ESG-ratings: development trends, international and national practices

The article reveals the results of the study of key trends in the development of ESG-ratings, taking into account the practices of leading providers and regulatory bodies in the field in the global and national markets. The relevance of the study of current ESG-rating practices is primarily due to the ever-increasing interest in ESG-information and the dynamically growing ESG-data market in response to the steady growth of investments in global ESG-assets and, as a consequence, investors' requests for quality and availability of information. The subject of the study covers methodological approaches in assigning ESG-ratings by international and Russian providers and regulators. The authors reveal the key problems caused by the immaturity of the ESG-concept itself, resulting in the lack of a unified approach to the methodology and, as a consequence, poor correlation between ratings, ultimately leading to a decrease in the quality of ESG-data. These problems manifest themselves in the context of the desire for consolidation in the ESG-data market and the dominance of the largest ESG-rating providers focusing on large companies, developed markets and high-tech businesses. Considerable attention in the study is paid to the trends in the development of national assessment infrastructure in terms of ESG-ratings, the relevance of which has increased as a result of decreasing access of Russian companies to positioning in the international market of ESG-assets due to the withdrawal of global players from the Russian market in 2022. Among the key factors determining the further development of ESG-ratings, the authors emphasize the "maturation" of the ESG-concept as the initial basis for the ESG-ratings methodology, expansion of the global and national ESG-agenda, the nature of the development of the responsible finance market, primarily in terms of ESG-assets and new investment products and solutions. Another noteworthy factor is the development of mechanisms for regulating rating activities by authorities, requirements for disclosure of ESG-information on the basis of common international standards. The likely scenario for the national ESG-rating infrastructure is its further progressive development with lasting interest at the state and corporate level, the efforts of recently established associations in the ESG-field, and national rating agencies providing a wider variety of rating products and diversifying the rating coverage. Undoubtedly, the behavior of key rating participants will crucially depend on the geopolitical situation, national economic development strategy and foreign economic policy, given the priorities of the "Russia's turn to the East" and "Greater Eurasia" concepts.