and services that have clear environmental or social benefits, and the share of revenue generated from them.
Learn more about E.3.1.1 Sustainable Products and Services here