From April 6, 2021, invited companies can open the CSA and from June 1, 2021 they can access the S&P ESG Indices as well as the Dow Jones Sustainability (DJSI) Indices. Companies are selected for inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), S&P 500 ESG and several other sustainability indices on the basis of their results in the S&P Global CSA. Read on to find out this years timeline and how your company can participate.
About the CSA
Established in 1999, the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) has become the basis for numerous ESG Indices over the last two decades. S&P Global acquired the CSA in 2019, which included the transition of the related ESG ratings and ESG benchmarking teams that now operate out of S&P Global Switzerland.
A growing number of companies participate in the assessment and use their results to benchmark their sustainability performance. On the basis of their performance, companies receive scores ranging from 0 to 100 and percentile rankings for approximately 20 financially relevant sustainability criteria across economic, environmental and social dimensions.
The CSA empowers your company to leverage the unique expertise and the proprietary methodology and database underlying the world’s most renowned sustainability indices:
- DJSI Index Family
- S&P ESG Index Family
- Paris-Aligned & Climate Transition (PACT)
- Carbon Efficient
What is new in 2021?
S&P Global operates its annual Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) and invites the largest global companies to participate. This year, S&P Global is extending the list of invited companies to 5,000. The extended list of invited companies is made up of eligible constituents from the following indices provided by S&P Dow Jones Indices: ~3,600 from the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) and a further ~1,400, companies from the S&P ESG Index series. The CSA will be conducted in two separate groups, with the following timelines.
Timeline for companies invited for DJSI or S&P Japan 500 ESG
February 18, 2021 | Official invitation of eligible companies by email
April 6, 2021 | Start of Online Questionnaire Process
June 3, 2021 | Submission Deadline
September 10, 2021 | Announcement of 2021 CSA results and DJSI Members
Timeline for companies invited for S&P ESG Indices (except S&P Japan 500)
April 20, 2021 | Official invitation of eligible companies by email
June 1, 2021 | Start of Online Questionnaire Process
August 3, 2021 | Submission Deadline
End-October, 2021 (TBC) | Announcement of 2021 CSA results
Be part of the CSA
The CSA applies a best-in-class approach, meaning no industries are excluded from the assessment, and the CSA compares companies across 61 industries via questionnaires assessing a mix of 80-100 cross-industry and industry-specific questions. It can be hard to be confronted with a large and exhaustive questionnaire – you will want to prioritize the data collection process.
Your company can benefit from external expertise by DFGE as well. We help you to prioritize the gaps, take over the data collection in a timely and organized manner and complete the questionnaire in your stead. With DFGE Sustainability Intelligence, we reuse data from other standards, to minimize the impact from your side.
We look forward to supporting you with our more than 20 years of sustainability expertise and our customized services! Contact us for more information at or +49.8192.99733-20.
