Roberts Environmental Center
Encyclopedia
The Roberts Environmental Center is a research institute affiliated with Claremont McKenna College
in Claremont, California
, United States. It is named after George R. Roberts '66, Founding Partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a private equity firm. The principal goal of the Roberts Environmental Center is to involve students in real-world environmental issues and train them to analyze issues from as broad a perspective as possible, taking science
, economics
and policy
into consideration, especially environmental law
, environmental biology, and natural resource management
. The Center’s current research is focused on global corporate environmental transparency and performance. The Center is a leading analyst of online corporate environmental and sustainability
self-reporting, with free analysis of more than 1,900 corporate reports. All analyses are available free online with more added weekly.
Corporate public relations or greenwash
For over a decade, many of the world's largest corporations have produced voluntary environmental and sustainability reports publicizing the perceived successes of corporate environmental management systems. The most common reason has been to assure stakeholders--employees, investors, customers--that the company takes environmental and social matters seriously and acts responsibly. Critics have called this practice “greenwash
ing.”
The Center analyzes environmental and social self-reporting by the world's largest companies and publishes the results of up to 30 companies at a time in industrial sector reports. The reports score companies based on reporting, intent, and performance of environmental and social sustainability efforts. The Center ranks companies and assigns letter grades for their for overall quality of reporting, based entirely on material released on the firms’ Web sites. No assessment is made of actual company performance in implementing their sustainability goals. Prior to final publication, companies are given an opportunity to point out any omissions or misunderstandings on the part of the Center's analysts, and to post additional material to their web sites for further analysis prior to assigning a final letter grade. Many companies take advantage of this opportunity. These detailed analyses reveal what social and environmental themes companies perceive to be most important to the American public today. All sector reports are available for free download
Roberts Center publications assert that large and small organizations can gain by adopting a strong vision of sustainability, publicizing it, and systematically working to improve--no matter what a company’s current level of performance is.
Claremont McKenna College
Claremont McKenna College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college and a member of the Claremont Colleges located in Claremont, California. The campus is located east of Downtown Los Angeles...
in Claremont, California
Claremont, California
Claremont is a small affluent college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population as of the 2010 census is 34,926. Claremont is known for its seven higher-education institutions, its...
, United States. It is named after George R. Roberts '66, Founding Partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a private equity firm. The principal goal of the Roberts Environmental Center is to involve students in real-world environmental issues and train them to analyze issues from as broad a perspective as possible, taking science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and policy
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
into consideration, especially environmental law
Environmental law
Environmental law is a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human activity...
, environmental biology, and natural resource management
Natural resource management
Natural resource management refers to the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations ....
. The Center’s current research is focused on global corporate environmental transparency and performance. The Center is a leading analyst of online corporate environmental and sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
self-reporting, with free analysis of more than 1,900 corporate reports. All analyses are available free online with more added weekly.
Corporate public relations or greenwashGreenwashGreenwashing , or "green sheen", is a form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that a company's policies or products are environmentally friendly.-Usage:...
ing?
For over a decade, many of the world's largest corporations have produced voluntary environmental and sustainability reports publicizing the perceived successes of corporate environmental management systems. The most common reason has been to assure stakeholders--employees, investors, customers--that the company takes environmental and social matters seriously and acts responsibly. Critics have called this practice “greenwashGreenwash
Greenwashing , or "green sheen", is a form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that a company's policies or products are environmentally friendly.-Usage:...
ing.”
Analysis and results
The Roberts Environmental Center analyzes online corporate self-reporting using the Pacific Sustainability Index, which includes sector-specific questions and uses a general systematic questionnaire to analyze the quality of sustainability reporting. Students from all five of the Claremont Colleges study and work in the Roberts Center in a joint effort among faculty, research associates, and students. The Center publishes these results on their web site in graphical form, in published sector reports, technical papers, and books.The Center analyzes environmental and social self-reporting by the world's largest companies and publishes the results of up to 30 companies at a time in industrial sector reports. The reports score companies based on reporting, intent, and performance of environmental and social sustainability efforts. The Center ranks companies and assigns letter grades for their for overall quality of reporting, based entirely on material released on the firms’ Web sites. No assessment is made of actual company performance in implementing their sustainability goals. Prior to final publication, companies are given an opportunity to point out any omissions or misunderstandings on the part of the Center's analysts, and to post additional material to their web sites for further analysis prior to assigning a final letter grade. Many companies take advantage of this opportunity. These detailed analyses reveal what social and environmental themes companies perceive to be most important to the American public today. All sector reports are available for free download
Roberts Center publications assert that large and small organizations can gain by adopting a strong vision of sustainability, publicizing it, and systematically working to improve--no matter what a company’s current level of performance is.
2009 Sector Reports
- 2009 Sustainability Reporting in New York Public Companies http://www.roberts.cmc.edu/PSI/pdf/NewYork2009.pdf Accessed 5-30-09.
- 2009 Consumer Food, Food Production, and Beverages Industry Report http://www.roberts.cmc.edu/PSI/PDF/Food2009.pdf Accessed 5-30-09.
- 2009 Industrial and Farm Equipment Industry Report http://www.roberts.cmc.edu/PSI/PDF/FarmEquipment2009.pdf Accessed 5-30-09.
- 2009 Forest and Paper Products Industry Report http://www.roberts.cmc.edu/PSI/PDF/Forest2009.pdf Accessed 5-30-09.
- 2009 America's Largest Corporations: Energy Industry Report http://www.roberts.cmc.edu/PSI/PDF/Energy2009.pdf Accessed 5-30-09.
- 2009 America's Largest Corporations: Utilities, Gas, and Electric Industry Report http://www.roberts.cmc.edu/PSI/PDF/Utilities2009.pdf Accessed 5-30-09.
- 2009 Telecommunications, Network, and Peripherals Industry Report http://www.roberts.cmc.edu/PSI/PDF/Telecommunication2009.pdf Accessed 5-30-09.
- 2009 Motor Vehicles and Parts Industry Report http://www.roberts.cmc.edu/PSI/PDF/MotorVehicle2009.pdf Accessed 5-30-09.