A collaborative forum designed to help companies better understand and influence the ESG Ratings Ecosystem. 

Purpose

Convened by the ERM Sustainability Institute and ERM subject matter experts, the ESG Ratings Working Group facilitates an open dialogue between companies, select ESG research firms, investors, and ESG-related regulatory bodies. The working group was designed to help members address ESG disclosure challenges and improve the flow of ESG data from their companies to investors, creditors, insurers, and lenders.

benefits

This group will help you and your company:

Better understand the complex ESG ecosystem, ESG ratings frameworks, and accepted guidelines for ESG reporting and communications

Prioritize ratings participation and investment for your organization and maximize ROI associated with ESG activity

Form relevant connections with ESG research firms by engaging directly with research firms around methodology, scoring, and communication techniques

Share ESG approaches and strategies with peers to enhance the group’s collective practices

Advocate – individually and with peers – ways to improve the overall ESG ecosystem

Influence and contribute to research and thought leadership, as well as gain recognition for helping to shape the future of ESG

Who Should Participate Hide

Companies at any stage in their navigation of the ESG ratings landscape interested in better understanding and influencing the ESG ratings agenda will benefit from the working group. Company participants can include practitioners from Investor Relations, Legal, Sustainability, ESG or other departments with accountability for their company’s ESG matters.

Working Group Activities & Access Hide

ESG Ratings Working Group members actively inform and shape the agenda, which features the following:

  • Webinars: We host webinars every six weeks featuring interviews with representatives of leading ESG ratings agencies, ESG experts, and peer-to-peer discussions.
  • Research: We develop periodic research output based on learnings from the working group and offer previews of ERM research to working group members pre public release.
  • Expert Support: Members have access to ERM ratings experts for individualized support.
  • Online Portal: Working group activities are summarized and available to members on-demand via our exclusive member portal.

Program Content Hide

Working group webinar topics are chosen based on input from the member network, recent industry developments, and new research. Sample topics may include:

  • Topic-specific ESG ratings
  • Institutional investor ESG integration
  • Perspectives from private equity
  • ESG Reporting frameworks
  • ESG integration in credit ratings
  • ESG-related regulatory trends
  • Leading corporate issuer perspectives

Membership Benefits & Dues Hide

The following benefits are available to network members:

  • Access to all webinars for up to three representatives from your organization.
  • Participation in periodic research reflecting the learnings from ESG Ratings Working Group activities and exclusive previews of ERM research.
  • Two 1-hour sessions of private consultation with an ERM ESG expert annually.
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive member portal and library of working group resources.

Annual membership runs on the calendar year. The cost for 2026 is $10,000 per company.