ESG Ratings built to survive regulator-grade scrutiny.
SYNE scores listed companies against the same scientific standards regulators and auditors use, then rates the quality of the underlying data as its own explicit factor — so the rating means something before anyone asks how it was built.
Sustainability performance is now a financial fact, not a values statement.
ESG performance has moved from reputational nice-to-have to a priced financial variable — it shows up in cost of capital, insurance terms, procurement decisions and regulatory exposure. But major ESG rating providers routinely disagree: academic studies of rating divergence have found correlation between them far below what investors assume, against the near-uniform agreement typical of credit ratings. A rating that can't be trusted isn't a soft failure — it's bad data feeding hard decisions.
Why sustainable performance matters
Companies that manage climate, labour and governance risk well tend to manage every other kind of risk well too. Sustainability performance is a proxy for management quality — it predicts resilience to supply chain shocks, regulatory change and reputational events long before those show up in earnings.
What it means for capital allocation
Ratings translate thousands of data points into a comparable, decision-useful signal for screening, portfolio construction and engagement. Under fiduciary and regulatory pressure to evidence ESG integration, investors need a rating built on standards they can verify — not a black box.
What it means for planetary health
Climate stability, water security and biodiversity are systemic inputs to the economy, not externalities to it. Ratings that reward genuine decarbonisation over well-written disclosure redirect capital toward companies actually reducing planetary risk, at the pace regulators and scientists say is required.
What a rating actually tells you
A SYNE Rating is a weighted judgement of genuine performance across four dimensions, discounted for how well the underlying data can be trusted. It tells you where a company stands today, how that compares across markets and sectors, and how confident you should be in the number itself.
What separates an ESG Rating from SYNE.
Four principles run through every rating we publish, from a first-time issuer to a repeat, multi-market mandate.
Scientific frameworks
Grounded in CSRD ESRS, the GHG Protocol, SBTi, GRI, TCFD and ISSB — not an internal checklist nobody outside SYNE can open.
Data quality, rated
The only ESG ratings organisation that independently scores data quality and assurance status as an explicit rating component.
Regulatory-grade independence
Operating under the EU ESG Ratings Regulation (ESMA 2023/2631) and the FCA Code of Conduct — methodology, conflicts and fees published.
The SYNE Index
Every rating includes a SYNE Index classification across two axes — because where a company stands matters as much as how it scores.
If any of these describe you, a rating is expected — not optional.
An independent ESG Rating has moved from a reputational extra to a practical requirement across a growing set of situations.
Investor-grade reporting
Mandatory or expected independent ESG assessment to satisfy investor-grade reporting standards.
Pre-listing valuation
An ESG Rating strengthens investor relations and ESG-linked valuation ahead of listing.
Sustainability-linked instruments
Third-party ESG Rating required or expected for green bond and sustainability-linked bond issuance.
Portfolio reporting obligations
Asset managers require verified ESG ratings on portfolio companies to meet SFDR reporting obligations.
One rating, many regimes
A single SYNE rating spans CSRD, SFDR, UK SDR and MAS Singapore — instead of separate assessments per market.
Exit due diligence
PE portfolio companies preparing for IPO or trade sale increasingly need an independent rating for buyer due diligence.
One score hides the story. Two axes tell it.
Most ratings compress performance and data credibility into a single letter. The SYNE Index keeps them separate — plotting every rated entity across scientific alignment and data quality & assurance to reveal which of four quadrants it actually occupies.
- Verified Leaders AA – AAA
- High scientific alignment, high data quality. Claims match evidence.
- Compliant, Not Aligned A – B
- Well-assured data, weak scientific substance behind it.
- Unverified Ambition B – C
- Strong claims, thin or unassured evidence behind them.
- Exposed C – D
- Low alignment, low data quality. Highest regulatory risk.
Six tiers, from exemplary to distressed.
The SYNE ESG Rating scale runs from AAA to D — reflecting the full spectrum of ESG performance. Each tier corresponds to a composite score range and a SYNE Index quadrant. Critically, no company can reach the top of the scale without also demonstrating adequate data quality and disclosure credibility — a performance claim without verified data cannot be rated AAA or AA.
Front Runner · Highest scientific alignment combined with the highest data quality.
Front Runner or Rising Star · Strong across most criteria, with only minor gaps.
Rising or Emerging Star · Material gaps identified and being actively addressed.
Emerging Star or Back Marker · Significant improvement needed across multiple criteria.
Back Marker · Fundamental gaps in performance, data, or both.
No material ESG evidence or data available for performance measurement.
Sector-relative and absolute
Scores are calibrated against absolute scientific benchmarks — like science-based emissions targets — and sector-relative performance, so companies are judged against what's achievable in their industry, not a universal standard that ignores sector context.
Trajectory matters as much as points
SYNE reports whether a company is improving, stable, or declining relative to its previous rating — trajectory is often more informative than a single-point score for assessing management commitment.
Every rating includes a pathway
Companies rated below AA receive a prioritised improvement pathway — actions ranked by expected score impact and feasibility. The pathway is confidential to the rated company by default.
100 weighted criteria. Four dimensions. One score.
Every ESG Rating is built from 100 individually weighted criteria spread across Environmental, Social, Governance and Economic dimensions — each aligned to scientific standards, regulatory requirements, and sector-specific materiality. SYNE calculates a weighted average across all 100: no single indicator can make or break a rating, but heavily-weighted dimensions like Governance move the overall score faster than isolated gaps elsewhere.
Environmental
Climate strategy, environmental management, and natural resource stewardship.
- Climate Strategy & Net-Zero Targets
- Environmental Policy & EMS
- Biodiversity Management
- Water Risk & Management
- Eco-efficiency & Resource Use
- Waste & Circular Economy
- Environmental Reporting Quality
Social
Labour standards, human capital strategy, and social value chain management.
- Labour Practices & Standards
- Human Capital Development
- Talent Attraction & Retention
- Whistleblowing & Ethics Culture
- Health & Safety Performance
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- Human Rights Due Diligence
Governance
Board integrity, transparency, and governance of sustainability commitments.
- Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption
- Tax Evasion & Transparency
- Board Structure & Composition
- Related Party Transactions
- Director Qualifications & Independence
- Compliance & Regulatory Governance
- Executive Remuneration & Incentives
- Shareholder Rights & Protections
- Audit Quality & Internal Controls
- Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Governance
Economic
Sustainability embedded in business model, risk, and value chain management.
- Corporate Governance Quality
- Risk & Crisis Management
- Tax Strategy & Transparency
- Innovation & R&D Management
- Supply Chain Management
- Customer Relations & Responsibility
- Business Model Resilience
Built for everyone with a stake in the answer.
An ESG Rating is a shared reference point — the same score means the same thing whether you're allocating capital, underwriting risk, or setting policy.
Investors
Screen, benchmark and construct portfolios on a comparable signal, and evidence ESG integration to clients and regulators.
Banking & Finance
Price ESG-linked loans, sustainability-linked bonds and credit risk with an independently verified, regulator-recognised rating.
Stock Exchanges
Set listing standards, run ESG-linked indices, and offer white-labelled rating programmes to issuers on the exchange.
Regulators
Benchmark market-wide disclosure quality and sustainability performance against consistent, published methodology.
Customers & Supply Chains
Select suppliers and partners with rated visibility into ESG performance across multi-tier supply chains.
Industry Associations
Benchmark sector-wide performance, set credible standards, and track member progress against common criteria.
The full ESG sustainability lifecycle, under one methodology.
From independent ratings and third-party assurance, to licensed ESG data and intelligence products that inform investment, risk, and regulatory decisions across 33 countries.
Independent Ratings
Company-level ESG ratings scored against CSRD ESRS, GHG Protocol, SBTi, GRI, TCFD and ISSB.
Third-Party Assurance
Independent verification of disclosed data, feeding directly into each rating's data quality score.
Licensed ESG Data
Underlying datasets licensed to investors, insurers, and risk teams for internal modelling.
Intelligence Products
Portfolio- and sector-level intelligence informing investment, risk, and regulatory decisions.
Rated in 33 countries, built for cross-border regulation.
ESG Ratings are constructed to remain legible across the regulatory regimes our clients operate under — the EU's CSRD, ESRS and SFDR; the UK's FCA-aligned disclosure regime; ISSB-aligned standards adopted across Asia-Pacific; and SEC climate-related disclosure rules where applicable.
View the full country list →Each mark represents active coverage in one jurisdiction
Everything a regulator can ask for, already public.
Under the EU ESG Ratings Regulation and the FCA Code of Conduct, ratings providers are expected to disclose how they work and how they're paid. SYNE publishes these documents by default.
Regulatory-grade independence
SYNE Ratings operates under the EU ESG Ratings Regulation (ESMA 2023/2631) and the FCA Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings Providers. No commercial relationship between SYNE Ratings and a rated company influences the outcome.
Scientific standards referenced
Every rating is grounded in internationally recognised, independently verifiable frameworks — not an internal SYNE checklist.
Methodology, conflict of interest policy, and fee structure are published documents — available on request as part of the SYNE Ratings regulatory disclosure pack, and referenced in every ratings report we issue.
An ESG Rating is not an ESG report.
A report is what a company says about itself. A rating is what an independent third party verifies.
Independent, not self-reported
A rating is produced by a regulated ratings organisation, not the company. SYNE cross-references disclosures against primary sources and scores independently — reflecting verified performance, not self-presentation.
8–12 weeks, start to publication
Standard engagements run 8–12 weeks from data submission to final rating. Expedited ratings (5–7 weeks) are available for IPO timelines. Scoping and fees within 5 business days.
No pay-for-rating influence
Companies review the draft rating once for factual accuracy only. The final decision rests with SYNE's analysts. Fees and commercial relationships have no bearing on the outcome.
Private or public, by design
Companies can commission a rating privately — for internal benchmarking or board reporting — before choosing to publish. Public ratings require explicit consent and remain published once distributed.
Built for thin disclosure history
Sectors with limited ESG disclosure get a baseline assessment from available data, with clear notation where criteria couldn't be independently cross-verified.
Recognised across markets
Operating under ESMA and FCA codes of conduct. Used by asset managers, pension funds and DFIs under SFDR, UK Stewardship Code and MAS guidelines, and accepted by major ESG data platforms.
The rest of the SYNE ratings family.
ESG Ratings sits alongside a wider set of rating, data and advisory products built on the same methodology.
See where your organisation would rate.
Talk to our team about an ESG Rating, or request a walkthrough of the SYNE Index for your sector.