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| Title: | NEWS & EVENTS > Press releases | |||
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| Date of publishing: | May 06, 2011 | |||
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NEWS & EVENTS > Press releases
30 March 2009
Seven leading corporate sustainability research organisations from across Europe have been certified against a new international Voluntary Quality Standard (VQS) for Corporate Sustainability and Responsible Investment research.
Launched by the Association of Independent Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Research (AI CSRR) the robust VQS has been developed to drive high quality research and analysis for organisations in the field.
The Standard is a direct response to growing investor and company demand for research groups to incorporate the key principles of integrity, transparency and accountability into their research on the environmental, social, governance (ESG) and ethical performance of companies. It is designed to enhance quality within the research process of each provider without redetermining and dictating the precise research output.
So far, leading corporate sustainability and responsible investment research groups in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK have met the requirements of the Standard, with more to follow. These groups include Ecodes, EIRIS, EthiFinance, GES, imug, Oekom, and Vigeo. All those receiving the Certificate confirming their adherence to the Standard have had their audits certified by an independent Certification Council.
The VQS assessment and auditing process requires research groups to:
- focus on continuous quality improvements and develop an action plan to drive quality across all research areas
- develop and implement best practice and codes of conduct to ensure independence, integrity, probity, transparency and accountability within each research group as well as in the research process
- ensure the robustness of each group’s research processes and embed continuous monitoring of quality in their work
- reassure clients and other stakeholders that research groups ‘do what they say they do’
- publish an externally verified Transparency Matrix that reveals the data necessary to reinforce trust and confidence in each research group’s methodology
The launch of the new VQS follows a European Commission funded development process which included consultation with key stakeholders including investors, civil society, and responsible investment sector experts, led by AI CSRR.
AI CSRR welcomes applications from other research groups who wish to achieve certification.
Sue Bird, Policy Co-ordinator - Local Employment Development and Corporate Social Responsibility at the European Commission, said ‘The completion of the CSRR-QS 2.1 Voluntary Quality Standard for CSR research comes at a key time in the development of the interface between companies and socially-responsible investors. More than ever, investors need quality information on which to take decisions in relation to companies' CSR activities, and the current economic and financial crisis sharpens the need for ethics and responsible practices in and by businesses. I am confident that CSRR-QS 2.1 will make a valuable contribution to furthering SRI and CSR’.
Matt Christensen, Executive Director at Eurosif, the European Sustainable Investment Forum, said ‘We welcome the new VQS as a key initiative to further enhance the credibility of the corporate sustainability and responsible investment research sector. The Standard will help to ensure that research groups practice what they preach when demanding corporate and investor transparency. It will help them to remain focused on delivering the quality research that is needed in the rapidly evolving world of responsible investment’.
James Gifford, Executive Director of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment said ‘The principles of integrity, probity, transparency and accountability have never been so important. The development of quality standards should help further increase confidence in ESG research providers at a time when openness and accountability are valued by an ever increasing number of responsible investors’.
Herwig Peeters, the AI CSRR’s Chairman said ‘This pioneering new Standard is a celebration of excellence and will push research quality to the highest levels. The Standard has been specifically developed to promote quality in a diversity of research approaches. The VQS will fast become the international Standard which investors around the world can trust. We congratulate those research groups who have already achieved the VQS and hope that many more will, in time, go on to achieve it’.
Download the New Release 30 March 2009 (116 kB), English version
11 december 2003
"Congratulations on launching the Voluntary Quality Standard for SRI research. The commitment made by the CSRR/SRI sector, and the new standard itself, will facilitate the quality of the dialogue between companies, SRI analysts, their stakeholders and financial institutions."
"CSRR-QS 1.0 will contribute in furthering the CSR debate in Europe. It will help address the issue of accountability of CSR analysis and enhance the leverage effect of SRI. It is also a significant step towards more convergence and transparency in the field of SRI. The Employment and Social Affairs DG of the Commission is pleased to have provided support to the development of this standard."
Dominique Bé, Deputy Head of Unit