Methodology in detail

In 2025 we introduced our advanced ratings system. See About the ratings for a basic description of our methodology, or read on for a more in-depth account of how our ratings are calculated:

Rules for calculating ratings

Each company is given a total numerical score, which is calculated by adding up praises and criticisms for a company, including companies up the ownership tree.

Each assessment subcategory (e.g., climate change, workers' rights) has a maximum score range of +/- 3 points.

	Full praise	2			Full criticism	-2
	Lesser praise	1			Lesser criticism	-1
	Minor praise	0			Minor criticism	0
	Neutral	0			Boycott call	F

The overall rating is then calculated using the following rules.

* annual revenue exceeding US$1 billion counts as a minor criticism

This points system has the following overrides/exceptions:

> Any neutral limits potential rating to A-
> Any minor criticism limits potential rating to B+
> Any full or lesser criticism limits potential rating to C+
> Any boycott call limits potential rating to F
> No full or lesser praises or criticisms but a neutral is rated C
> No full or lesser praises or criticisms but a minor criticism is rated C-
> Companies with 3 or 4 points, a minor criticism, but no full or lesser criticisms are rated B
> Companies with 2 points, a minor criticism, but no full or lesser criticisms are rated B-