Mergent Online. This database contains business and financial information on US and international companies. Watch a video tutorial

GlobalData Explorer is the latest addition to our collection. It is an online database that provides data and insights on various global sectors, including healthcare, technology, energy, consumer goods, and more. It aggregates data from numerous sources to offer up-to-date market research, company profiles, industry reports, and analytics tools. This platform is primarily used by businesses, analysts, and researchers to identify market trends, analyse industry performance, assess competitive landscapes, and make informed business decisions across global markets.

Global financial data and information on banks and the banking industry. For Fitch Connect (use SSO [single sign on] option and "unibedfordshire" as organisation ID)

Access Fitch Connect

Lexis Plus is a legal database that contains resources relating to banking and finance.  Browse information by selecting the relevant practice area (top left hand menu). Video tutorial

Henry Stewart Business and Management Collection includes over 1100 specially commissioned multimedia lectures, case stories and industry insights by experts from academia and industry. View or download the Quick Start Guide [PDF]

British Standards Online (BSOL) is a database containing approximately 80,000 standards documents. It includes International (ISO) Standards, British (BSI) Standards and European (IEC) Standards. Bibliographic data only for American (ASTM) Standards. To get familiar with this database, click to view the User Guide

There has been an added tool accessing BSI. BSI’s documents will only be opened now by using the FileOpen plug in that needs to be installed on your device.

To download the plug-in follow the instructions on how to install FileOpen

If you are using a University PC , you need to contact ICT or library.technical@beds.ac.uk

You also need Adobe Acrobat/Adobe Reader to open the PDFs.

Read more about opening BSI documents

Or watch the video British Standards Online (BSOL) - How to download the FileOpen plug-in (YouTube)

General Resources contains a list of major university wide databases and search engines, such as Discover, Credo Reference, Newsbank and Scopus. Visit the General Resources page for more information.

Company Websites and Reports:

Sustainability Reports: Many companies publish sustainability reports outlining their environmental, social, and governance initiatives. Search the company's website for "Sustainability Report" or "CSR Report" (CSR stands for Corporate Social Responsibility).

Investor Relations: Look for the Investor Relations section of the company website. They might disclose ESG information alongside financial data.

Free ESG Data Sources:

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): The GRI database offers free access to over 63,000 sustainability reports from companies worldwide.

World Bank ESG Data Portal: While not company-specific, this portal offers free access to environmental, social, and governance indicators for over 200 countries.

MSCI ESG Ratings You can explore data by using the Index and making a company search.

Sustainalytics can offer some free ratings to over 16,000 companies and emerging markets.

ISS ESG Gateway is a source that can give you some data on public and private companies.

S&P Global can be another tool to access ESG scores.

News and Industry Research:

Search Engines: Utilize search engines like Google with queries like "[company name] + ESG" or "[company name] + sustainability." This can reveal news articles or reports highlighting the company's ESG performance or controversies.

Industry Associations: Industry-specific associations might publish ESG ratings or reports on member companies.

Library Databases:

Some ESG data can be retrieved through databases accessible through the library, click on the links to access by using your university sign in credentials.

Fitch Connect

Mergent Online

Finally remember:

Freely available ESG data might be less comprehensive or up-to-date compared to paid databases that you get access through your Library.

ESG data from news articles may have a bias, so be critical and look for reputable sources.

For further support, email: librarians@beds.ac.uk

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is an international professional accountancy body, which offers accountancy qualifications.

The central bank of the UK, the Bank of England is a diverse organisation maintaining monetary and financial stability.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank for Europe’s single currency, the euro. Statistics and publications are available online.

The World Bank provides a variety of financial products and technical assistance, as well as publishing data and reports.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 189 countries, working towards global monetary cooperation, financial stability, international trade, high employment, sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is an independent research institute, launched with the principal aim of better informing public debate on economics in order to promote the development of effective fiscal policy.

The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation is a not-for-profit international organisation responsible for developing high-quality, global accounting standards.

Deloitte's IAS Plus features news and resources about International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and international accounting and auditing developments.

Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union situated in Luxembourg. Its mission is to provide high quality statistics for Europe.

Principal Global Indicators (PGI) is a dataset providing internationally comparable data for the Group of 20 economies (G-20) and those who are have important financial sectors outside of the G-20.

TheGlobalEconomy.com provides up-to-date numbers for GDP, inflation, credit, interest rates, unemployment, and many other indicators. The data series are updated continuously based on the release dates of individual countries.

Quandl is a source for financial, economic, and alternative datasets, serving investment professionals.

AccountingWEB is an independent online community for accounting and finance professionals in the UK.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) regulates auditors, accountants and actuaries and sets the UK’s Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes.

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) aims to make financial markets work well so that consumers get a fair deal.

The International Monetary Fund provides free access to over 21,000 ebooks via their IMF eLibrary.