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Practice 05 — ESG Rating Improvement

The score is the diagnostic.
The work is what moves it.

Rating gap analysis, controllable disclosure mapping, and structured uplift programmes for MSCI ESG, Sustainalytics, S&P CSA, ISS, and EcoVadis. We don't game the score — we surface what the methodology actually rewards, and we close the gaps that genuinely matter.

01 When clients call us

Four common situations

Each one usually surfaces with a specific commercial trigger — investor mandate, procurement gate, covenant pressure — and a specific window to act.

  • 01

    Score has dropped or stagnated

    You've held the same rating band for three years, peers have moved, and the diligence team is asking why.

  • 02

    Investor RFP requires a target band

    A specific institutional investor (or fund-level mandate) requires MSCI BB+ or Sustainalytics < 30 — and you're below.

  • 03

    EcoVadis Gold or Platinum required for tender

    Procurement-side pressure from European or multinational clients with CSRD/CSDDD reporting obligations.

  • 04

    Sustainability-linked loan needs a rating-tied trigger

    Bank covenant tied to maintaining or improving a specific rating; methodology gaps surfaced during the SLL design phase.

02 How we work

Four phases, six to nine months

  1. 01

    Diagnostic gap analysis

    Methodology-by-methodology mapping. Where the score is, where peer median sits, what specific indicators are pulling the score down, what's controllable.

  2. 02

    Disclosure controllables sprint

    Quick wins on disclosure structure, public-facing policy gaps, evidence visibility — without changing underlying performance. Typically lifts MSCI 0.3-0.7 points if mishandled disclosure was a primary driver.

  3. 03

    Performance uplift programme

    The harder work. Operational changes — targets, governance, performance metrics, supplier programmes — that change the underlying score, not just the disclosure of it.

  4. 04

    Annual cycle management

    Next-year preparation, rater engagement, controversy management, response coordination across MSCI/Sustainalytics/CSA cycles.

03 A note on score gaming

We will not write you a strategy that improves your score on paper without changing the underlying business. Rater methodology evolves; gamed scores get unwound. The work we do is the work that holds up under the next methodology revision.

Engage on this practice

Thirty minutes. We figure out if there's a fit.

We don't pitch on the call. We listen, ask sharp questions, and tell you honestly whether esg rating improvement is what you need — or what else might be.

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