Sustainability Ratings: Theory and Institutional Development

The article examines the theoretical and institutional aspects of development of sustainability ratings under the growing regulatory pressure on non-financial reporting. The object of the study is the international and national approaches to the development of the rating methodologies, while the tasks include systematising the theoretical foundations of rating agencies’ approaches and identifying the key directions of their institutional evolution. As a result, the study reveals factors underlying the methodological fragmentation of the sustainability rating market, including the diversity of criteria, differences in scoring scales, and the absence of unified reliability standards. The (authors of the) research demonstrated that the given sustainability ratings function as a mechanism for reducing information asymmetry and serve as signals of companies’ non-financial risks; however, their interpretation is complicated due to the lack of methodological comparability. The study substantiates the need to transition to a regulatory model that ensures transparency, comparability, and verifiability of the ratings. The practical implication of the study lies in establishing a foundation for the development of a national regulatory system for the sustainability rating market and for improving the quality of non-financial information for stakeholders. The study may be of interest for national regulators, professional communities, as well as for investors and financial market participants.