About the methodology

Methodology

The Social Benchmark Framework represents societal expectations that companies should meet to contribute to a systems transformation that leaves no one behind.

This methodology consists of three measurement areas: the responsibility of companies to respect human rights, their role in providing and promoting decent work, and their ethical conduct in areas like lobbying and tax. Respect for human rights underpins both decent work and ethical conduct. Together, these three areas of responsible business conduct are crucial for enabling social transformation.

Based on pre-existing tools and frameworks, we defined 18 core social indicators (CSIs) that reflect societal expectations across these measurement areas and assess whether companies are on track to meet them. These indicators serve as ‘signposts’ towards the goal of social transformation. Companies that fail to meet them are regarded as failing to show sufficient commitment to socially responsible business conduct.

Scoring guidelines

Alongside the Social Benchmark, we have published our scoring guidelines. These scoring guidelines have evolved since the development of the Social Transformation Framework in 2020 to align with existing standards and as we refined our assessment criteria over the past three years. The scoring guidelines below are the most up-to-date version and applied in our current assessments of companies.

Assessment process

We assessed the 2,000 companies on their performance on the core social indicators (CSIs). Given that the societal expectations reflected in these indicators are an integral part of responsible business conduct, CSI assessments were embedded into our other benchmarks, representing 20% of the possible overall score. The 2,000 assessments combined are the basis for our Social Benchmark. The companies had staggered research periods between 2021 and 2023, which varied depending on when our other benchmarks were published.

Each benchmark assessment process consists of two research phases: an initial analysis of publicly available company information, followed by a review based on company feedback. Our assessments rely on publicly accessible data in the English language, such as company websites, financial and non-financial reports, and policies. After an initial phase of research, companies receive a draft assessment for review. We invite them to engage with us directly on a call and/or provide written feedback on their draft assessment. We then review this feedback and revise their assessments accordingly.