One reason given for analysts' reluctance to engage directly with companies is that it would compromise their independence. We do not think this argument is credible. There are plenty of ways of ensuring independence that also allow for direct contact.
We suspect that 'the cost of contact' is a more significant reason - whereby it is cheaper for research firms to send questionnaires and use bots to scrape websites automatically into templates than it is to commit analysts to in-depth engagement.
Perhaps most significantly, ESG analysts do not ask for direct conversations with companies because these are never offered - hence, in a vicious circle, they are never asked for.
In our opinion, companies should always reach out and seek direct dialogue with the companies that cover them as this typically leads to a much better understanding of the company by the analyst.