As expectations from customers, regulators, investors and other stakeholders continue to grow, organisations increasingly need credible ways to demonstrate how they manage ESG risks and opportunities.

What is an ESG Recognition?

With growing expectations from customers, regulators, investors and other stakeholders, organizations increasingly need credible ways to demonstrate how ESG risk and opportunities are managed.

DNV's ESG Recognition confirms that an organisation operates eligible certified management systems that support its ESG commitments across all three dimensions. It is not an assessment or rating of an organisation's ESG performance. To qualify, a company must, as a minimum, be certified to ISO 14001 for Environmental Management in the environmental dimension, ISO 45001 for Occupational Health and Safety Management in the social dimension, and ISO 9001 for Quality Management in the governance dimension.

Anyone can instantly verify the validity of the ESG Recognition and the management system certifications it holds on DNV’s secure online checker.

Why an ESG Recognition?

Your certified management systems are valuable tools for managing risks and driving continual improvement. Bringing these certifications together under an ESG Recognition helps you to:

Share what you do

Connect existing management systems to your ESG commitments 

Build stakeholder trust

Show that you take a structured and systematic approach to managing risks and improving performance.

Share with credibility

Provide transparent, traceable evidence that can be independently verified by anyone.

Benefit now

ESG Recognition is awarded at no additional cost to eligible DNV customers.

Closeup of team members examine ESG-related documents

The value of management systems

Organisations today must understand and manage a wide range of environmental, social and governance topics, many of which are interconnected across their operations and value chains.

Whether addressing emissions, energy use and waste; health and safety, social responsibility and ethical conduct; or quality, cybersecurity and business continuity, all require a structured and systematic approach.

Management systems certified to internationally recognised standards provide a proven framework for managing these issues and achieving business objectives.

Certified management systems help organisations:

  • Understand context and stakeholder expectations
  • Identify risks and opportunities
  • Establish objectives and commitments
  • Translate ambitions into measurable actions
  • Monitor performance
  • Drive continual improvement

In this way, certified management systems help organisations translate ESG commitments into measurable actions, monitor progress against objectives, and drive continual improvement in performance. 

ESG Recognition - FAQ

  • DNV’s ESG Recognition confirms that an organisation operates eligible certified management systems across each of the ESG dimensions, supporting its environmental, social and governance commitments. It brings together an overview of the organisation’s DNV-certified management systems into a single, traceable ESG Recognition.

  • No. ESG Recognition is not a verification or assessment of an organisation’s overall ESG performance against a specific ESG framework, methodology or set of metrics. Instead, it confirms the certified management systems the organisation operates to support its ESG commitments.

  • To qualify for DNV’s ESG Recognition, an organisation must operate at least one eligible certified management system within each ESG dimension. As a minimum, valid DNV-issued certifications to ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 9001 are required. Additional eligible management system certifications may also be included, providing a more complete overview of the organisation’s certified management systems.

  • Each ESG Recognition includes a QR code linking to DNV’s secure online certificate checker. This allows anyone to view a digital version of the current recognition, confirm its validity and verify the certifications included within it.

  • An ESG Recognition remains valid for as long as the organisation continues to meet the stated eligibility criteria. Up-to-date information on its status and validity is always available through DNV’s secure online certificate checker. 

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