Speak to an Expert
Integrum ESG’s Controversial Activities data measures how much of a company’s revenue comes from activities that investors commonly exclude or limit, from tobacco and gambling to coal and weapons. Exposure is calculated at product-line level from audited company filings, and every percentage and flag links back to the disclosure it comes from.
Coverage
What the data covers
The dataset covers 60 activity categories, grouped into 14 parent groups. Together they span the industries most often named in exclusion policies, investment mandates and regulation.
| Parent groups | |
|---|---|
| Tobacco and Nicotine | Oil and Gas |
| Alcohol | Coal |
| Cannabis | Nuclear |
| Gambling | Palm Oil |
| Pornography | Weapons and Defense |
| For-Profit Education | Civilian Firearms |
| Animal Products | Prisons and Law Enforcement |
Each parent group is divided into activity-level categories that cover the whole value chain: producers, suppliers, distributors, financiers, infrastructure providers and companies serving controversial end-markets. Tobacco and Nicotine, for example, includes a Tobacco Supply Chain category for companies that make components for tobacco products or distribute them, as well as the manufacturers themselves. The Controversial Activities Dictionary is updated whenever a category is added or revised, so it is always the current reference for what the dataset covers.
For controversial weapons specifically, see our article Controversial Weapons Explained.
Classification
How companies are classified
Classification uses Syntax’s patented Functional Information System (FIS®), a standardised language for tagging businesses, products and the activities and resources behind them.
- Tag each product line Analysts trained in the FIS system tag each of a company’s revenue-generating product lines from its audited filings, including 10-Ks, 20-Fs, 40-Fs, annual reports and sustainability reports. Tags capture what the product is, how customers use it and the raw materials that go into it.
- Apply the category rules Each controversial activity category is defined by a rules-based query on those tags. A product line whose tags match the query belongs to the category.
- Allocate revenue The revenue from each matching product line is allocated to the category, so a diversified company shows exposure only on the parts of its business that are in scope, and revenue can be spread across several categories.
- Check before publication Every classification goes through independent quality control before it is published, and each tag carries a citation to the source excerpt and page.
Because classification works at product-line level, it finds exposure that a sector or industry code would miss.
Worked example
Worked example: Rayonier Advanced Materials
Rayonier Advanced Materials develops a range of wood-related products. Its largest product line, accounting for 51.83% of revenue in its 2024 financial year, is acetate for cigarette filters.
- The category: within Tobacco and Nicotine, the Tobacco Supply Chain category covers companies that manufacture components for tobacco products or distribute tobacco products.
- The rule: in FIS terms, the category captures companies that manufacture components for manufacturers of tobacco products, or companies that distribute tobacco products.
- The match: acetate for cigarette filters matches the rule, so that product line is classified as Tobacco Supply Chain.
- The result: none of the company’s other product lines matches a controversial activity, so its total exposure is 51.83%, all from Tobacco Supply Chain.
A screen based on industry classification would treat Rayonier Advanced Materials as a chemicals or materials company and miss the exposure entirely.
More examples from our research
Realty Income: 3.1% gambling
The REIT earns rent from casino real estate it owns, including the land and buildings under Encore Boston Harbor. Read the analysis.
Siemens Energy: 30.7% fossil fuel power generation
Equipment and services for fossil fuel power generation, a share that falls under some exclusion policies and not others. Read the analysis.
Reading the data
Reading the exposure data
The dataset reports three kinds of result, and each answers a different question.
| Result | What it means |
|---|---|
| Revenue exposure (%) | The share of a company’s revenue from the activity, where audited filings disclose it. |
| Involvement flag | Shows that a company is connected to the activity. Some categories are measured by involvement alone, and the flag does not state a revenue percentage. |
| Non-attributable flag | Involvement for which a revenue share cannot be attributed. It should not be read as zero exposure. |
We do not estimate exposure. Where a company does not disclose the revenue figure, the data says so through a flag rather than presenting an estimate as a confirmed number.
Power generation
For power-generation activities, the data shows the share of revenue from the activity and, where available, the share of generation capacity. Capacity is based on installed generation capacity in gigawatts (GW), falling back to generation volume in gigawatt-hours (GWh) where capacity is not disclosed.
Uses
How investors use the data
- Exclusion and values-based screening: hard-exclusion portfolios, faith-based mandates such as Catholic and Islamic finance screens, SRI funds and bespoke ethical mandates, with thresholds set at client level.
- Compliance monitoring: pre-trade checks and ongoing monitoring for breaches of exclusion policies.
- Regulatory reporting: SFDR Article 8 and 9 classification, the SFDR principal adverse impact indicators for controversial weapons and fossil fuels, ESMA fund naming guidelines, MiFID II sustainability preferences and EU Taxonomy do no significant harm assessments.
- Engagement: identifying the companies with revenue exposure to target for engagement, and evidencing exposure in client reports.
Controversial Activities is one of four dimensions of Business Involvement Intelligence, alongside SDG Revenue Alignment, EU Taxonomy and public company classification under NAICS and NACE. Our SDG Revenue Alignment Methodology sets out the SDG dimension. All four are built from the same product-line revenue data.
Our approach
Why this approach
Exclusion data is often sold as separate products for each activity, reported in broad revenue bands such as 5 to 9.9% that are hard to test against an exact threshold, and built on estimates with little visibility of the workings. That leaves investment teams unable to show a client or regulator why a holding passed or failed a screen.
Exact figures, not bands
Exposure is reported as the disclosed revenue percentage, so it can be tested directly against any threshold.
Source-cited
Every percentage and flag links to the verbatim disclosure and page reference in the company’s filing.
No estimates
Where revenue is not disclosed, the data flags the involvement and does not invent a number.
One dataset
60 activity categories in one dataset, alongside SDG Revenue Alignment and EU Taxonomy data from the same revenue base.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a controversial activity?
Our dataset covers 60 activity categories in 14 parent groups: tobacco and nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, gambling, pornography, oil and gas, coal, nuclear, palm oil, for-profit education, animal products, weapons and defense, civilian firearms and prisons and law enforcement. No single regulation defines the list, so the categories are built to match the exclusions investors most often apply.
How is revenue exposure to a controversial activity calculated?
Analysts tag each of a company’s product lines from its audited filings, and rules-based queries assign matching product lines to activity categories. The revenue from each matching product line is allocated to the category, so a company’s exposure reflects only the parts of its business that are in scope.
Where does the data come from?
From audited company filings, including 10-Ks, 20-Fs, 40-Fs, annual reports and sustainability reports. Classification uses Syntax’s Affinity™ data and Functional Information System (FIS®), and every tag carries a citation to the source excerpt and page.
What does an involvement flag mean?
An involvement flag shows that a company is connected to an activity, without stating a revenue percentage. Where a company is involved but a revenue share cannot be attributed, a non-attributable flag records that involvement, and it should not be read as zero exposure.
Can the data be used for SFDR reporting?
Yes. It supports SFDR Article 8 and 9 classification and the principal adverse impact indicators for controversial weapons and fossil fuels, as well as ESMA fund naming guidelines, MiFID II sustainability preferences and EU Taxonomy do no significant harm assessments.
Where can I find the definition of each category?
The Controversial Activities Dictionary lists every category with its name, definition and measurement basis, and is updated whenever a category is added or revised.
Screen your portfolio for controversial activities
Speak to our team to see the revenue exposure, involvement flags and source disclosures behind every holding you need to screen.