Advisory and Consulting built to get you ready before the rating happens.
SYNE's Advisory and Consulting practice helps organisations prepare for an upcoming rating, close specific gaps identified in a past one, and build the internal capability to sustain performance year over year - using the same criteria and methodology our own analysts rate against.
From a first gap analysis to a board-ready action plan.
SYNE's Advisory and Consulting combines readiness assessment, disclosure support, peer benchmarking and remediation roadmapping into one engagement - built for anyone who needs to move a rating, not just understand it.
Ratings Readiness Assessment
Gap analysis against the specific criteria a chosen SYNE Rating will apply, before you commission it.
Disclosure Strategy & Drafting Support
Structure and draft ESG, sustainability or carbon disclosures ready for external review.
Peer Benchmarking
Compare current performance against sector and regional peers on the SYNE Index.
Governance & Board Advisory
Advise boards and audit committees on ESG governance structures and oversight responsibilities.
Remediation Roadmapping
A prioritised, sequenced action plan ranked by expected rating impact and feasibility.
Post-Rating Improvement Support
Work through a published rating's improvement pathway toward the next review cycle.
Four stages, from gap to improvement.
Every advisory engagement moves through the same four stages - Assess, Benchmark, Plan and Improve - so a low rating or a first-time readiness question always resolves into a specific, sequenced set of actions.
Assess
Understanding exactly where the gaps are before proposing anything.
- Criteria-Level Gap Analysis
- Data Quality Review
- Governance & Disclosure Audit
- Materiality Assessment
Benchmark
Understanding what good actually looks like for a comparable peer set.
- Sector & Regional Peer Comparison
- SYNE Index Positioning
- Historical Trend Analysis
- Best-Practice Case Studies
Plan
Turning gaps and benchmarks into a sequenced, ownable plan.
- Prioritised Action Roadmap
- Capital & Resource Sequencing
- Ownership & Timeline Assignment
- Target Rating Scenario Modelling
Improve
Staying engaged through delivery, not just handing over a report.
- Implementation Support
- Interim Progress Reviews
- Disclosure Drafting Support
- Pre-Rating Readiness Check
From a first conversation to a measurable rating outcome.
Most engagements move through the same four stages, whether the goal is first-time readiness or improving an existing rating.
Gap Analysis
Score current performance against the exact criteria the target SYNE Rating will apply.
Peer Positioning
Compare results against sector and regional peers already positioned on the SYNE Index.
Prioritised Roadmap
Sequence actions by expected rating impact, cost and feasibility, with clear ownership.
Implementation & Readiness Check
Support delivery of the roadmap and run a final readiness check ahead of the next rating cycle.
Built for anyone who has to move a number, not just explain it.
Most organisations don't need to be told their rating is low - they need to know exactly which gaps to close first, and in what order.
Companies Preparing for a First Rating
Understand exactly what a rating will assess before committing to the engagement.
Companies Improving an Existing Rating
Work through a published improvement pathway with support, not just a list of gaps.
Boards & Audit Committees
Get independent advice on governance structures without ceding oversight to the rating team itself.
Private Equity Portfolio Companies
Build ESG and carbon readiness ahead of an exit or LP reporting deadline.
Investor Relations Teams
Prepare a clear, evidence-based narrative for investors ahead of a rating being published.
Public Sector Entities
Prepare for a Sustainability Rating for Governments with the same structured readiness support.
Most low ratings come from fixable gaps, not fundamental failure.
A B-grade rating rarely means an organisation's underlying performance is fundamentally weak - far more often it reflects a handful of specific, identifiable gaps in governance, data quality, or disclosure that were never systematically addressed. Finding out which gaps those are during an expensive, public re-rating cycle is the costliest way to learn it.
Why low ratings are usually specific, not systemic
A handful of concrete gaps in disclosure, governance or data quality typically explain most of the distance to the next grade band.
What it means for cost and time
Finding gaps before a rating is commissioned is materially cheaper than finding them in a published report a client or investor has already seen.
What it means for prioritisation
Not every gap moves the rating equally - knowing which ones carry the most weight prevents effort being spent on the wrong fixes.
What advisory actually delivers
A specific, ranked, sequenced plan tied directly to rating criteria - not generic best-practice advice with no connection to the actual score.
What separates SYNE advisory from generic best-practice consulting.
Four principles run through every engagement, from a single readiness check to a multi-year improvement programme.
Same criteria as the rating itself
Advice is scoped directly against the 80-criteria frameworks used in the target SYNE Rating - never generic ESG guidance.
Structurally firewalled from ratings
SYNE's advisory teams are separate from the analysts who ultimately issue a client's rating, with disclosed conflict safeguards.
Benchmarked on real peer data
Peer comparisons draw on the actual SYNE Index, not a curated sample chosen to flatter the result.
Ranked by rating impact
Every recommended action is ranked by its expected effect on the rating outcome, not by generic best-practice appeal.
Advisory helps you improve. A rating judges the result.
The two are structurally separate at SYNE - an advisory engagement never has any bearing on the outcome of a related rating.
Support, not a judgement
Advisory work helps close identified gaps - it doesn't produce or influence an AAA–D grade for the organisation involved.
Structurally firewalled
Advisory analysts and rating analysts operate under a disclosed conflict-of-interest policy, even for the same client.
Private by default, always
Readiness assessments and roadmaps are prepared for internal use and are never published without the client's request.
2–8 weeks, scoped to engagement type
A focused readiness assessment can complete in 2–3 weeks; a full remediation roadmap typically runs 6–8 weeks.
Feeds directly into a future rating
Improvements made through advisory work are exactly what a subsequent SYNE Rating will independently assess.
Used ahead of every SYNE product
Referenced by organisations preparing for ESG, Sustainability, Carbon and Supplier Ratings, and government ratings alike.
Advisory delivered across 71 licensed countries.
SYNE's advisory teams operate across every jurisdiction we're licensed in, drawing on local regulatory context alongside the same global methodology used in every SYNE Rating.
View the full country list →Each mark represents active coverage in one jurisdiction
The ratings and services this advisory work prepares you for.
Advisory and Consulting sits ahead of SYNE's rating products, and alongside the rest of SYNE's assurance and research services.
Get ready for your next rating cycle.
Talk to our team about a readiness assessment, a remediation roadmap, or ongoing improvement support.