On Thursday morning S&P Global dropped abombshell.

And that’s important. S&P Global is the promoter of what many people still refer to as the DJSI.

OK, so why is it a bombshell? Is it because a question-by-question scorecard is to be generated for companies?

No. It is because:

“Once companies have had an opportunity to familiarize themselves with their scores at question level, S&P Global plans to provide the capital market with increased insight into question-level scores.”

Investors are going to be able to access companies’ question-level scores. They will be able to use them in making investment decisions. That development reflects the exponentially growing demand for ESG data. For real, gritty ESG data. That is what the market wants.

So, while the news landed like a bombshell, on inspection it turns out to be a benign one.

Companies should seize the opportunity this development offers!

It opens a treasure trove showing where a company’s strengths and weaknesses are.

Get down there in the detail! Share the detail with the issue owners who provided the information! Get improvement plans in place to plug the gaps!

These actions will assist not just with the DJSI. Over time they will help improve the scores in other investor-facing indices.

I have been helping companies respond to the annual questionnaire since DJSI was launched. Corporate Citizenship helps dozens of companies respond each year.

This is the most important development in that 20 plus years’ history.

Get in there. Analyse the new detailed scorecard. Use it to improve your on-the-ground performance. It’s a splendid opportunity. Use it.