As previously seen on the CSRHub blog.
Archimedes said, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” At CSRHub, our new ESG Lever tool helps the 60,000 entities we track build a better, more sustainable world.
Too Much Data, Not Enough Clarity
For 16 years, CSRHub has delivered consensus ESG ratings across 12 sustainability topics. Our users rely on this data to benchmark against peers. But with so many sources, one problem remained: too much information, not enough signal and direction.
From Data Overload to Clear Priorities
The ESG Lever transforms the noise into focus. Each company gets a quadrant chart showing their data source stakeholders with:
- High Influence + Below Average Ratings → Priority Fix
- High Influence + Above Average Ratings → Key Advocates
- Low Influence + Below Average Ratings → Low-Impact Risks
- Low Influence + Above Average Ratings → Supportive but Limited Reach
For Walmart, 91 sources contribute to its ESG perception and ratings — but only 16 truly move the needle. The ESG Lever makes it obvious for a specific company which data sources have the most significant impact on ratings.
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Smart Filters That Matter
Want to see just investor analysts’ ESG view? Or filter NGOs vs. Wall Street? The ESG Lever lets you slice by source type, trend direction, or timeframe.
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In Walmart’s case, seven investor analyst sources such as MSCI ESG Controversies both carry high influence (weight) and below average ratings pulling the scores down. The ESG Lever flags these as Priority Fixes — giving managers a clear roadmap for engagement.
Drill Down Into What Counts
The ESG Lever doesn’t stop at data source names. You can drill down into topics like Diversity & Labor Rights to see who’s influencing the narrative and how it’s changing. You can drill down into the data source’s data elements that are influencing the subcategory scores to understand what indicators to improve.
This transparency shows not just where you stand, but how you’re moving and where to focus.
Why Lever Works
By organizing ESG data into clear priorities, the ESG Lever helps you:
- Strengthen relationships with high-impact stakeholders and advocates.
- Fix the problem areas holding you back.
- Track progress over time with clarity.
Just as Archimedes promised, with the right lever, you can move the world.
About CSRHub
CSRHub offers the most comprehensive global set of expert consensus sustainability ratings, information, and tools. Clients use CSRHub’s decisive data platform for global benchmarking, supply and value chain risk assessment and compliance readiness solutions. Founded in 2007, CSRHub covers nearly 60,000 public and private companies, and provides ESG performance scores on 42,000 companies from 134 industries in 158 countries. Our Big Data platform uses algorithms to aggregate, normalize and weight ESG metrics from 1,000 sources to produce a strong consensus signal on corporate sustainability performance.
