corporate responsibility index process & key features

Index Questions

Companies participate by completing an online survey, supplemented by a series of guidance notes. As this is a self-assessment process, each submission is required to be signed off by the company Chief Executive or a member of the Board.

The Corporate Responsibility Index survey is made available to companies once they have registered to participate in the Index. The survey is a web based electronic tool and is password protected for each individual company.

Comprehensive guidance notes are provided with the survey in the form of drop down menus within the online survey tool and as a separate, extensive PDF document. These provide definitions and help notes to support the understanding of why a particular aspect is important and how this may be applied within a business.

Together with the survey the guidance notes provide a roadmap for integrating corporate responsibility within the business.

Please contact the Index team at St James Ethics Centre for further information on the Index questions or guidance notes.

Scoring

Company scores are generated automatically by the BITC online benchmarking system. The sections of the Index are weighted as follows: Corporate Strategy (10%); Integration (22%); Management Practice (26%); Performance & Impact (36%); Assurance & Disclosure (6%). In addition, the four components within the management section are equally weighted, and the social and environmental impacts are equally weighted (six in total)

Validation

Ernst & Young’s Sustainability Assurance and Advisory Services practice, operating under a formal letter of engagement with St James Ethics Centre, provide validation at a discounted rate.

The validation team assesses all company submissions on a sample basis to check responses are supported by appropriate evidence and that questions are interpreted consistently by participants. Read more.

Feedback

Participants receive detailed confidential feedback on their performance compared with their sector and the universe of participants. This gap analysis helps companies to identify strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to take stock of progress and also helps them focus where improvements can be best achieved depending on a company’s impacts and strategic business needs. Feedback provides companies with a useful tool to present information at board level.

Results

In May each year participating company results are published in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in a special report lift-out and are showcased at the annual National Business Leaders’ Forum on Sustainable Development.

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The Corporate Responsibility Index is funded by the Australian Federal Government. The Index, developed and maintained by Business in the Community in the UK, is a project of St James Ethics Centre supported by Ernst & Young. Our media partners are The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Project catalyst: Pilotlight Australia.