Free ESG Resources: Guides, Frameworks & Sustainability Research
ESG guides, framework explainers for GRI, CSRD, TCFD, SASB, and ISSB, a practitioner glossary, expert blog, and API documentation — all free.
ESG Guides & Sustainability Reporting Handbooks
Practical, no-hype ESG analysis and compliance guides written by our research team — covering CSRD, SFDR, GRI, SASB, greenwashing detection, and more.
Getting Started with ESG Investing
A primer on what ESG scores measure, why they differ across providers, and how institutional investors integrate them into allocation decisions.
Navigating CSRD: A Practical Handbook
Step-by-step guidance on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive — who is in scope, what ESRS topics must be covered, and how to prepare.
GRI vs SASB vs ISSB: Choosing the Right Standard
A decision framework that helps teams select, combine, or reconcile the three most widely used ESG reporting standards — with a sector-by-sector matrix.
Identifying Greenwashing: A Due Diligence Checklist
Twenty questions analysts should ask before accepting an ESG self-disclosure at face value — with real-world examples and red-flag patterns.
Building a SFDR PAI-Compliant Reporting Process
How to collect, aggregate, and disclose the 18 mandatory Principal Adverse Impact indicators required under SFDR Article 8 and Article 9 funds.
Integrating ESG Data into Quant Models
Practical patterns for ingesting ESG scores alongside financial data — handling missing values, normalising across sectors, and avoiding look-ahead bias.
ESG Framework Library: GRI, CSRD, TCFD, SASB, ISSB & More
Quick-reference explainers for all 10 ESG frameworks OpenESG scores against — mandatory vs voluntary, reporting requirements, audience, and links to the official standard.
GRI
Global Reporting Initiative
Comprehensive impact disclosures for economy, environment & people
Learn moreSASB
Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
Industry-specific, financially material metrics
Learn moreTCFD
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
Governance, strategy & risk for climate risk
Learn moreCSRD
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
EU double-materiality regulation aligned to ESRS
Learn moreISSB
International Sustainability Standards Board
IFRS S1 & S2 baseline for capital markets
Learn moreCDP
Carbon Disclosure Project
Investor-grade climate, forests & water questionnaires
Learn moreUN SDGs
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Mapping corporate programs to global outcome targets
Learn moreSBTi
Science Based Targets initiative
1.5°C-aligned decarbonisation pathway validation
Learn morePRI
Principles for Responsible Investment
ESG integration, stewardship & transparency expectations
Learn moreUN GC
UN Global Compact
Ten principles on human rights, labour & environment
Learn moreESG & Sustainability Glossary
Plain-English definitions for the most important ESG terms — double materiality, Scope 3 emissions, SFDR, greenwashing, PAI indicators, and more.
Double Materiality
The principle that companies should assess both how sustainability issues affect the business (financial materiality) and how the business affects society and the environment (impact materiality). Required under CSRD/ESRS.
PAI — Principal Adverse Impacts
Eighteen mandatory ESG indicators that SFDR Article 8 and 9 funds must disclose, covering GHG emissions, biodiversity, water, social, and governance dimensions.
ESG Integration
The systematic and explicit inclusion of ESG factors in investment analysis and portfolio construction, as distinct from exclusion screening or impact investing.
Scope 3 Emissions
Indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur in a company's value chain — both upstream (suppliers) and downstream (product use, end-of-life). Often the largest share of a company's climate footprint.
Stewardship
The process by which investors exercise their rights as shareholders — voting, engagement, and escalation — to promote long-term sustainable value creation.
SFDR
The EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. Requires financial market participants to classify funds as Article 6 (no ESG claim), 8 (promoting ESG characteristics), or 9 (sustainable investment objective).
Greenwashing
The practice of making misleading, unsubstantiated, or exaggerated claims about a company's environmental or social performance, whether intentional or through poor disclosure discipline.
Impact Investing
Investments made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return, typically requiring evidence of additionality.
ESG & Sustainability Blog
In-depth research on ESG ratings methodology, CSRD regulatory updates, greenwashing detection, carbon markets, and sustainable investing trends.
ESG Ratings Divergence Explained: Why Scores Differ 40+ Points Across Providers
Two equally rigorous analysts can score the same company 40 points apart. This is not a bug — it is the defining structural challenge of ESG data. Learn why ESG ratings diverge and how to navigate multi-provider analysis.
Carbon Credits Explained: Voluntary vs Compliance Markets — ESG Analyst's Guide
Companies are buying billions in carbon credits to claim net-zero. Some credits are genuine. Many are not. Here is what every ESG analyst needs to know about carbon credit quality, additionality, and net-zero claim integrity.
How to Read a Corporate Sustainability Report: A 30-Minute Analyst Checklist
Sustainability reports are long, inconsistent, and full of carefully worded non-commitments. This step-by-step guide shows how to extract signal from the noise — covering assurance levels, absolute vs intensity metrics, base year manipulation, and greenwashing red flags.
EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities Explained: The Green Finance Classification System
The EU Taxonomy is the world's first government-backed classification system for sustainable economic activities — the technical foundation beneath SFDR and CSRD. Essential reading for analysts working with European companies or EU-regulated funds.
TNFD Explained: The Nature-Risk Disclosure Framework for ESG Reporting in 2026
12 min read · February 2026
The ESG Backlash: What the Performance Data Actually Shows
9 min read · April 2026
Water Risk in ESG Analysis: The Most Underpriced Material Factor
11 min read · February 2026
Social Washing in ESG: How to Detect False Social Sustainability Claims
10 min read · January 2026
Upcoming webinars
CSRD Year One: Lessons from Early Reporters
A panel of sustainability officers and analysts review what the first wave of CSRD-compliant reports reveals — and what gaps remain.
Quant ESG: Building a Factor Model with openESG Data
A live walkthrough of ingesting ESG scores via API, normalising across sectors, and back-testing a simple ESG tilt strategy.
Greenwashing Detection in Practice
Our research team walks through five real-world greenwashing cases — how we spotted them, how the market reacted, and what investors missed.
API Documentation
Full OpenAPI 3.0 reference, authentication guide, rate-limit details, example requests in cURL, Python, and JavaScript, and a Postman collection.
# Python example
import openesg
client = openesg.Client(api_key="sk-...")
company = client.companies.get("TSLA")
print(company.composite_score) # 61
print(company.pillars.environmental) # 54
print(company.greenwashing_flags) # 2The ESG Analyst — our weekly briefing
Rating changes, framework updates, regulatory moves, and research summaries — every Thursday morning.
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