How to know if a sustainability index, ranking, certification, or questionnaire will add value to my company?

In recent years we have heard more strongly about the concept of sustainability or ESG, and more and more indexes and methodologies are appearing that evaluate performance on these issues through public information and questionnaires, which makes the compliance process an exhaustive exercise, but do these evaluations add value to my company?

The answer depends on each case and for this, we suggest you the following steps to select the most valuable ones for your company:

• 1. Identify the material issues of your company, that is, those issues that are most relevant to the sustainability of your business.
• 2. Search for all the available methodologies, find out what your approach is and the objectives you are pursuing.
• 3. Identify those that are most relevant to your sector and analyze which ones are most valued and/or recognized by your stakeholders.
• 4. List the tangible and intangible benefits of each of the methodologies.
• 5. Select those that are aligned with the company’s sustainability strategy and with your medium and long-term objectives.

These methodologies or evaluations will allow you to identify opportunity areas and trace a path of continuous improvement, establishing objectives and goals in the different pillars of sustainability, only in this way will they add value to your company.

Sustainability ratings are useful tools to evaluate environmental, social, and corporate governance performance; however, if it is not carried out with a genuine commitment, it could be considered greenwashing or public relations actions of the company, which distract more substantive initiatives to generate a positive impact on the environment and society.

How to identify the different methodologies?

While it is true that ESG methodologies and assessments are not standardized, various tools, such as the following chart from the Sustainable Accounting Standards Council, can be used to learn how they fit into the ESG research ecosystem.

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