# What do ESG Ratings for Large Companies Really Convey?

Center for Sustainable Business

September 10, 2021 ![Amazon workers in warehouse](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/Amazon%20article%20image_1.png?itok=CjtgLPEv)
Amazon is the second-largest employer in the U.S., but has its focus on financial outlooks made them neglect the existing workplace issues within? In CNBC’s article, "[Amazon’s biggest, hardest-to-solve ESG issue may be its own workers](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/29/amazons-biggest-hardest-to-solve-esg-issue-may-be-its-own-workers.html)," the author comments that worker safety is an often overlooked element of ESG, and it is one of Amazon’s biggest, hardest-to-solve issues.

CSB Director [Tensie Whelan](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/about/departments-centers-initiatives/centers-of-research/center-sustainable-business/about-csb/our-team/about-tensie-whelan) adds that even within one ESG category, such as worker wellbeing, ratings have many different components; for example, even if Amazon scores low on worker safety, the company’s overall worker wellbeing score may still be decent because of other factors such as pay and benefits.

Excerpt: “One of the challenges with company ESG ratings is that they factor in a wide variety of metrics and aggregate them into an overall score.”