How to Use Awards to Raise your ESG Rating

While it’s still too early to predict most of the broader socio-economic repercussions of COVID-19, one recent study indicated that worker health and safety are now more important than ever in light of the nature of the pandemic. The paper asserts that “ESG investors and other stakeholders will not use the current economic downturn as an excuse for abandoning their objectives.”

How is ESG Quantified?

Today, ESG has the non-financial attributes of a corporation become as relevant, if not more relevant, than its financial results, while the fund managers were only concerned with the historical financial performance of a company. And that makes perfect sense: by its purely financial analysis no investor would have been able to predict the Volkswagen emissions crisis and the following dive in the company’s share price.

Rather, businesses are now evaluated and assessed based on a wide range of ESG factors. These evaluations, which typically cover topics like workplace practices (diversity, welfare, etc.), the environment, the supply chain, and governance, are based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. A best practice guide has also been released by the PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment) to assist businesses and fund managers in defining and implementing ESG.

What and who then decides an organization’s ESG rating? 

To characterize a company as “good” or “bad” is a really tough call for fund managers. The truth is, there is no one right answer and no widely accepted methodology, nor even exactly the cut of scientific certainty.

ESG ratings are determined utilizing a wide range of diverse approaches and both qualitative and quantitative data, with no industry-wide consensus. Bloomberg claims that this involves looking through publicly accessible information, including news articles and corporate announcements. Not to mention the indispensable “Sustainability Reports,” which have quickly emerged as one of the most significant corporate communications tools for the majority of large corporations and provide them with a vital platform to highlight their commitment to responsibility.

Where do ESG Awards Begin?

Companies have plenty of options with over 5,000 distinct awards and rankings available on the Awards List websites, which are by far the biggest and most well-known awards websites worldwide. However, let’s examine a few of the most well-liked plans for each theme:

Authority

The concept of good governance is broad and can cover a variety of topics, such as accounting standards, data and IT security, and leadership caliber.

Here are a few examples of potential schemes that could work:

• IT World Honors
• Tech Ascension Awards – Big Data
• International Awards for Excellence in Business
• The Awards for Supply Chain Excellence

Companies could think of more general “responsible business” awards that show the firm is well-run and that its larger ESG strategy is effective, in addition to particular schemes covering these topics. These might consist of, for instance:

• Moral Business International Awards for Responsible Business.
• The International Awards for CSR Excellence.
• The Global Good Awards
• Top Ethical Companies in the World
• London Top Tech Awards 2025

Surroundings

A few examples of environmental factors are waste, pollution, resource depletion, and climate change. These are only a few examples of potential plans:

• The Green Apple Awards Internationally for Environmental Excellence in Practice.
• The Awards for Sustainability.
• Only in the UK, The King’s Awards for Enterprise: Sustainable Development
• The Awards for edie Sustainability Leaders
• The SEAL Business Sustainability Awards

Human rights, contemporary slavery, and workplace policies and employee relations (such as diversity, health and wellness, training and development, etc.) are a few examples of social issues that fall under the category of “social.” Though there are countless possibilities under this theme, a few of the most noteworthy ones are as follows:

• The Awards for Investors in People.
• Awards for Company Culture (UK only)
• Great Place to Work.
• International Healthy Workplace Honors.
• Employee Wellbeing Awards from REBA. (exclusively for the UK)
• The Global Workplace Equality Index from Stonewall.
• The Times’ List of the UK’s Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality
• BITC Awards for Responsible Business. (exclusively for the UK)

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