costs of participating in the corporate responsibility index

Participation cost

The Corporate Responsibility Index is a not-for-profit initiative. The Federal Government funding to expand responsible business practice in Australia specifies that all initiatives be self-funding after the three year funding period.

A validation fee was first introduced for the Fourth CRI in 2006 to contribute to the costs of external validation. External validators examine all responses to the self assessment survey for completeness and consistency. In addition, site visits are offered to all participants to check their understanding and interpretation of the questions and seek further substantiation when necessary.

The sixth Index in 2008 will see the introduction of a fee that covers both validation as well as a contribution to core project costs. The following rates are for the Sixth CRI in 2008.

• public index: AUD 11,000 + GST
• private benchmark: AUD 16,000 + GST
• modular option:
  • environment module: AUD 7,000 + GST
  • community module: AUD 7,000 + GST
  • workplace module: AUD 7,000 + GST
  • two modules: AUD 8,000 + GST

The CRI participation fee includes:

• participation in CRI workshops
• in-house company presentations
• access to the Corporate Responsibility Index online, licensed to St James Ethics Centre by Business in the Community (UK)
• comprehensive guidance notes, which provide a framework for corporate responsibility, with definitions, explanations and examples of evidence for each CRI question
• validation services including: site visits, analytical testing of participant scores, independent feedback of participant responses against supporting evidence
• a confidential Feedback Report comparing company performance in the CRI against peers and other CRI participants, as well as providing some high-level insights into key strengths and areas for development in current corporate responsibility practices against the CRI framework
• a contribution towards the overhead costs of the CR Index
• support from the CRI team.

A partial fee of AUD 3000 + GST is incurred on registration and is a contribution towards the core project costs and support from the Corporate Responsibility Index team. There is a two-week period of grace in the event of a change of mind. The residual fee is incurred at the time of the participant’s online submission to the CRI.

The Corporate Responsibility Index is licensed to St James Ethics Centre for use in Australia and New Zealand. St James Ethics Centre is a not-for-profit organisation which acts as a trustee for the process. The Centre does not participate in any aspect of the rating process for this self-assessment, but works to ensure access to the survey and the overall integrity of the process.

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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.