Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) has secured an ESG score of 90 out of 100 from S&P Global, the highest globally in the utilities sector, following its latest Media and Stakeholder Analysis (MSA) review announced on 1 September 2026. The score places the Indian company at the top of the world ranking for utilities, well above the global industry average of 41. The upgrade from its previous score of 81 reflects a correction in the governance assessment and a strong disclosure-based performance across environmental, social and governance parameters.
What Is ESG and What Does an ESG Score Mean?
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is a framework used to measure how responsibly a company manages its impact on the environment and society and how well it is governed, beyond its financial results. The environmental pillar looks at factors such as carbon emissions, energy use, water management and climate strategy. The social pillar covers labour practices, occupational health and safety, human capital development, diversity and community relations. The governance pillar examines board effectiveness, business ethics, risk management, transparency and shareholder rights.
An ESG score is a numeric rating, typically on a scale of 0 to 100, that summarises a company’s performance on these material risks and opportunities compared with peers in the same industry. A higher score indicates stronger management of ESG risks and better disclosure. In general, a score above 70 is considered strong, above 80 is considered excellent, and scores around 40 to 50 reflect the average for many sectors. The score is used by investors, lenders and regulators to compare sustainability performance, price risk and allocate capital.
An ESG rating and an ESG score are closely related but not identical. The score is the underlying numeric result, while the rating often places that score into a category or letter band. Other providers use different scales, for example MSCI uses AAA to CCC and Sustainalytics uses a risk score where lower is better. For S&P Global, the ESG score itself is the primary output. Another distinction is between an ESG risk score, which measures unmanaged risk exposure, and a disclosure score, which measures how much information a company reveals. S&P Global’s approach combines both performance and disclosure.
How Does S&P Global Calculate ESG Scores?
S&P Global, headquartered in New York, United States, is a leading financial information and analytics provider. Its ESG evaluation is built on the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), an annual assessment of company sustainability performance that invites companies worldwide to disclose detailed information. S&P Global ESG Scores measure a company’s performance on and management of material ESG risks, opportunities and impacts compared with peers in the same industry.
Each company answers industry-specific questionnaires covering dozens of criteria across the three ESG dimensions. Every question is scored from 0 to 100 and given a pre-defined weight within its criterion, and each criterion is weighted within its dimension. The weighted scores are then aggregated into dimension scores and finally into a total S&P Global ESG Score ranging from 0 to 100, with 100 being the best. Where a company does not disclose data, a modelling approach fills gaps by using peer performance and related disclosure levels, except for deductions linked to controversies, which are never modelled.
Understanding CSA and Media and Stakeholder Analysis
The Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) Score is the disclosure-based score that results directly from the questionnaire responses and public information. The Media and Stakeholder Analysis (MSA) is an additional overlay that monitors controversies on an ongoing basis for more than 20,000 companies. It tracks issues such as environmental violations, labour disputes, human rights concerns, product issues, data breaches and governance failures. The MSA uses 39 thematic tags mapped to United Nations Global Compact principles and Sustainable Development Goals.
If an MSA case is confirmed, S&P Global may adjust the company’s score downward. The adjustment depends on the severity of the impact, described as Minor, Medium, Major or Severe, and on the company’s response. The impact is applied at the criterion level through a multiplier, which then lowers the dimension and total ESG scores. Without any MSA cases, the criterion score remains unchanged. MSA cases typically depreciate over subsequent assessment cycles if no new updates occur. The AESL upgrade from 81 to 90 followed the correction of a governance-related MSA assessment that had previously lowered its score. Its disclosure-based CSA score also rose by 17 points year on year to 90, indicating improved reporting quality.
Adani Energy Solutions Secures Global Top Rank with Score of 90
On 1 September 2026 in Ahmedabad, Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) announced that it had attained an ESG Score of 90 out of 100 in the latest S&P Global review, placing it at the top of the global Utilities sector. The sector includes companies involved in electric power transmission and distribution, water, gas and multi-utilities. With an industry average of 41, AESL’s score more than doubles the peer benchmark and positions it as the world’s highest ESG-scored utility.
The performance was broad-based across all three dimensions. AESL recorded 93 in Environmental, 89 in Social and 84 in Governance and Economic. Key drivers cited were Product Stewardship, Climate Strategy and Human Capital Management. Product stewardship in this context refers to managing the environmental and safety impact of products and services across their lifecycle, while climate strategy covers targets and actions for emissions reduction and adaptation.
Kandarp Patel, Chief Executive Officer of AESL, said the recognition was a proud milestone and validation of the company’s commitment to sustainable growth, noting that sustainability is integrated into everyday decision making and crediting teams across the organisation for strengthening environmental performance, social impact, governance standards and disclosure practices.
| Dimension | AESL Score | Sector Context |
|---|---|---|
| Overall ESG Score | 90 out of 100 | Global highest in Utilities, average is 41 |
| Environmental | 93 | Well above sector average, reflects climate and product stewardship |
| Social | 89 | Reflects human capital and safety management |
| Governance and Economic | 84 | Improved after correction of governance MSA assessment |
| CSA Score (disclosure-based) | 90 | Up 17 points year on year |
Before the review, AESL’s ESG score stood at 81. The company said the previous governance-related assessment had been impacted and its correction led to the sharp enhancement. The result applies at the issuer level for AESL and is published through S&P Global’s ESG Score platform and accessible on S&P Capital IQ Pro.
About Adani Energy Solutions Ltd: Business Scale and Reach
Adani Energy Solutions Ltd, formerly known as Adani Transmission Ltd until its renaming on 27 July 2023, is part of the Adani Group and operates as India’s largest private transmission and distribution company. It is headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and is listed on Indian stock exchanges. The Managing Director is Anil Sardana and the Chief Executive Officer is Kandarp Patel.
The company operates across four verticals: power transmission, power distribution, smart metering and cooling solutions. As of 2026, its cumulative transmission network spans about 29,739 circuit kilometres (ckm) with a transformation capacity of 1,43,425 MVA, spread across 16 states. Network availability is reported at 99.7 percent. In distribution, AESL serves more than 12 million consumers, including about 13 million consumers in metropolitan Mumbai and the Mundra Special Economic Zone (SEZ) through Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd (AEML) and MPSEZ Utilities Ltd (MUL).
AESL is also India’s largest smart metering integrator. Under the Government of India’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), which aims to replace about 25 crore conventional meters with smart meters and reduce aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses to 12 to 15 percent and the gap between average cost of supply and average revenue realised (ACS-ARR) to zero, AESL has built an order book of more than 2.28 crore smart meters as of March 2025, expanding to about 2.46 crore by March 2026, with contracts across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Uttarakhand. Its market share in awarded smart meter contracts is about 17 percent, with revenue potential estimated at ₹27,195 crore to ₹30,000 crore. The company installs and maintains meters under the Design Build Finance Own Operate Transfer (DBFOOT) model, providing hardware, communication networks, cloud infrastructure and data management through Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).
In cooling, AESL provides Cooling as a Service (CaaS) for commercial, industrial and mixed-use real estate, data centres and airports, building more than 52,000 tonnes of refrigeration (TR) capacity. The company has set a target to expand its transmission network to 30,000 ckm by 2030 and to raise the renewable share in AEML’s power mix to 60 percent by FY 2026-27 from about 35.2 percent, consistent with its water positive, single-use plastic free and zero waste to landfill certifications.
Why ESG Performance Matters: Benchmarks, Investors and Regulation
A high ESG score matters for three reasons. First, it signals lower sustainability risk to global investors who allocate capital through ESG funds and indices such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), which is powered by S&P Global CSA scores. Second, many lenders now link loan pricing to sustainability outcomes. Third, regulators in India and abroad are making ESG disclosure mandatory, so strong reporting creates a competitive advantage. Companies with higher scores typically enjoy better access to low cost, long tenor capital, stronger stakeholder trust and higher valuation multiples.
For the utilities sector, which is central to decarbonisation, environmental performance carries especially high weight. Weightings vary by industry, but for utilities, criteria such as climate strategy, operational eco-efficiency, water use and product stewardship receive higher importance than in less resource intensive sectors. AESL’s environmental score of 93 therefore reflects strong handling of the most material risks for its industry.
ESG Reporting in India: SEBI and the BRSR Framework
In India, ESG reporting is governed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), established in 1988 and given statutory powers through the SEBI Act, 1992, headquartered in Mumbai. SEBI introduced the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework in May 2021, based on the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC) issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. BRSR replaced the earlier Business Responsibility Report and became mandatory from FY 2022-23 for the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation.
BRSR requires disclosures across about 140 indicators structured into three sections: general disclosures, management and process disclosures, and principle-wise performance mapped to nine NGRBC principles. SEBI later introduced BRSR Core in July 2023, a subset of key performance indicators covering nine ESG attributes such as greenhouse gas footprint, water footprint, energy footprint, circularity, employee wellbeing, gender diversity, inclusive development and openness of business, which require reasonable assurance by a third party. BRSR Core assurance began for the top 150 companies from FY 2023-24 and will expand to the top 1,000. Reports are filed as part of annual reports and made publicly available before the annual general meeting.
ESG vs CSR: How the Two Differ
ESG and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are often confused but they serve different purposes.
| Aspect | ESG | CSR |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Measurable management of material risks and opportunities for investors | Voluntary contribution to social good and philanthropy |
| Audience | Primarily investors, lenders and regulators | Primarily communities and broader stakeholders |
| Assessment | Quantitative scores, weightings and benchmarks by sector | Often qualitative narratives of activities |
| Regulation in India | BRSR disclosure mandated by SEBI for top 1,000 listed firms | Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 mandates CSR spending for companies meeting profit, turnover or net worth thresholds |
| Link to Finance | Directly influences cost of capital, index inclusion and fund allocation | Less directly linked to financial pricing, more reputational |
Similarly, sustainability is a broader goal of meeting present needs without compromising future generations, while ESG is the measurable toolkit used to track progress toward that goal.
In India, disclosure through BRSR is mandatory for large listed entities, and BRSR Core assurance is mandatory for the largest among them. For smaller listed firms, banks and unlisted companies, ESG reporting remains voluntary, though market pressure from supply chains and global investors is steadily extending its reach.
Significance for India’s Power and Utilities Sector
India’s power sector is undergoing rapid transformation as it balances energy security, affordability and decarbonisation. AESL topping the global ESG ranking is significant for several reasons. It demonstrates that an Indian private utility can lead on international sustainability benchmarks, improving the sector’s credibility with foreign institutional investors at a time when global capital is increasingly screened for ESG compliance.
The achievement also aligns with India’s distribution reform push. Smart metering, high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission and reduction of AT&C losses are central to financial viability of distribution companies. Strong governance and transparency, reflected in the governance score of 84, support the ability to raise funds for such capital intensive projects. AESL reported raising ₹8,373 crore through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), the largest in the Indian power sector, and holds investment grade ratings of BBB minus and Baa3 for access to low cost capital.
For consumers and the broader economy, better ESG performance in utilities translates into more reliable supply, integration of renewable energy and improved grid efficiency. For peers, it sets a benchmark for disclosure quality, climate strategy and human capital practices. Maintaining the top position will require consistent performance across assessment cycles, as S&P Global updates scores annually and MSA monitoring continues on an ongoing basis.
Key Takeaways
- Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) secured an ESG score of 90 out of 100 from S&P Global, the highest globally in the Utilities sector, announced on 1 September 2026.
- The score far exceeds the global industry average of 41 and marks a rise from 81 after correction of a governance-related Media and Stakeholder Analysis (MSA) assessment.
- Dimension scores were Environmental 93, Social 89 and Governance and Economic 84, driven by Product Stewardship, Climate Strategy and Human Capital Management.
- The disclosure-based Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) score also rose by 17 points year on year to 90.
- AESL, part of the Adani Group and formerly Adani Transmission Ltd until July 2023, operates 29,739 ckm of transmission network across 16 states and serves more than 12 million consumers in Mumbai and Mundra.
- In India, SEBI mandates Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) for the top 1,000 listed companies from FY 2022-23, with BRSR Core assurance for the top 150 from FY 2023-24.
