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Academic Research

Review of Finance (Berg, Kölbel & Rigobon)

Landmark 2022 study decomposing ESG rating divergence into measurement (56%), scope (38%), and weighting (6%).

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Peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press. The Berg, Kölbel, and Rigobon paper 'Aggregate Confusion: The Divergence of ESG Ratings' is the definitive empirical decomposition of why major ESG providers disagree.

What they provide

  • Peer-reviewed empirical decomposition of ESG rating divergence
  • Correlation matrices across MSCI, Sustainalytics, Refinitiv, Asset4
  • Methodology for isolating measurement vs. scope vs. weighting effects

Institutional use cases

  • Understanding structural drivers of ESG score gaps
  • Framing multi-provider ESG integration strategy
  • Setting expectations for rating convergence over time

Referenced in

ESG Ratings

Why ESG Scores Diverge: Understanding the Gap Between MSCI and Sustainalytics

Related sources

Academic Research

ScienceDirect (Elsevier)

Peer-reviewed finance and sustainability research including ESG rating disagreement studies.