Referencing Sustainalytics' Research
A Guide for Companies
April 2023
Without an ESG Risk Rating License
What can be referenced?
At this time, companies with an ESG Risk Rating, but no ESG Risk Rating license, may disclose the following information from their Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating report:
- ESG Risk Rating Overall Score
- ESG Risk Rating Category (i.e., Negligible Risk, Low Risk etc.)
Where can the Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating be referenced?
These details may be used solely within a company’s Sustainability Report / CSR report and/or on the main Sustainability page of your website. Reference to your company's ESG Risk Rating in any other document (including but not limited to press releases, investor presentations, roadshow documentation, etc.) constitutes unauthorized use of Sustainalytics’ intellectual property.
For guidance on where and how to reference your company's Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating, please contact us at [email protected]
For further information on ESG Risk Rating Licenses, please visit our Corporate Solutions website (www.sustainalytics.com)
How can the Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating be referenced?
“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.”
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.”
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]
With an ESG Risk Rating License
How can the Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating be referenced?
In any corporate materials or communication regarding the ESG Risk Rating, Sustainalytics should be properly referenced as the ESG research provider as follows:
“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.”
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]
Mandatory Provisions For All Companies
The following text must appear in any document or web page on which the ESG Risk Rating score, badge and/or logo appear.
Disclaimer Text
Copyright 2023 Morningstar Sustainalytics. All rights reserved. This publication/ article/ section] contains information developed by Sustainalytics (www.sustainalytics.com). Such information and data are proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or its third party suppliers (Third Party Data) and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement of any product or project, nor an investment advice and are not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular purpose. Their use 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
"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."
Using Sustainalytics Badges and Logos
Morningstar Sustainalytics currently offers four designations and badge images for company use. Each badge image comes with its own conditions for usage and, depending on the badge, may require a paid corporate license.
- “Sustainalytics Rated” Badge
- “ESG Global Top 50 Rated” Badge
- “ESG Industry Top Rated” Badge
- “ESG Regional Top 50 Rated” Badge
An overview of the badges and use cases is provided in the table below. If you have questions about your company's eligibility for Sustainalytics “ESG Industry Top Rated”, “ESG Regional Top Rated” or “ESG Global Top 50 Rated” badges, please contact one of our regional desks listed at the bottom of this page.
Sustainalytics Rated
| ESG Industry Top Rated  | ESG Regional Top Rated
| ESG Global Top Rated
| |
| Eligibility | All companies rated by Sustainalytics (includes both Core and Comprehensive Framework ESG Risk Ratings).
| Companies in the Comprehensive ratings universe that also meet the following criteria: • Negligible, Low or Medium ESG Risk Rating • No Category 4 or 5 controversies • ESG Risk Rating falls within Sustainalytics' definition of outperforming.
| Companies in the Comprehensive ratings universe that also meet the following criteria: • Negligible, Low or Medium ESG Risk Rating • No Cat. 4 or 5 controversies • ESG Risk Rating falls within Sustainalytics' definition of outperforming.
| Companies in the comprehensive ratings universe that also meet the following criteria: • Negligible, Low or Medium ESG Risk Rating • No Cat. 4 or 5 controversies • ESG Risk Rating falls among the lowest 50 companies within the entire Comprehensive ratings universe.
|
| Duration | As long as company is part of Sustainalytics' ESG Risk Ratings research universe. | January 1 to December 31 of specific year | January 1 to December 31 of specific year | January 1 to December 31 of specific year |
| License required for badge image | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| How to access badge image | Sustainalytics’ Issuer Gateway
| Sustainalytics’ Issuer Gateway or Email: [email protected] morningstar.com
| Sustainalytics’ Issuer Gateway or Email: [email protected] morningstar.com
| Sustainalytics’ Issuer Gateway or Email: [email protected] morningstar.com
|
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, badges 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.
“Sustainalytics Rated” Badge
Morningstar Sustainalytics will make available the “Sustainalytics Rated” ESG badge for all companies that we rate. See Sustainalytics Brand Guidelines for information on how these emblems should be displayed.
The Sustainalytics Rated Badge and logo 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.
Disclaimer text to accompany ESG Risk Rating disclosure, ‘Sustainalytics Rated’ badge and/or logo
Copyright©2023 Morningstar Sustainalytics. All rights reserved. This [publication/ article/ section] contains information developed by Sustainalytics (www.sustainalytics.com). Such information and data are proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or its third party suppliers (Third Party Data) and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement of any product or project, nor an investment advice and are not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular purpose. Their use is subject to conditions available at https://www.sustainalytics.com/legal-disclaimers.
Request a Badge
Companies can request the badge through our company portal, Sustainalytics Issuer Gateway or by emailing [email protected] (Please allow 5-10 business days for email requests to be fulfilled.) By using the ”Sustainalytics Rated” badge image, the company agrees to the terms and conditions outlined for badge/logo usage that can be found here.
Note
Except as otherwise allowed in the following Terms of Use, Corporate issuers are not permitted to link to or publish any part of the Sustainalytics ESG Risk Ratings report.
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.
“ESG Industry Top Rated” Status and Badge
ESG Industry Top Rated companies are those that:
- Fall within our comprehensive ratings universe
- Have scores that fall within the Negligible, Low or Medium ESG Risk Ratings categories
- Do not have any Category 4 or 5 controversies
- Have an ESG Risk Rating score that falls within the Sustainalytics definition of outperforming
Reference to the company's top-rated status or the use of the badge image(s) will require a paid corporate license from Sustainalytics.
If a company has a paid corporate license with Morningstar Sustainalytics, then the company identified as eligible for the ESG Industry Top Rated designation for a particular year can refer to themselves as such for that year. The license holder can also refer to their designation for a particular year in subsequent years (e.g., If Company X is top rated in 2022, they can mention their 2022 top rated status, in 2023, 2024, etc.).
e. g., In 2022, Company X was recognized by Morningstar Sustainalytics as an ESG Industry Top Rated company.
e.g., Company X was a Morningstar Sustainalytics ESG Industry Top Rated company in 2022. Use of the ESG Industry Top Rated badge image will require a paid corporate license. Sustainalytics will make available to eligible licensees the badge image through the Sustainalytics Issuer Gateway platform.
For more information on ESG Risk Rating Licenses, please contact one of our regional desks listed at the end of this document.
Important
Morningstar 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 pursuant to the terms and conditions outlined in the license contract. For example, if a company is involved in a Category 4 or Category 5 incident in a year in which they are eligible for a top rated badge, the company’s ‘top rated’ status will be revoked and they will have to stop using that badge as soon as they are informed of the status change by Sustainalytics (for more information, please contact our corporate services Customer Success Team).
In addition, references to the badge(s) must be removed from physical and/or electronic documents once those documents are renewed. Companies can continue to refer to the designation and the badges they were awarded in previous years.
"ESG Regional Top Rated” Status and Badge
ESG Regional Top Rated companies are those that:
- Fall within our comprehensive ratings universe
- Have scores that fall within the Negligible, Low or Medium ESG Risk Ratings categories
- Do not have any Category 4 or 5 controversies
- Have an ESG Risk Rating score that falls within the Sustainalytics definition of outperforming
Reference to the company's top-rated status or the use of the badge image(s) will require a paid corporate license from Sustainalytics.
If a company has an ESG license with Morningstar Sustainalytics, then the company identified as as eligible for the ESG Regional Top Rated designation for a particular year can refer to themselves as such for that year. The license holder can also refer to their designation for a particular year in subsequent years (e.g., If Company X is top rated in 2022, they can mention their 2022 top rated status, in 2023, 2024, etc.).
e.g., In 2022, Company X was recognized by Morningstar Sustainalytics as an ESG Regional Top Rated company.
e.g., Company X was a Morningstar Sustainalytics ESG Regional Top Rated company in 2022. Use of the ESG Regional Top Rated badge image will require a paid corporate license. Sustainalytics will make available to eligible licensees the badge image through the Sustainalytics Issuer Gateway platform.
For more information on ESG Risk Rating Licenses, please contact one of our regional desks listed at the end of this document.
Important
Morningstar 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 pursuant to the terms and conditions outlined in the license contract. For example, if a company is involved in a Category 4 or Category 5 incident in a year in which they are eligible for a top rated badge, the company’s ‘top rated’ status will be revoked and they will have to stop using that badge as soon as they are informed of the status change by Sustainalytics (for more information, please contact our corporate services Customer Success Team).
In addition, references to the badge(s) must be removed from physical and/or electronic documents once those documents are renewed. Companies can continue to refer to the designation and the badges they were awarded in previous years.
"ESG Global 50 Top Rated” Status and Badge
ESG Industry Top Rated companies are those that:
- Fall within our comprehensive ratings universe
- Have scores that fall within the Negligible, Low or Medium ESG Risk Ratings categories
- Do not have any Category 4 or 5 controversies
- Have an ESG Risk Rating score among the lowest 50 companies within the entire comprehensive ratings universe.
Reference to the company's top-rated status or the use of the badge image(s) will require a paid corporate license from Sustainalytics.
If a company has an ESG license with Morningstar Sustainalytics, then the company identified as eligible for the ESG Global 50 Top Rated designation for a particular year can refer to themselves as such for that year. The license holder can also refer to their designation for a particular year in subsequent years (e.g., If Company X is top rated in 2022, they can mention their 2022 top rated status, in 2023, 2024, etc.).
e.g., In 2022, Company X was recognized by Morningstar Sustainalytics as an ESG Global 50 Top Rated company.
e.g., Company X was a Morningstar Sustainalytics ESG Global 50 Top Rated company.in 2022.
Use of the ESG Global 50 Top Rated badge image will require a paid corporate license. Sustainalytics will make available to eligible licensees the badge image through the Sustainalytics Issuer Gateway platform.
Important
Morningstar 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 pursuant to the terms and conditions outlined in the license contract. For example, if a company is involved in a Category 4 or Category 5 incident in a year in which they are eligible for a top rated badge, the company’s ‘top rated’ status will be revoked and they will have to stop using that badge as soon as they are informed of the status change by Sustainalytics (for more information, please contact our corporate services Customer Success Team).
In addition, references to the badge(s) must be removed from physical and/or electronic documents once those documents are renewed. Companies can continue to refer to the designation and the badges they were awarded in previous years.
How to Reference the Opinion Services
If you have an Opinion Services contract with Sustainalytics that permits external sharing (in accordance with the intended use provided in the agreement), Sustainalytics should properly be referenced as the ESG research provider as follows:
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.
If you intend to communicate within the public domain any details about the Opinion Services and Deliverables beyond this agreed-upon communication, you must seek Sustainalytics’ prior approval, using the following email address: [email protected]
How to Reference Other Services
Applicable for all Impact Services
- Corporate Impact Report Service
- Impact Reporting Service - Bond
- Impact Reporting Service - Loan
If you have a contract with Sustainalytics and are allowed to share deliverables externally in accordance with the intended use, in any materials or communication Sustainalytics should properly be referenced as the ESG research provider as follows:
Morningstar Sustainalytics is a globally recognized provider of ESG research, ratings and data, estimated the impact of [Company’s name]’s project and the alignment thereof with relevant industry standards.
<<TO BE ADDED ONLY FOR SURVEY SERVICE: Morningstar Sustainalytics, is a globally recognized provider of ESG research, ratings and data, supported [Company’s name]’s in surveying the selected group and collecting the results.>>
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.
If you intend to communicate within the public domain any details about the Other Services and Deliverables beyond this agreed-upon communication, you must obtain Sustainalytics’ prior approval, using the following email address: corpora[email protected]
Sustainalytics Corporate Solutions, Regional Desks
Companies can request information about their own ESG Risk Rating score or Sustainalytics’ ratings methodology by contacting our Issuer Relations team at [email protected]
For information regarding Sustainalytics data used for sustainability indices, please contact our Index Team at [email protected]
For information on obtaining an ESG Risk Ratings License to disclose company ESG scores more broadly, please contact the regional Sustainable Finance Solutions desks listed here.
EMEA
(+44) 20 4526 5640 | [email protected]
Americas
(+1) 347 630 9308 | [email protected]
APAC
(+65) 6329 7596 | [email protected]
Japan
(+81) 3-4567-0198 | [email protected]