Tips & Tricks for a Strategic Approach to the CSA in 2023

On 27 October 2022, Finch & Beak hosted a webinar on effectively approaching S&P Global's Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). During the session, we provided insights on structuring your organization’s ESG governance and turning your ESG ratings into a sustainability program accelerator. This article summarizes the event takeaways delivered by our speakers Nikkie Vinke, Team Lead ESG Benchmarking at Finch & Beak, and Catalina Hemmink, Sustainability Reporting Specialist at ABN AMRO. The download provides you with three tips to tackle the CSA in 2023.

ESG Benchmarks Under Regulatory Scrutiny in Europe

ESG benchmarks and ratings are valuable tools to assist organizations in understanding their own ESG performance and its position relative to peers, and enabling to share insights with interested (financial) stakeholders. One of the key findings of Finch & Beak's most recent ESG Market Survey highlights a need for streamlining, with the average company responding to four benchmarks. Regulators are now also starting to take note of the firm growth of the ESG benchmarking market. As the number of ESG ratings keeps growing, it can be challenging to determine which benchmarks and ratings your organization should respond to. This article sheds some light on these developments, and suggests three tips for maximizing your organization’s efficiency towards ESG ratings. The downloadable 2022 ESG Rankings Cheat Sheet provides practical advice on what to look for and how to determine relevance.

ESG Acceleration Webinar: CSA Training for ESG Teams

Approaching S&P Global's Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) in the smartest way possible is crucial to strengthen your organization's performance and chances for inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI). In this webinar, we will discuss how to set up your ESG team to prepare well for your CSA 2023 participation. By sharing insights on how to drive your sustainability program, we will equip ESG teams and more specifically topic owners, and project managers with practical tips to strengthen your organisation's approach to the CSA.

Everything You Need to Know about the CSA

Do you want to gain a deep understanding of S&P Global’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), its structure, relevance, and how to unlock the full potential of your company’s participation in the assessment? This article provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the CSA that Finch & Beak has observed in its work as an independent consultancy over the past 15 years while supporting companies with the CSA and other ESG ratings.

Leveraging Your CSA Participation

On 27 September Finch & Beak organized an ESG Acceleration Webinar designed for companies interested in participating in the upcoming Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) as part of the group with the deadline in January 2023. During the session, ESG Expert, Nikkie Vinke explained the key aspects of the CSA, elaborated on the relevance of the assessment in the ESG investment landscape, and provided practical advice for leveraging your company’s participation. This article summarizes the webinar highlights and includes a downloadable checklist with expert tips and tricks to help your organization ensure successful CSA participation.

How to Unpack and Interpret Your CSA 2022 Results

After months of preparing their responses to S&P Global’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), companies are now finding out how they have performed. This year, S&P Global has developed a new approach to releasing companies’ ESG Scores and, where applicable, inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and S&P ESG Indices. This approach also entails changes in the CSA’s Benchmarking Database and has implications for how companies can read and communicate their results. This article provides a summary of the takeaways from communication from S&P Global around the CSA 2022 results release as part of a webcast and in additional publications.

ESG Acceleration Webinar: Leveraging Your CSA Participation

This year S&P Global invites all companies that have been assessed or participated in the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) in previous years, regardless of their eligibility for ESG indices, and companies whose sustainability performance is of interest to the broader investment community to participate in the CSA. This ESG Acceleration webinar is designed for companies that form part of this group and will cover an introduction to the CSA, elaborate on the relevance of the assessment in the ESG investment landscape, and provide practical tips & tricks for leveraging your company’s participation.

2022 CSA Learnings to Accelerate Your Sustainability Program

Participating in ESG ratings such as the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) and CDP can be a great tool to sharpen your sustainability approach. This article elaborates on some of the main ESG challenges that we at Finch & Beak observed in the 2022 CSA cycle, explains why a strong governance structure, double materiality, and implemented TCFD recommendations are great assets in your sustainability toolbox, and suggests steps to take your organization’s sustainability program to the next level.

ESG Acceleration Webinar: TCFD - Beyond Risks and Reporting

The demands for global market participants to progress on climate-related disclosure and transparency are increasing to enable a more resilient world economy. In this webinar, Steve Hather Group Chief Risk Officer at Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company shared more about how they have used TCFD to better understand climate risks and opportunities as part of their inspiring ESG strategy (Mission 2025) and Sam Gill, Principal Climate Change Consultant at SLR Consulting made the case for why TCFD is beneficial, elaborate on the climate risk analysis process and shared some best practice tips.

Stepping Up: Methodology Changes for the CSA 2022

Being included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) is an excellent occasion for companies to showcase their sustainability performance to investors and the broader public. Beyond having a well-established sustainability performance based on the company’s material issues, companies need to successfully complete this year’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) to be able to reach inclusion in the Index. Being prepared for the upcoming changes in the 2022 assessment is therefore essential. Download our summary of the methodology changes to review which of the updates are applicable to your industry, and what you should be prepared for.