The WEF’s four pillars
Principles of Governance, Planet, People, Prosperity.
The commonest meaning; published September 2020.Big 4 ESG · three meanings, one source each
What are the big 4 of ESG?
The big 4 of ESG usually means the four pillars of the World Economic Forum’s Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics: Principles of Governance, Planet, People and Prosperity.
The WEF built them in 2020 with the Big Four accounting firms — Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC — which is why the two phrases blur.
No standard-setter defines a “big four” of ESG standards.
The four pillars
What are the four pillars of the WEF metrics?
Principles of Governance, Planet, People and Prosperity: 21 core metrics across the four.
The World Economic Forum’s International Business Council released the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics on 22 September 2020.
They were developed with Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC and drawn deliberately from existing standards.
The set is 21 core and 34 expanded metrics, and the WEF recommends “disclose or explain” where a metric is not feasible or relevant.
The pillars group the familiar three letters differently: Planet is the E, People the S, Principles of Governance the G, and Prosperity is the WEF’s addition.
The three letters themselves are on the ESG pillars.
WEF metricsExplore
WEF metrics
Principles of Governance
A company’s purpose, strategy and accountability, including risk and ethical behaviour.
WEF metrics
Planet
Dependencies and impacts on the natural environment: emissions, land and water use.
WEF metrics
Prosperity
Effect on the community’s financial well-being: employment, taxes paid, R&D.
Three meanings
What else does “big 4 ESG” mean?
The four accounting firms, or a loose list of four frameworks.
The phrase is used three ways, and the answer depends on which one the reader means.
It is not TCFD’s four pillars, which are governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets; those are on the TCFD framework.
Nor is there any “big four” in UK law: the statutes ask for specific disclosures, not a framework.
“The big 4 of ESG”
The Big Four firms
Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, which built the WEF metrics.
Assurance and advice; never a legal requirement.Four frameworks
Usually four of GRI, SASB, TCFD, CDP and the ISSB.
No standard-setter defines the list.The standards
Which are the big ESG standards today?
GRI for impact, the ISSB standards for investors, with SASB and TCFD now inside the ISSB’s work, and CDP as a questionnaire.
| Framework | What it is | Status in 2026 | In the UK |
|---|---|---|---|
| GRI | Standards for reporting impacts on the economy, environment and people | Current | Voluntary |
| ISSB (IFRS S1 and S2) | Global baseline for sustainability-related financial information | Current | Endorsed as UK SRS; comply or explain for five listing categories from 2027 |
| SASB | Industry-based standards for investors | Maintained by the ISSB since the 2022 consolidation | Used with UK SRS S1 |
| TCFD | Climate disclosure recommendations | Disbanded October 2023; the ISSB took over monitoring | The shape of the Companies Act climate disclosures |
| CDP | An environmental disclosure system and scoring questionnaire | Current | Voluntary, often requested by customers and investors |
In the UK
Which of the big 4 does UK law require?
None by name: UK law requires statutory disclosures, and from 2027 UK SRS on comply or explain for five listing categories.
A UK company meets the law by making the disclosures its duties name, whatever framework it borrows.
The listed-company standard is UK SRS, which carries the ISSB’s approach, and with it the TCFD structure and SASB’s industry metrics.
Every duty is on ESG reporting requirements in the UK.
UK requirementExplore
UK requirement
UK SRS
The ISSB standards as endorsed in the UK; comply or explain for UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 from 2027.
UK requirement
Climate disclosures
Eight statutory disclosures in the TCFD shape, above 500 employees.
Which to use
Which framework fits what you need to do?
Pick what the report has to achieve, and see the framework that does it and its UK status.
What must the report do? · tick all that apply
SECR, with the Environmental Reporting Guidelines
OWNER Parliament (SI 2008/410 Sch 7); DESNZ guidance
Law since financial years from 1 April 2019 for quoted companies and large unquoted companies and LLPs.
UK SRS (or IFRS S1 and S2), with SASB industry metrics
OWNER DBT; ISSB, which also owns the SASB Standards
Voluntary outside the listing categories.
UK SRS lets an entity “refer to and consider” SASB (“may”), where IFRS S1 says “shall”.
Most groups end up reconciling two or three of these from one dataset.
Where you must choose, the frameworks that carry a legal duty come first.
The big 4 of ESG is a voluntary set of pillars, and UK law asks for specific disclosures instead.
- September 2020
The WEF published four pillars with the Big Four firms
Principles of Governance, Planet, People, Prosperity. - 21 and 34
The set is 21 core and 34 expanded metrics
Voluntary, with “disclose or explain”. - October 2023
TCFD disbanded and the ISSB took over its monitoring
SASB is maintained by the ISSB too. - 1 January 2027
UK SRS is the standard listed companies meet
Comply or explain for five listing categories.
Frequently asked
The big 4 of ESG, answered
What are the big 4 of ESG?
Most often, the four pillars of the World Economic Forum’s Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics: Principles of Governance, Planet, People and Prosperity.
The WEF’s International Business Council published them in September 2020 with Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, the Big Four accounting firms, as 21 core and 34 expanded metrics.
They are voluntary and no UK law requires them.
What are the big 4 ESG standards?
No standard-setter defines a “big four”.
Writers usually mean four of GRI, SASB, TCFD, CDP and the ISSB’s IFRS S1 and S2.
In the UK the list has narrowed: TCFD disbanded in October 2023 and the ISSB took over monitoring, SASB is maintained by the ISSB, and UK SRS is the UK’s endorsed version of the ISSB standards.
What are the four pillars of ESG?
In the WEF metrics: Principles of Governance (purpose, strategy and accountability), Planet (dependencies and impacts on nature), People (equity and treatment of employees) and Prosperity (the company’s effect on the financial well-being of its community).
ESG itself has three letters; TCFD’s “four pillars” are governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.
Who are the Big Four in ESG?
The Big Four accounting firms — Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC — which helped build the WEF metrics and provide sustainability assurance and advice.
No UK law requires a company to use one of them; any assurance over ESG figures is voluntary in the UK.
Are the WEF Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics required in the UK?
No. They are a voluntary set, with a “disclose or explain” recommendation from the WEF itself.
UK requirements come from statute and the FCA’s listing rules, such as SECR, the climate disclosures and, from 2027 for five listing categories, UK SRS on comply or explain.
How many ESG pillars are there?
Three letters — environmental, social and governance — set out in Who Cares Wins in 2004.
Frameworks then group them differently: the WEF uses four pillars, and TCFD and the ISSB organise disclosures into four core content areas.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
Checked against 11 sources fromWorld Economic ForumUN Global Compact (World Bank repository copy)GRIIFRS FoundationCDPDepartment for Business and Trade
- World Economic ForumMeasuring Stakeholder Capitalism (white paper, September 2020)
The four pillars and their core and expanded metrics.
- World Economic ForumPress release, 22 September 2020
The metrics released, “developed in collaboration with Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC”.
- World Economic ForumPress release, 26 January 2021
21 core and 34 expanded metrics.
- UN Global Compact (World Bank repository copy)Who Cares Wins (December 2004)
Where environmental, social and governance were set out as three letters.
- GRIThe GRI Standards
Impact reporting; voluntary in the UK.
- IFRS FoundationSASB Standards
Industry-based standards, now maintained by the ISSB.
- IFRS FoundationTCFD
TCFD disbanded in October 2023; the ISSB took over monitoring from 2024.
- CDPCDP
An environmental disclosure system and scoring questionnaire.
- Department for Business and TradeUK Sustainability Reporting Standards
The UK’s endorsed ISSB standards.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19
UK SRS on comply or explain for five listing categories from 2027.
- legislation.gov.ukCompanies Act 2006, section 414CB
The statutory climate disclosures, built on TCFD’s shape.
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