The Sustainable Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN)

S&P 100 Sustainability Report Comparison

Using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting framework as the standard, SIRAN issued its first-ever analysis on the sustainability reporting practices of companies in the S&P 100 Index in June 2005. The last four updates have been conducted by independent investment research firm KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. (now a part of MSCI), through an analysis of the public websites of all S&P 100 companies. The project was conducted over a five-year period.

Questions covered:

• Company has separate CSR/Sustainability section of web-site?
• Company has annual CSR/Sustainability Report?
• Company references GRI in report?
• Company has GRI content index?
• Company report has goals and benchmarks?
• Company report is GRI "In Accordance" or “A” level?

Reporting Status of S&P 100 Companies Press Releases

• 2009 findings
• 2008 findings
• 2007 findings
• 2006 findings
• 2005 findings
  
  

Emerging Markets Reporting Comparison

SIRAN issued its first-ever analysis on the environmental and social reporting practices of emerging market companies in January 2008, conducted by independent investment research firm KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. The analysis focused on the following five questions:

1. Does the company have any public disclosure of sustainability issues?
2. Does the company have a separate section of its website and/or annual report addressing sustainability issues?
3. Does the company publish a current (within the last two years) and stand-alone Sustainability report?
4. Does the company reference the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework for its stand-alone report?
5. Does the company report sustainability goals and benchmarks?

SIRAN selected a universe of the top four companies by float-adjusted market cap from the S&P/IFCI Index, in three sectors: Energy (oil & gas); Materials (metals and mining) and Telecommunications, from seven countries: Brazil, Taiwan, South Africa, Russia, India, South Korea and China. It should be noted that in some cases there were fewer than four companies in a sector because the S&P/IFCI index listed less than this number of companies in a given sector, e.g. there was only one Energy sector company listed for Taiwan (also, in one case, a company was excluded because it was a holding company). In total, the public disclosures of 75 companies were analyzed for the 2008 report.

• Click here for press release summarizing the 2008 findings.
• Investor Statement on Sustainability Reporting in Emerging Markets
• A Review of ESG Practices in Large Emerging Market Companies

Click here for more information about the Emerging Markets Disclosure Project.

EEO Project

SIRAN analysts are concerned that management of most U.S. companies fails to reflect the diversity of America and its labor force. We believe that the negative ramifications of persistent inequalities in the workplace pose risks to society and long term business success. Given this concern, SIRAN analysts support corporate disclosure of comprehensive Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) information as a means to help foster progress on hiring, promoting and retaining minority and female employees.

Currently the government requires companies with more than 100 employees to report workforce diversity data – the EEO-1 report. While data collected on this form are an important reference for analysts to observe a company's progress on dismantling glass ceiling barriers, the report is not currently in the public domain. Fortunately, many companies are voluntarily making these data public. Please click here for a copy of our Analyst Statement on EEO Disclosure that shares our perspectives on the importance of such reporting.

In June 2005, SIRAN analysts launched a project to benchmark voluntary EEO disclosure by companies in the U.S. S&P100 index. The results of this SIRAN initiative were published in a report titled A Call to Action, released in December 2005.

Two years later, SIRAN analysts returned to survey the S&P100 index once more and found a relative drop in overall EEO-1 disclosure. The chart below lists the EEO-1 reporting practice for the fifty-three companies that chose to respond to the follow-up survey. For further details, read A Renewed Call to Action, released in September 2008.