ESG scores, which stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance scores, are a crucial metric used by investors and organizations to assess a company’s sustainability and ethical practices. These scores provide valuable insights into a company’s performance in three key areas:

  • Environmental (E): The environmental component evaluates a company’s impact on the planet and its efforts to mitigate environmental risks. It includes factors like carbon emissions, energy efficiency, water management, and waste reduction. A high environmental score indicates a company’s commitment to eco-friendly practices and reducing its ecological footprint.
  • Social (S): The social component focuses on how a company interacts with its employees, customers, suppliers, and the communities in which it operates. Key factors in the social score include labor practices, diversity and inclusion, human rights, product safety, and community engagement. A strong social score reflects a company’s dedication to fostering positive relationships and contributing positively to society.
  • Governance (G): Governance examines a company’s internal structures, policies, and leadership. It assesses aspects such as board independence, executive compensation, transparency, and the presence of anti-corruption measures. A high governance score signifies strong leadership and a commitment to maintaining high ethical standards and accountability

ESG scores provide investors with a holistic view of a company’s sustainability and ethical practices, allowing them to make more informed investment decisions. These scores are increasingly used to identify socially responsible investments and guide capital towards companies that prioritize long-term sustainability and responsible business practices. As the importance of ESG considerations continues to grow, companies are motivated to improve their ESG scores, not only for ethical reasons but also to attract investors who value sustainable and responsible business practices.

Also known as: environmental social governance, sustainability, ESG rating.

ESG Scores in Python or via the MCP

Install the Finance Toolkit with:

pip install financetoolkit -U

Then call get_esg_scores as shown below.

from financetoolkit import Toolkit

toolkit = Toolkit(
    ["XOM", "SHEL", "BP"],
    api_key="FINANCIAL_MODELING_PREP_KEY",
    start_date="2021-01-01",
    end_date="2025-12-31",
)

toolkit.get_esg_scores(show_columns=["ESG Score"])

Or, after setting up the Finance Toolkit MCP, ask:

How did the ESG scores of ExxonMobil, Shell and BP develop from 2021 to 2025?

Which returns:

date (‘ESG Score’, ‘XOM’) (‘ESG Score’, ‘SHEL’) (‘ESG Score’, ‘BP’)
2021 66.43 nan 66.14
2022 68.75 65.39 67.54
2023 69.98 60.49 70.49
2024 68 64.17 62.26
2025 68.75 61.74 64.47

Parameters

get_esg_scores accepts the following parameters.

ParameterTypeDescriptionExample
overwriteboolDefines whether to overwrite the existing data. Defaults to False.True
roundingintDefines the number of decimal places to round the data to. Defaults to None, which uses the rounding of the Toolkit (4 unless set otherwise).2
show_columnslist[str] | NoneA list of column names to keep in the result. Invalid names are reported and ignored. Defaults to None, which keeps every column.["Environmental Score", "ESG Score"]
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