What does it take to run a sustainable company?
No certain list of benchmarks has ever been adopted and generally accepted by a global business community that might give a credible answer to this question. Corporations can measure their contribution to sustainability by reduction of carbon footprint, dynamics in energy consumption, investment in social responsibility programmes, and other indicators, and yet many attempts to develop a transparent system of metrics measuring commitment of companies to sustainability have focused on certain aspects of sustainability and neglected or even disregarded others.
There’s no evidence of how, for instance, investment in research and discovery of sustainable technologies has been accounted for in evaluation of company performance offered even by highly reputable compilers of sustainability rankings, whereas such technologies may transform the entire industries by making them more efficient and environment friendly.
As of today, corporate sustainability rankings published by highly reputable providers focus primarily on current operational performance measured by quantitative indicators, rather than on a combination of quantitative indicators and qualitative indicators, reflecting the transformational impact of businesses on society and environment and its implications for the future.
Moreover, current corporate sustainability rankings, developed mainly by companies in the US and UK, include many more companies from the developed countries than companies in emerging markets such as Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East that have made a considerable effort to make our world a better place.
There is a call for an alternative comprehensive system for evaluation of company performance in sustainability with the rankings team located in one of the emerging markets.
To start this ambitious initiative, the project team have developed a shared vision on the values, principles, and metrics that have resulted in the first Corporate Sustainability Rankings published on our official website in April 2024.
Mission
To inspire the change we wish to see in the business world.
Values
Our international sustainability rankings agency stands out and will always be trusted for independence, integrity, and objectivity.
Principles
All data collected for the sustainability rankings should be referenced, verifiable, comparable, and consistent.
The Rankings Advisory Board, which would feature representatives of business, research, and expert communities, provides recommendations on the methodology and indicators of company performance evaluation.
The results of rankings, both overall and industry specific, will be announced at a special flagship event with detailed commentary for mass media and general public.
Sustainability Excellence Awards will be presented to the highly ranked companies overall, by region, and by industry at the annual flagship sustainability conference and its award ceremony.
Marks of distinction such as badges for company websites and marketing materials will be shared with the companies, included in the rankings.
Individual reports with high-level rankings data will be sent out to each company in the rankings.
Metrics
The list of indicators for the methodology of the Corporate Sustainability Rankings includes:
1.1. Environmental impact
1.2. Social impact
1.3. Governance
2. Qualitative indicator
2.1. Sustainability profile
For more details about the methodology, please refer to this page.
Target audiences
The rankings attract a lot of attention from companies, government agencies, mass media, and, most importantly, talented individuals choosing their employers based, among other things, on sustainability profiles.