GRI
Global Reporting Initiative
Comprehensive topic disclosures for impacts on economy, environment, and people.
Independent · Transparent · Rigorous
How We Rate ESG Performance
Our ratings are built on public data, AI-powered extraction, and sector-adjusted scoring — with no commercial relationships with the companies we rate.
10,000+ Companies60+ Countries15+ FrameworksNo Pay-to-Play
Our Founding Principle
Ratings you can trust because we answer to no one but the data
Unlike some rating providers, openESG does not accept payment from the companies it evaluates, does not offer consulting services to rated entities, and does not allow commercial relationships to influence scores.
Our analysts operate under a strict conflict-of-interest policy, and every rating is produced from publicly available information that any third party can verify independently.
- No issuer-paid ratings
- Full source citations for every score
- Published conflict-of-interest policy
- Formal dispute resolution process
Our commitment in numbers
100%
Public-data only
0
Issuer-paid ratings
48h
Max re-score latency
5yr
Historical coverage
Where the data comes from
We ingest over 200,000 documents annually from four primary source categories — all publicly available.
Annual & Sustainability Reports
Integrated reports, standalone sustainability reports, and CSR disclosures filed directly by companies in structured and unstructured formats.
Regulatory Filings
SEC 10-K/proxy statements, ESMA-aligned CSRD reports, ASX, LSE, and other exchange sustainability annexes.
Voluntary Framework Submissions
CDP climate, water, and forests questionnaires; UN Global Compact COPs; SBTi commitments; PRI transparency reports.
Adverse Media & Third-Party Data
Structured controversy data, environmental penalties, human-rights incidents, and governance violations sourced from public records and verified news.
Six steps from disclosure to rating
Every score follows the same reproducible pipeline — no shortcuts, no black boxes.
01
Collect
Ingest public filings and disclosures across 60+ countries, normalised to a common document schema.
02
Extract
NLP models parse quantitative metrics, targets, policies, and narrative ESG claims from each document.
03
Normalise
Extracted data is mapped to our unified metric taxonomy aligned across GRI, SASB, TCFD, CSRD, and ISSB.
04
Score
Pillar and sub-dimension scores are weighted by sector materiality and aggregated to a 0–100 composite.
05
Validate
Automated QA checks and human analyst review flag anomalies, missing disclosures, and contradictory claims.
06
Publish
Ratings are released with full evidence trails so every score is auditable back to the source document.
What goes into each score
Each of the three pillars is broken into six sub-dimensions, weighted by sector-specific materiality maps derived from SASB and ISSB guidance.
E — Environmental
- ClimateClimate & GHG Emissions
- EnergyEnergy Transition
- WaterWater & Effluents
- WasteWaste & Circular Economy
- BiodiversityBiodiversity & Land Use
- Supply-ChainSupply-Chain Emissions
S — Social
- LabourLabour Standards & Safety
- Supply-ChainSupply-Chain Human Rights
- CommunityCommunity Impact
- Diversity,Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- ProductProduct Safety & Liability
- DataData Privacy & Security
G — Governance
- BoardBoard Structure & Independence
- ExecutiveExecutive Compensation
- ShareholderShareholder Rights
- TransparencyTransparency & Disclosure Quality
- Anti-CorruptionAnti-Corruption & Ethics
- AuditAudit & Risk Oversight
Sector weights are recalibrated annually. Composite score = weighted average of E, S, and G pillars (0–100 scale).
Greenwashing Detection
We flag what others miss
Vague aspirational claims, unverified certifications, scope exclusions, and narrative contradictions are systematically identified before they inflate a rating.
Claim Verification
Every material ESG claim is cross-referenced against disclosed metrics, third-party audits, and regulatory filings.
Scope Gap Analysis
We detect companies that report Scope 1 emissions but omit Scope 3, or disclose targets without a transition plan.
Controversy Overlay
Adverse media signals — fines, incidents, litigation — are weighted against self-reported performance to compute a credibility adjustment.
Temporal Consistency
Year-on-year metric movements are checked for implausible jumps that often indicate restatements or methodology changes.
Red-Flag Categories
- Absolute targets without interim milestones
- Net-zero claims with no Scope 3 disclosure
- 'Carbon neutral' via offsets only
- Supply-chain certifications that cannot be traced
- Social KPIs that change definition year-on-year
- Board diversity claims not reconciled with proxy filings
Ratings that stay current
ESG performance changes continuously. Our three-layer update cycle ensures scores reflect the latest available evidence.
Triggered Updates
Scores refresh automatically within 48 hours when a company publishes a new disclosure, files with a regulator, or a material controversy is confirmed.
Quarterly Sweeps
A systematic re-extraction sweep covers all 10,000+ companies each quarter to catch amendments and retroactive restatements.
Annual Deep Review
Our analyst team conducts a full methodology review each year, recalibrating sector weights against updated academic research and framework revisions.
Built on the world's leading ESG standards
SASB
Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
Industry-specific metrics that tie sustainability performance to enterprise value.
TCFD
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
Governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics for climate-related financial risk.
CDP
Carbon Disclosure Project
Investor-grade climate, forests, and water questionnaires used in stewardship programs.
CSRD
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
European double materiality reporting aligned with ESRS for listed and large private firms.
ISSB
International Sustainability Standards Board
IFRS S1 and S2 baseline for general sustainability and climate disclosures in capital markets.
UN SDGs
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Mapping corporate programs to globally recognized social and environmental outcome targets.
SBTi
Science Based Targets initiative
1.5°C-aligned decarbonization pathways reviewed against sector methodologies and timelines.
PRI
Principles for Responsible Investment
Signatory expectations on ESG integration, stewardship, and transparency across asset classes.
UN Global Compact
United Nations Global Compact
Ten universal principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption performance.
See our methodology in action
Book a walkthrough and we'll walk you through a live rating — source documents, score breakdown, and greenwashing flags included.