2012 Methodology

Metrics and Methodology

CRD Analytics provides the metric and measurement rankings for the Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings

CRD Analytics is the leading provider of independent sustainability investment analytics. Using its proprietary SmartViewTM 360 Platform, CRD Analytics empowers its clients with actionable and performance-driven information distilled from large sets of complex data including financial, environmental, social, governance, brand perception and reputational risk. CRD Analytics partners with its clients to construct proprietary index-based products — Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), separately-managed accounts, mutual funds and Unit Investment Trusts (UITs).

Click and read more  about CRD Analytics. 

About SmartView:

The SmartViewTM 360 Platform, powers global sustainability indexes, rankings and investment portfolios such as the NASDAQ CRD Global Sustainability Index (QCRD), the Global 1000 Sustainable Performance Leaders on Justmeans and now the Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings.

CRD's thesis is that corporations that have full disclosure on real quantitative performance metrics both financial and ESG are better-managed companies and better positioned to outperform on both a relative and absolute basis.

 

The SmartView Force Ranking Methodology:

Force-ranking is the simultaneous ranking of multiple numeric variables that can be either equally weighted or disproportionately weighted

To qualify a company must be publicly traded on a major global exchange; have a minimum market capitalization of $100 Million USD as of June 30th, 2010. Companies must produced a publicly available sustainability or corporate responsibility (CSR) report with full year environmental, social, governance (ESG) data for their 2009 calendar year before December 31st, 2010.

Companies that meet the criteria are force-ranked by total Sustainable Performance Value (SPV) calculated as the average of three performance dimensions: environmental, social and governance. Each dimension consists of five key performance indicators with a total of 175 underlying quantitative and qualitative performance metrics that are either numeric or Boolean.

 

ESG Dimensions are divided into 3 Key Performance Indicators as follows:

  • Environmental Performance Indicators (EPIs):Waste, Energy, Water, Emissions, Risk Mitigation
  • Social Performance Indicators (SPIs):Product Responsibility, Community, Human Rights, Diversity & Opportunity, Employment Quality
  • Governance Performance Indicators (GPIs):Board Functions, Board Structure, Compensation, Vision & Strategy, Shareholder Rights

In the event of a tie, the company with the higher total environmental score receives the higher rank. All derived values, scores and ranks were provided by CRD Analytics and powered by SmartViewTM 360.The underlying data was aided by information provided by Thomson Reuters & Asset4.

CRD Analytics reserves the right to remove any companies that are involved in a significant public crisis without notice.

 

 2010 Metrics and Metholdology

As with any ranking, it is important to understand the methodology. Since this is the first year in ranking Southeastern companies, we thought it only fair to approach the 2010 ranking using an aggregate score of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and then group companies alphabetically in their corresponding quintile. The research for the Rankings was conducted by KLD with analysts from academic and professional backgrounds including law, economics, finance, international relations, environmental policy and corporate responsibility.  Download the attachment below for more in-depth information on the methodology used by KLD.