Environmental
Emissions, energy use, waste management, water use, and an organization's overall environmental footprint and climate risk exposure.
Read more →ESG Certification & Ratings
Understand ESG. Get certified. Prove it.
Standard ESG is an independent certification body for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance. We give any organization — company, nonprofit, or public agency — a single, publicly verifiable ESG score from 1 to 10, backed by a transparent methodology anyone can read.
What
What is ESG?
ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance — the three categories used to evaluate how responsibly an organization operates, beyond its financial statements. An ESG rating or ESG score summarizes performance across all three so investors, customers, regulators and partners can compare organizations on a common, non-financial basis.
Social
Labor practices, employee wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, community impact, and how an organization treats people across its supply chain.
Read more →Governance
Board structure, executive accountability, business ethics, anti-corruption controls, and transparency in reporting and decision-making.
Read more →Standard ESG converts performance across all three pillars into one weighted 1–10 score, at a level of verification rigor you choose — self-assessed, document-verified, or independently confirmed on-site.
Why
Why ESG certification matters
Investors, procurement teams and regulators increasingly ask for evidence of ESG performance, not just a policy statement. A recognized ESG certification:
- Gives lenders and investors a comparable, publicly verifiable ESG score for due diligence
- Helps guard against the outsized losses — averaging 200–500 basis points — that typically follow major ESG controversies
- Helps you qualify for ESG-linked financing and procurement requirements
- Demonstrates governance and compliance to regulators and boards
- Builds trust with customers and employees who expect sustainability accountability
Standard ESG at a glance
- Scoring range
- 1–10, across E, S and G
- Verification levels
- Self-assessed, document-verified, on-site
- Pillar weighting
- Environmental 40%, Social 35%, Governance 25%
- Certificate validity
- 12 months, publicly verifiable
History
ESG history timeline
1970s
The Socially Responsible Investing Movement Emerges
Activist investors begin questioning corporate ethics and accountability.
1980s–1990s
Environmental and Labor Concerns Rise
Major corporate incidents like Exxon Valdez and Bhopal fuel demand for responsibility standards.
2000
UN Global Compact Launches
A major initiative pushes corporations toward sustainability and responsible practices.
2004
The "Who Cares Wins" Report
The UN-backed report formalizes the ESG framework, coining the term and linking it to financial performance for the first time.
2006
UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)
Major institutional investors adopt ESG metrics as standard practice; PRI signatories now represent well over EUR 120 trillion in assets.
2010
ISO 26000 Published
ISO's guidance on social responsibility introduces the seven core subjects still used to organize ESG criteria today.
2015
ESG Goes Mainstream
The Paris Climate Agreement accelerates ESG adoption globally, and reporting frameworks proliferate worldwide.
2017
ISO 20400 Published
Sustainable procurement guidance extends responsibility principles into supply chains — later the structural backbone of the Standard ESG Protocol.
2021
Disclosure Becomes Mandatory
The IFRS Foundation establishes the ISSB; the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive later enters into force in 2024, expanding mandatory disclosure from roughly 11,000 to 50,000 companies.
Today
Standard ESG Protocol
Disclosure laws compel companies to say more — they don't verify what's said. Standard ESG launches an ISO 20400-compatible certification protocol with three verification levels to close that gap.
How it works
How certification works
A single linear process, from registration to certificate issuance.
Step 01
Register
Create your organization account and bind it to the questionnaire template that matches your industry, size and jurisdiction. This determines which E, S and G subjects apply to you.
The three levels
Every certificate carries the same 1–10 score. The level tells you how the data behind it was verified.
7
/ 10
Level 1
Self-Assessment
Based on self-declared data, not independently verified.
7
/ 10
Level 2
Verified Documents
Data substantiated through documentation reviewed and verified by Standard ESG.
7
/ 10
Level 3
On-Site Assessment
Data verified through documentation review and independent on-site assessment.
Our mission
Make ESG performance measurable, comparable and honest.
Sustainability claims are easy to make and hard to verify. Standard ESG exists to close that gap: one open methodology, one comparable score, and a public record that anyone — an investor, a customer, a regulator — can check without asking permission.
We hold every organization, regardless of size or industry, to the same published criteria — and we publish the criteria so the score means something.
Resources
Featured resources
Browse all resources →Report
The Global ESG Disclosure Regulation Guide
Side-by-side treatment of CSRD/ESRS, ISSB S1/S2, the SEC climate rule, California SB 253/261, and the emerging EU/UK ESG-ratings-provider regimes — scope, materiality, assurance, timelines, and how to build one evidence base for many regimes.
9 min read Read more →
Guide
Getting Started with ESG: A Practical Guide for SMEs
A pragmatic on-ramp to ESG for small and mid-size companies with no dedicated sustainability team — materiality basics, quick wins per pillar, a minimal policy set, and Level 1 self-assessment as a low-cost starting point.
9 min read Read more →
Guide
Occupational Health & Safety Management: An ISO 45001 Primer
Plain-language guide to ISO 45001's OH&S management system — hazard identification, worker participation, incident investigation, and emergency preparedness — mapped to Standard ESG's S2 subject and the Level 3 on-site inspection points.
7 min read Read more →
Guide
Measuring GHG Emissions: Scope 1, 2 and 3
The three GHG scopes explained with concrete examples, organizational vs. operational boundaries, activity data and emission factors, common pitfalls, and how declared figures get traced to source during Level 3 verification.
7 min read Read more →
Guide
Labour Practices and Decent Work: An SA8000 Primer
Plain-language walkthrough of SA8000's nine elements — child labour, forced labour, health and safety, freedom of association, discrimination, disciplinary practices, working hours, remuneration, and management system — and why two of them are absolute gates in Standard ESG certification.
8 min read Read more →
Guide
Sustainability Reporting with GRI: A Starter Guide
A starter guide to the GRI Standards architecture — universal and topic-specific standards, materiality, and reporting principles — and how a GRI-aligned report doubles as strong Level 2 evidence and feeds Standard ESG subject G3.
8 min read Read more →
FAQ
ESG questions, answered
ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance — the three pillars used to evaluate an organization's non-financial performance and risk.
Start your ESG Assessment
Register your organization, complete the questionnaire for your industry, and get a publicly verifiable ESG score & certificate.