Social & Community
Corporate Practices
IntentCorporations engage in a variety of actions and activities that individually or collectively define a company’s commitment to sustainability. These actions are often marketed aggressively in a way that suggests and communicates an overall level of corporate commitment to long-term sustainability. The certification of a product as “green”, a public proclamation of emission reduction goals, or the implementation of an environmental management system are examples. However, despite individual activities that become noteworthy, a company’s cumulative impacts on society, human health, and the environment can only be determined through the consideration of the collective practices of a company. Companies that produce a leadership product may at the same time produce products that are harmful to the environment, may aggressively lobby rulemakers against proposed clean air restrictions, may have restrictive or secretive policies towards workers, or may test their products in an unethical manner. This category evaluates and rewards corporations that accept responsibility for the environmental, social, and human health impacts of their operations through the cumulative actions and activities of the corporation in a transparent and verifiable way.
IdealA product and its source materials are harvested, extracted, or manufactured exclusively by corporations or companies engaged only in activities and actions that are not harmful to society, human health, or the environment, and that uses its influence in society to advocate for or support other efforts at sustainability. A product is produced by a company who is committed to full disclosure of data, responsive to community questions and concerns, with a mission to promote ecological responsibility and stewardship in addition to environmental and economic justice and doesn’t participate in greenwashing.
Key MetricsLobbying on environmental, human health, or social issues; other products or services offered by business, environmental management and supply chain management systems, credible third party product certifications, production of corporate sustainability reporting adoption of the precautionary principles; adoption of environmental justice principles; adoption of economic justice and equity principles; the extent in which the company participates in lobbying efforts that undermine its stated principles; the extent in which the company participates in lobbying against environmental regulations/policies/legislation; the extent in which the company participates in lobbying efforts that undermine economic justice regulations/policies/legislation; the extent in which the company participates in lobbying efforts that undermine environmental justice regulations/policies/legislation. |
