Information Center for Issuers

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Referencing the ESG Risk Rating

A Guide for Companies without a Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating License

March 2024

Overview

At this time, companies with an ESG Risk Rating and without an ESG Risk Rating license may disclose the following information from the Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating Report:

 

  •  ESG Risk Rating Overall Score
  •  ESG Risk Rating Category (i.e., Negligible Risk, Low Risk etc.)

These details can be used exclusively in a company's sustainability Report/CSR report and/or on the main Sustainability page of their website. Reference to the company ESG Risk Rating in any other document (including but not limited to press releases, social media, investor presentations, roadshow documentation, etc.) constitutes unauthorized use of Sustainalytics' intellectual property. 

 

Therefore, without a license, further disclosure of ESG Risk Rating-related information elsewhere, will not be permitted.

 

In addition, reference to the company's Top-Rated Performance is limited to companies with an ESG Risk Rating license. Reference to the company Top-Rated performance without an ESG Risk Rating license, therefore, constitutes unauthorized use of Sustainalytics' intellectual property.

Without a license, disclosure of the ESG Risk Ratings score is limited to sustainability/CSR reports and/or the main sustainability page of a corporate website. For questions regarding where companies can reference the Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating, please contact us at [email protected]
“In [MONTH YEAR], [COMPANY] received an ESG Risk Rating of [RATING] and was 
assessed by Morningstar Sustainalytics to be at [RISK LEVEL] risk of experiencing 
material financial impacts from ESG factors. In no event the [please insert the 
deliverable] shall be construed as investment advice or expert opinion as defined 
by the applicable legislation. The information contained or reflected herein is not 
directed to or intended for use or distribution to India-based clients or users and 
its distribution to Indian resident individuals or entities is not permitted, and 
Morningstar/Sustainalytics accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for 
the actions of third parties in this respect.”

 

OR

 


“As of [MONTH YEAR], [COMPANY] received an ESG Risk Rating of [RATING] from 
Morningstar Sustainalytics and was assessed to be at [RISK LEVEL] risk of 
experiencing material financial impacts from ESG factors. In no event the [please 
insert the deliverable] shall be construed as investment advice or expert opinion 
as defined by the applicable legislation.” The information contained or reflected 
herein is not directed to or intended for use or distribution to India-based clients 
or users and its distribution to Indian resident individuals or entities is not 
permitted, and Morningstar/Sustainalytics accepts no responsibility or liability 
whatsoever for the actions of third parties in this respect.

If you intend to communicate, within the public domain, any details of your company's ESG Risk Rating beyond this agreed-upon communication, you must obtain Sustainalytics’ prior approval, using the following email address: [email protected]

Please allow 5 business days for the email request to be addressed. 


 

Mandatory Provisions

The following text must appear in any document or web page upon which the ESG Risk Rating score, badge and/or logo appear.

 

Disclaimer Text 

Copyright ©<year> Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company. All rights reserved. This [publication/ article/ section] includes information and data provided by Sustainalytics and/or its content providers. Information provided by Sustainalytics is not directed to or intended for use or distribution to India-based clients or users and its distribution to Indian resident individuals or entities is not permitted. Morningstar/Sustainalytics accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for the actions of third parties in this respect. Use of such data is subject to conditions available at https://www.sustainalytics.com/legal-disclaimers

 

Note

Except as otherwise allowed in your ESG Risk Rating license contract, companies are not permitted to link to or publish any part of the Sustainalytics ESG Risk Ratings report.


 

Description of the ESG Risk Rating disclosure, 'Sustainalytics Rated' badge and/or logo

 

If your company wishes to provide a description of Sustainalytics’ ESG research and ratings, please use the following statement:

 

Morningstar Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Ratings measure a company’s exposure to industry-specific material ESG risks and how well a company is managing those risks. This multi-dimensional way of measuring ESG risk combines the concepts of management and exposure to arrive at an assessment of ESG risk, i.e., a total unmanaged ESG risk score or the ESG Risk Rating, that is comparable across all industries. Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Ratings provide a quantitative measure of unmanaged ESG risk and distinguish between five levels of risk: negligible, low, medium, high and severe. Learn more about the ESG Risk Ratings here.

 
Morningstar Sustainalytics company description

If your company wishes to also include a description of Sustainalytics, please use the following statement:

Morningstar Sustainalytics is a leading ESG research, ratings and data firm that supports investors around the world with the development and implementation of responsible investment strategies. Sustainalytics works with hundreds of the world’s leading asset managers and pension funds who incorporate ESG and corporate governance information and assessments into their investment processes. The firm also works with hundreds of companies and their financial intermediaries to help them consider sustainability in policies, practices and capital projects. For more information, visit www.sustainalytics.com.

 

 

Sustainalytics' Company Logo and Badge 

For companies without an ESG Risk Rating license, Morningstar Sustainalytics 
currently offers two logos for company use:

  • Sustainalytics' Company Logo
  • “Sustainalytics Rated” Badge

rated-gray

The Sustainalytics' company logo and Sustainalytics Rated Badge can only be used in your Sustainability Report/CSR Report and on the main Sustainability page of your website. ESG Risk Rating information cannot be used for wider marketing and promotional purposes without a paid, active ESG Risk Rating license. 

Reference to the company ESG Risk Rating in any other document (including but 
not limited to press releases, investor presentations, roadshow documentation, 
etc.) will require an ESG Risk Rating license from Sustainalytics.

Company usage of the Sustainalytics logo and/or badge images must be in full compliance with Sustainalytics’ requirements relating to Sustainalytics’ Brand Guidelines.

If the Sustainalytics logo, badge and/or brand name is used in connection with a hyperlink, the hyperlink must link to the Sustainalytics homepage www. sustainalytics.com. If requested by Sustainalytics, you must immediately 
remove or modify the hyperlink. Sustainalytics retains the right to change, 
suspend or shut down the Sustainalytics website at any time without prior notice.

 

The following text must appear in any document or web page on which the ESG Risk Rating score, Sustainalytics Rated badge and/or company logo appear:

Copyright ©<year> Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company. All rights reserved. 
This [publication/ article/ section] includes information and data provided by 
Sustainalytics and/or its content providers. Information provided by Sustainalytics 
is not directed to or intended for use or distribution to India-based clients or users 
and its distribution to Indian resident individuals or entities is not permitted. 
Morningstar/Sustainalytics accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for the 
actions of third parties in this respect. Use of such data is subject to conditions 
available at https://www.sustainalytics.com/legal-disclaimers/



Company Logo

Request a company logo by emailing [email protected]

'Sustainalytics Rated' Badge

Request the badge via our company portal, the Sustainalytics Issuer Gateway or by emailing [email protected]

In both cases, please allow 5-10 business days for email requests to be addressed. By using the 'Sustainalytics Rated' badge and/or the company logo, the company agrees to the terms and conditions outlined for badge/logo usage. 

Important 
Sustainalytics retains control of the badge image and reserves the right to terminate access and use of the badge designation and image at any time. 

Contact Us

If you would like to learn more about the marketing and communications extended use cases available for ESG Risk Rating License clients, such as disclosure of peer comparison or top-rated performance, contact us here. 

Opinion Services 

Companies that hold an Opinion Services contract with Sustainalytics that permits external sharing (in accordance with the intended use provided in the agreement), must properly reference Sustainalytics as the ESG research provider. 

Please use the following text:

 

Morningstar Sustainalytics is a globally recognized provider of ESG research, 
ratings and data, evaluated [Issuer’s/Borrower’s name]’s Framework and the 
alignment thereof with relevant industry standards and provided views on the 
robustness and credibility of the Framework. In no event the [please insert the 
deliverable] nor any portion thereof shall be construed as part of the offering, nor 
shall be considered as an offer or advertisement to buy a security, solicitation of 
votes or proxies, investment advice, expert opinion or negative assurance letter as 
defined by the applicable legislation.
 

The information contained or reflected herein is not directed to or intended for use 
or distribution to India-based clients or users and its distribution to Indian resident 
individuals or entities is not permitted, and Morningstar/Sustainalytics accepts no 
responsibility or liability whatsoever for the actions of third parties in this respect.
Copyright ©<year> Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company. All rights reserved. The 
information, methodologies, data and opinions contained or reflected herein are 
proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or content providers, and may be made available 
to third parties only in the form and format disclosed by Sustainalytics. They are 
not directed to, or intended for distribution to or use by India-based clients or users 
and their distribution to Indian resident individuals or entities is not permitted.

They are provided for informational purposes only and (1) shall not be considered 
as being a statement, representation, warranty or argument either in favor or 
against the truthfulness, reliability or completeness of any facts or statements that 
the issuer has made available to Sustainalytics for the purpose of this deliverable, 
in light of the circumstances under which such facts or statements have been 
presented; (2) do not constitute an endorsement of any product , project, 
investment strategy or consideration of any particular environmental, social or 
governance related issues as part of any investment strategy; (3) do not constitute 
investment advice, financial advice, or a prospectus, nor represent an “expert 
opinion” or “negative assurance letter” as these terms are commonly understood 
or defined by any applicable legislation; (4) are not part of any offering and do not 
constitute an offer or indication to buy or sell securities, to select a project or make 
any kind of business transactions; (5) do not represent an assessment of the 
issuer’s economic performance, financial obligations nor of its creditworthiness; 
(6) are not a substitute for professional advice; (7) past performance is no 
guarantee of future results; (8) have not been submitted to, nor received approval 
from, any relevant regulatory body; (9) have not and cannot be incorporated into 
any offering disclosure, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
 

These are based on information made available by the issuer and therefore are not 
warranted as to their merchantability, completeness, accuracy, up-to-datedness or 
fitness for a particular purpose Sustainalytics has not independently verified any 
such information or data. The deliverables are provided “as is” and reflect 
Sustainalytics` opinion at the date of their elaboration and publication. 
Sustainalytics does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any of the 
statements in the deliverable to reflect events, circumstances, changes in 
expectations which may occur after the date of the opinion or any statements 
included in the opinion. Neither Sustainalytics/Morningstar nor their content 
providers accept any liability from the use of the information, data or opinions 
contained herein or for actions of third parties in respect to this information, in any 
manner whatsoever, except where explicitly required by law. 
Sustainalytics does not assume any responsibility shall the bond default. Any 
reference to content providers’ names is for appropriate acknowledgement of their 
ownership and does not constitute a sponsorship or endorsement by such owner. 
A list of our content providers and their respective terms of use is available on our 
website. For more information, visit http://www.sustainalytics.com/legal-disclaimers. 
Sustainalytics may receive compensation for its ratings, opinions and other 
deliverables, from, among others, issuers, insurers, guarantors and/or underwriters 
of debt securities, or investors, via different business units. Sustainalytics believes 
it has put in place appropriate measures designed to safeguard the objectivity and 
independence of its opinions. For more information visit Governance Documents
or contact [email protected]
Yes, if you intend to communicate within the public domain any details about the Opinion Services and Deliverables beyond the agreed-upon communication, you must seek Sustainalytics’ prior approval, using the following email address: [email protected].

 

Contact Us: See Appropriate Team

 

Reference the ESG Risk Rating

Companies can request further information about referencing their ESG Risk Rating. Please contact the team at 

[email protected].

Obtain an ESG Risk Rating License

For information on obtaining an ESG Risk Rating License to disclose company ESG scores more broadly, please contact the Support Center at 

[email protected].


Sustainability Indices Data

For information regarding the data Sustainalytics uses for sustainability indices, please contact our Index Team at 

[email protected].

Research Methodologies and Processes

For information on research methodologies, schedules, indicator definitions and guidance, and the research process, please contact the Issuer Relations Team, a unit of the Research group, at 

[email protected]