The origins of this problem lie in the fact that there is still no developed framework to regulate the process of assessingthe sustainable development of companies. However, more and more international actors are becoming involved inthis issue in order to increase confidence in the assessments of ESG rating providers. For example, codes of conductfor data and ESG ratings providers1 have already been issued by the United Kingdom (UK), the European Union(EU), India, and Japan. The Central Bank of Russia also issued an information letter on the regulation of the activitiesof ESG rating providers in the summer of 2023.This article studies the problem of ESG ratingsʼ divergence and determines ways to solve it through the developmentof regulatory control. It also studies the main trends in the legislative regulation of this institution in order toimplement them into the Russian regulatory framework.
In this regard, an analysis of work by Russian and foreign researchers devoted to the study of differences inESG ratings was carried out; additionally, the main approaches of international organizations and legislative bodiesof Russia and other countries in the sphere of regulating ESG information providers and mandatory non-financialreporting of companies were studied. The main problems affecting the reduction of ESG data correlation are identified,solutions for them are proposed, and the key trends in improving the comparability of ESG ratings by internationalactors are noted. The comparative legal method was used in the study.The analysis shows that international actors resolve the problem of divergence by increasing their interpretability,but not through strict regulation. They propose to develop basic recommendations regarding methodologies,evaluation criteria, and weighting factors, while at the same time consolidating the responsibility of ESG rating agenciesto disclose their methodology, the terminology used, and their rating definitions. The task is to create harmonizedstandards for, and transparency of, the ESG assessment process.

The article was prepared as part of the research work of the state task of the RANEPA

This article was submitted 25.05.2023