IOSCO consults on ESG Ratings and Data Providers

26 July 2021

it proposes a set of recommendations to mitigate these risks and address some of the challenges faced by users of products and services from ESG ratings and data providers, and the companies that are thesubject of these ESG ratings and data products.

The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is soliciting
feedback on a set of proposed recommendations regarding Environmental, Social and
Governance (ESG) Ratings and Data Providers. The IOSCO Consultation Report on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Ratings and Data Providers (Consultation Report) aims at assisting IOSCO members in understanding the  implications of the activities of ESG ratings and data providers and in establishing frameworks  to mitigate risks stemming from these activities. In doing so, it proposes a set of recommendations to mitigate these risks and address some of the challenges faced by users of
products and services from ESG ratings and data providers, and the companies that are the
subject of these ESG ratings and data products.

To inform its work, IOSCO undertook a fact-finding exercise that revealed, amongst other risks
and challenges, a lack of transparency about the methodologies underpinning ratings or data
products and an often uneven coverage of products offered across industries and geographical
areas. IOSCO has observed that this could lead to gaps and inconsistencies when applied to
investment strategies and raise concerns around the management of potential conflicts of
interest, such as fee structures and insufficient separation of business lines that provide advisory
services to issuers to improve their ratings performance. The market for ESG ratings and data has grown considerably over the past few years due inter alia to a lack of consistent information disclosures at the entity level, the increasing interest of investors in ESG products and the legislative and regulatory focus on financial market participants’ consideration of the ESG characteristics of potential investments.

This market, however, currently does not fall within the typical remit of securities regulators,
hence leading IOSCO to propose key considerations for securities regulators in this area. The Consultation Report is an additional piece to the overall framework for sustainability that
IOSCO is developing in close coordination with its members and other international
organizations. The Report on Sustainability-related Issuer Disclosures, published in June,
addresses data gaps at the corporate level. The report on Recommendations on Sustainability- Related Practices, Policies, Procedures and Disclosure in Asset Management, also issued in
June, focusses on the activities of asset managers as an important agency-model business that
channels investor capital into sustainable finance. It underscores the importance of ESG ratings
and data products in the decisions made by these asset managers.

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