What Is an ESG Rating?
An ESG rating measures a company's exposure to long-term environmental, social, and governance risks. These risks — involving issues such as energy efficiency, worker safety, and board independence — have financial implications. But they are often not highlighted during traditional financial reviews. Investors who use ESG ratings to supplement financial analysis can gain a broader view of a company's long-term potential.
How do MSCI ESG Ratings work?
ESG risks and opportunities can vary by industry and company. Our MSCI ESG Ratings model identifies the ESG risks, (what we call Key Issues), that are most material to a GICS® sub-industry or sector. With over 13 years of live track history we have been able to examine and refine our model to identify the E, S, and G Key Issues which are most material to an industry.
Considerations for the environmental score
MSCI's key environmental issues fall under the categories of climate change, natural capital, pollution and waste, and environmental opportunities.
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Climate change issues include:
- Carbon emissions
- Product carbon footprint
- Financing environmental impact
- Climate change vulnerability
Natural capital issues are:
- Water sourcing
- Biodiversity and land use
- Raw material sourcing
The pollution and waste category encompasses:
- Toxic emissions and waste
- Packaging material and waste
- Electronic waste
Environmental opportunities are:
- Clean technology
- Green building
- Renewable energy
Considerations for the social score
Social score issues fall into four categories: human capital, product liability, stakeholder opposition, and social opportunities.
Human capital issues are:
- How labor is managed
- Health and safety practices and protocols
- Worker training
- Supply chain labor standards
Product liability areas of focus include:
- Product safety and quality
- Chemical safety
- Consumer financial protection
- Privacy and data security
- Responsible investing
- Insuring health and demographic risk
Stakeholder opposition includes:
- Controversial sourcing
- Community relations
Social opportunities are:
- Access to communication
- Access to finance
- Access to healthcare
- Opportunities in nutrition and health
Considerations for the governance score
MSCI breaks governance into two categories: corporate governance and corporate behavior.
Corporate governance includes:
- Composition of the board in terms of diversity and independence
- Executive compensation
- Ownership
- Accounting practices
Corporate behavior encompasses:
- Business ethics
- Tax transparency
How are companies scored?
Key issues are identified by industry
MSCI selects 35 key issues that are most relevant to specific industries. As an example, packaging material and waste is a key issue for the soft drink industry. But this wouldn't be a factor for industries that don't physically package their product or service, such as technology infrastructure.
Companies are scored on each key issue
MSCI analyzes 80 different exposure metrics and 270 governance metrics to score companies from 0 to 10 on each key issue. A low score means the company is heavily exposed to the issue and is not managing that risk effectively. A high score indicates an aggressive effort to mitigate the risk. An example of risk mitigation for carbon emissions would be Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) goal to become carbon-negative by 2030.
Issues are weighted
SMSCI weights key issues according to their timeline and potential impact. Issues that could have a major environmental or social impact within two years have the highest weights. Issues with lesser potential for impact and a timeline of five years or more have the lowest weights. Worker safety in a manufacturing environment, for example, presents an immediate risk with severe financial and legal consequences. That would justify a heavier weighting.
Issue scores and weights are combined
Issue scores and weights are combined to produce an industry-adjusted numerical score from 0 to 10 for the rated company.
An ESG rating example
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has an average MSCI ESG rating of BBB. While Amazon leads in corporate governance and privacy and data security, the e-commerce retailer has an average product carbon footprint and scores poorly in labor management and corporate behavior.
The laggard score in labor management and corporate behavior isn't surprising if you follow Amazon since the company has had its share of negative headlines in these areas. Complaints of the strained relationship between Amazon and its workers have been surfacing for years. Reports cite issues such as hazardous working conditions, aggressive attempts to block unionization, and repeated mistreatment of pregnant workers.
Amazon has also been accused of price-fixing more than once. In early 2021, a group of retail booksellers filed a class action lawsuit claiming Amazon and major book publishers were manipulating wholesale prices on print books. Two months later, the District of Columbia filed a separate antitrust suit, alleging Amazon prohibited third-party sellers from offering their products at lower prices outside of Amazon's website.
Poor treatment of workers and unsavory trade practices may be problematic on principle. But there are also financially relevant outcomes to consider — things such as workforce churn, higher recruitment costs, lawsuits, and loss of reputation.
If you are (or want to be) an Amazon shareholder, the more you know about factors that can affect the retailer's returns, the better decisions you will make.
ESG score data sources
MSCI uses public data sources to measure ESG exposure. These sources include company 10-Ks, sustainability reports, and proxy reports, plus thousands of monitored media outlets and data sets from governments, regulatory organizations, and NGOs. MSCI also works directly with corporations to validate the information collected.
How do ESG ratings affect investors? ESG investing does not involve picking stocks based on ESG factors alone. Instead, the ESG investor adds an ESG review to the traditional investment process. How you incorporate ESG scores into your decision-making is up to you. For example:
- You can use ESG ratings to supplement financial analysis. An ESG review gives you more insight into the risks a company faces going forward.
- You can use ESG ratings as a screen. You might feel strongly about investing only in the types of stocks of companies that are good corporate citizens and committed to sustainable business practices. In that case, reviewing ESG ratings would be the first step in your investment process. Any companies that don't meet your standard would not be candidates for your portfolio.
- You can also use ESG ratings for added insight into companies you already own. A negative change in an ESG rating would be a flag for you to dive deeper and find out why.