ESG ratings, either in the form of opinions, scores or a combination of both, express a rating provider’s value judgement of a rated item and are prepared based on an established methodology and a defined ranking system of rating categories. 

The defined ranking system reflects the rating provider’s value judgement in an ordinal or hierarchical structure and comprises two or more pre-determined rating categories, including the minimum and maximum levels, enabling consistent comparison across rated items. The rating categories can be represented by numbers, letters, colours or other symbols.