Company Information from the Company Itself
Company's web site: Start with the company’s web site; look for Investor Relations, About the Company, etc. There may be a CEO message, or you can also find mission statements, values, financial information, and other information to help you analyze the company’s strategies.
EDGAR the web site of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the US, public companies must file information with the SEC. A 10-K is the annual filing a company must make. Type your company name or Ticker symbol into Company and Person Lookup and select your company from the list.
Company Information from Outside Sources
- Gale Business Insights: Global
Detailed company and industry profiles including SWOT reports, market share reports, and financial reports. Thousands of company histories and industry essays from Gale's core business collection. Case studies, scholarly journals, and business news for deep research coverage of global economies. - ProQuest One Business
A comprehensive business database containing millions of full-text items across scholarly and popular periodicals, newspapers, market research reports, dissertations, books, videos and more. Includes the full text of the Wall Street Journal. Formerly called ABI/INFORM Collection
Company Rankings
- CSRHubThe free information on this site is a ranking for each company, along with a chart that compares the company's corporate social responsibility efforts with the industry at large.
- KnowESGProvides ESG ratings for companies based on scores from three rating companies: Sustainalytics, MSCII, and Refinitiv. Also includes sustainability news for each company.
- KnowTheChainProvides rankings of individual companies, and competitors within industries, on labor rights and worker issues.
- S&P Global ESG ScoresESG scores based on the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), along with publicly available sustainability information.
ESG, Sustainability, and Corporate Social Responsibility
First, what is ESG, and what does it stand for?
E is Environmental
S is Social
G is Governance
For a longer explanation, see What is ESG? Definition and Meaning
And another explanation from Investopedia, with a short video
How can you find out about a company's ESG ratings, corporate responsibility, and sustainability information?
- Mergent Online
To find ESG for companies, follow these steps:
1. Log on to Mergent Online, and click the Industry Analysis tab.
2. Click the Reports tab
3. Click on the ESG tab on the right side of the screen
4. Download the report for your industry (note, these are large industry categories, so if you are not sure where your industry falls, Ask a Librarian!) - Statista
To find ESG information:
1. search ESG, or ESG ratings, or ESG scores OR
2. search for a specific company or industry and add ESG to your search OR
3. search your company name with words like sustainability, environment, human rights, hiring, diversity, etc. - Nexis Uni
To find ESG information:
1. on the main search screen, click on Advanced Search
2. In Advanced Search, scroll down to Source, and type in: CSRHub ESG Ratings
3. Back up under Searching All, type in your company name and click the red Search button.
4. If there is a report available, it will be shown in results.
Citing Your Sources
Whenever you do research, you will need to cite the information sources that you use. Most business scholars use APA style. Here are some tools that can help you with this task:
Gleeson Library's guide to citations: How? Why? When?
- APA 7th Edition Citations for Business SourcesAn excellent guide to using APA 7th edition style for popular business sources. Scroll through the guide to find an example for the business source you are using in your research. Compiled by librarians Naomi Schemm, Marcia Dellenbach, Zachary Grisham, Marianne Hageman, Natalia Tingle, Matt Trowbridge, and Amanda Wheatley
- Citing Business Databases in APA: Michigan State University GuideThis guide was created to help with citing some common business databases
- Citing Business Databases from the University of North Carolina at GreensboroThis guide has some additional business database examples in APA style.
- MLA Business Citations: Youngstown State UniversityScroll down the page to see citations for specific business web sites, reports, and databases cited in MLA style.
- Purdue OWLOur favorite style guide web site is the OWL from Purdue University.
- RefWorks
RefWorks allows users to create personal databases to manage, store, and share the information citations/references. Users can automatically insert references from their database into their papers and generate formatted bibliographies and manuscripts in seconds. See our RefWorks Guide for information about creating accounts, adding references, and using add-ons.
Getting Help!
There are several ways to obtain assistance with your research. Read on!
You have your very own librarian! She is Penny Scott, and you can contact her for help.
Her contact information is: email: plscott@usfca.edu * phone: 415-422-5389
It is best to email ahead, or make an appointment, to make sure she is available! Appointments are available virtually via Zoom, or in person, and are great for groups or individuals. If you don't see a time that works for you, email Penny.
If Penny is not available, or any time you need help, you can always get help, just Ask a Librarian!
You can also take a look at our Research Guides on many topics!