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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
6.23.2004 ET
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New Global Rating Challenges Top 100 Companies' Accountability
(CSRwire) Today sees the launch of the first global index,
The Accountability Rating®, which evaluates how well the
world's 1001 largest companies account for their impacts on
society and the environment. This topical index is released at a decisive
time, as trust in big business continues to be eroded by corporate
scandals.
The announcement of The Accountability Rating® coincides with
The United Nations Global Compact Leaders Summit in New York, where many
of the G-100 companies covered by the index will be in attendance to
discuss business' leadership in a global society.
Developed by AccountAbility2 and
csrnetwork3, The Accountability Rating®
measures the state of corporate accountability by ranking individual
companies on their global sustainability performance4. Mark Line, Director
csrnetwork commented, "The survey delves much deeper than simply
examining whether companies are meeting the basic requirements of
sustainability reporting: it identifies the companies that have really
integrated responsible business practices into their core processes - a
prime facet of accountability."
The Accountability Rating® provides compelling
insights:- The average score of G-100 companies was just 24%
- Scores varied widely from 67% for BP, and 60% for Suez,
(1st and 2nd respectively) to a low of only 1% for the lowest scoring
company.
- The top ten features seven European companies, two Asian companies,
and only one US company - Hewlett-Packard.
Full details of the
methodology and results are available in a new report - The
Accountability Rating® 2004, Encoding Accountability. Background
media information can be viewed (in PDF format) by clicking here.
The rating maps out how businesses must change if they are to create
long-term economic value and contribute to sustainable development. Simon
Zadek, CEO AccountAbility commented, "The Accountability Rating
moves us beyond a narrow focus on reporting adhoc non-financial activities
to one that illuminates the links with business strategy, performance and
long-term value creation."
The Accountability Rating® assists companies and stakeholders
practically improve their overall performance, and ensure that
accountability enables performance, rather than provides backward-looking
data. Mark Ware, Group Vice President of Communications and External
Affairs for BP, commented "this new rating provides new insight into
performance strengths and weaknesses, and will help guide BP and other
companies on where disclosure improvements could be made."
The Accountability Rating® 2004, Encoding Accountability is
available through csrnetwork and AccountAbility priced
$100/£60.
Notes to Editors:
1. The initial application of the Accountability Rating® has been to
the Global 100 (G-100), defined by Fortune Magazine (as the world's 100
companies with the highest gross revenues).
2. AccountAbility's mission is to promote accountability for sustainable
development. As a leading international professional institute, our work
includes developing innovative and effective accountability tools and
standards (notably the AA1000 series), carrying out cutting-edge strategic
research that explores best practice for practitioners and policy-makers in
organisational accountability, promoting accountability competencies across
the professions, and securing an enabling environment in markets and public
bodies. www.accountability.org.uk
3. csrnetworkTM is one of the UK's leading corporate social
responsibility consultancies. Founded in 1999, our purpose is to help
businesses worldwide meet their social and environmental responsibilities.
We have extensive practical experience in implementing CSR practices that
reflect stakeholder expectations. Our team of experienced specialists
supports our clients in five main areas: benchmarking; stakeholder
engagement; strategy and systems development; communications and
reporting; and independent assurance of sustainability reports. www.csrnetwork.com
4. The Accountability Rating® measures the state of corporate
accountability by ranking individual companies against six key areas:
stakeholder engagement, strategy, governance, performance management,
public disclosure and assurance.
5. Both Simon Zadek, CEO AccountAbility and Mark Line, Director
csrnetwork, will be available for interview. Please contact AccountAbility
or csrnetwork for further details.
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