In 2008 Ethical Consumer set up a project called CoRe Scores designed to further and develop best practice in benchmarking corporate behaviour against social and environmental issues.

CoRe Scores works to:

• compile high quality comparative company rankings of ethical performance in leading consumer sectors

• communicate the results of this research with consumers to create market pressure for higher ethical standards

To date we have worked on benchmarking clothing retailers, mobile phone manufacturers and food retailers.  Clients have included NGOs, government departments and businesses.

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CoRe Scores for business

Are you a leader in your sector in Corporate Social Responsibility reporting?  Is the business value of CSR ever questioned internally?

Survey data shows that around 60% of consumers are keen to consider the CSR records of producers in their purchasing decisions.   By communicating your CSR leadership to consumers you may therefore be able to:

• positively affect sales and thereby justify further CSR developments

• direct consumer attention to the poor ethical performance of your competitors who may be challenging you on price

With businesses in 2010 we are developing a service with three stages.

Stage 1 Producing a list of ranking criteria
This will normally use civil society and CSR reporting sources.  Only if these criteria are acceptable and agreed can we then move to...

Stage 2 Producing a detailed ranking of companies in your sector
If the results are positive we can move straight to stage 3.  If not, we will have identified areas to work on (with us or other consultants) to improve performance, possibly moving to Stage 3 later.

Stage 3 Communicating the results of the research to consumers
In conjunction with our press team and other media contacts we will pursue the best avenues for publishing and dissemination of the key research results to consumers, staff and other target audiences.