Environment
November 28 2005
by Briefing StaffLike it or loathe it (and it is not without its critics), the BiE Index has been hugely influential in raising the bar on systematic environmental management among FTSE listed companies. Few self-respecting companies can today deliberately ignore the annual process. Less apparent is actual improvement in corporate environmental performance, but logically this flows eventually from better management. Among the Index's success factors have been its incremental approach, building the methodology annually, and its use of benchmarks rather than criticism as a lever for action. Now the big question is whether the same approach will work with the wider corporate social responsibility index. The chances of success are enhanced by the early decision to focus only on management processes. But this raises the possibility of a tobacco or arms manufacturer topping the league table as the most socially responsible company, no doubt to external ridicule. And when in time the process moves on to substantive performance, is it going to be practical to benchmark employment practices in the rich West, for example, with operations in deepest Africa or in countries where it is illegal to employ women? Tough, but let's give the effort a fair wind. Stand by in September to receive the next BiE index and the first CSR index.