Categories: ESG
Tags:

ESG Analysis Dataset – How should it look?

For Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) analysis, a dataset typically includes data across these three key areas:

1. Environmental Data

This data assesses a company’s impact on the environment and its approach to managing environmental risks. Key components include:

  • Carbon emissions: Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions.
  • Energy usage: Total energy consumption, renewable energy percentage, energy efficiency programs.
  • Waste management: Total waste generated, hazardous waste, waste recycling rates.
  • Water usage and conservation: Water consumption, water stress management, wastewater treatment.
  • Biodiversity impact: Land use, deforestation, biodiversity preservation efforts.
  • Climate risk: Impact on and mitigation strategies for climate change.

2. Social Data

This data evaluates a company’s treatment of stakeholders, including employees, customers, and the broader community.

  • Labor practices: Workforce diversity, equity, inclusion data, employee turnover, gender pay gap, and worker safety incidents.
  • Community impact: Community engagement initiatives, social impact programs, charitable donations.
  • Product safety and quality: Product recalls, customer satisfaction metrics, data privacy and security.
  • Human rights: Policies against child labor, forced labor, working conditions across supply chains.
  • Employee training and development: Investment in employee skill development and career progression.

3. Governance Data

Governance data examines how a company’s board and management uphold corporate ethics, transparency, and accountability.

  • Board structure and diversity: Board independence, diversity metrics (gender, race), term limits, board expertise.
  • Executive compensation: Pay alignment with performance, CEO pay ratio.
  • Shareholder rights: Voting policies, minority shareholder protections, takeover defense measures.
  • Transparency and ethics: Anti-corruption policies, political lobbying expenditures, code of conduct.
  • Risk management: Data on risk management frameworks, cybersecurity, and business continuity plans.

Additional Sources for ESG Data

  • Regulatory filings and reports: e.g., SEC filings, corporate sustainability reports.
  • Third-party ESG ratings: From agencies like MSCI, Sustainalytics, or ISS.
  • Survey data: Employee and customer feedback.
  • News and media sentiment: Analysis of media sentiment can provide insights into ESG risks and public perception.

The dataset can be structured with company identifiers (e.g., ticker symbols, industry codes) and time-series data for longitudinal analysis. Additionally, normalized scores for each ESG factor are often used to compare across companies and sectors.