WILTON, Conn., June 7, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Full-service brand consulting firm, Brandlogic, in partnership with CRD Analytics, a leading provider of sustainability investment analytics that powers the NASDAQ CRD Global Sustainability Index (QCRD), today released the inaugural version of the "Sustainability Leadership Report: Measuring Perception vs. Reality." This report, Brandlogic's latest contribution to ideas that drive performance, is a quantitative analysis of actual vs. perceived performance around environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors for 100 leading companies. Supported by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the report is available for immediate download at http://www.brandlogic.com/sustainability/.
Perceptual information was derived from a Brandlogic global research study conducted in 2011, which included an even mix from 2,400 of the three "most attentive" segments, supply chain managers, investment professionals and graduating college and university students located in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, India and China. CRD Analytics' SmartView™ platform was used to generate the actual performance data, using quantitative and qualitative data from 175 performance metrics and five key performance indicators within each ESG area.
One of the key findings from the report is the large number of firms – 66 in total – whose perceived performance exceeds their actual performance. Detailed scores for each company are included in the report, as well as the Sustainability IQ Matrix™, a visual framework that plots each of the 100 companies across four quadrants: "Challengers," "Leaders," "Laggards" and "Promoters."
Brandlogic's senior partner of strategy & research James Cerruti stated, "We want the 100 companies, as well as firms who were not analyzed, to look at the report and ask key questions about any reputational risks they may be facing and identify potential opportunities for improvement. Our goal is to help companies achieve results by better aligning their branding, communications, reporting and stakeholder engagement processes around these emerging priorities."
The report also sheds light on opportunities for improvement and unrealized return on investment. Hampton Bridwell, Brandlogic's managing partner and CEO, noted, "At its heart, the report is a leadership tool that frames sustainability in an objective, fact-based context. Ready or not, sustainability is an important component of corporate reputation, and audiences are constantly forming opinions about corporate behavior in this arena. This study utilizes the best sustainability data and takes into account thoughts from the companies' most attentive stakeholders – individuals who are in unique positions to make investment decisions, see things through the supply chain or contemplate and compare employment opportunities."
The report is being presented for the first time today at the Sustainable Brands Conference, held at the Portola Hotel in Monterey, CA by Mr. Cerruti and Mr. Michael Muyot, president of CRD Analytics. Along with the general findings, a detailed view of Apple Inc.®, listed in the report as a "Promoter," will be presented. According to Mr. Muyot, "Apple is a case where perception (53.5 score) is in front of reality (29.3 score). However, the bigger question has less to do with where they are and more about what they'll do to narrow the gap."
MORE ABOUT BRANDLOGIC & CRD ANALYTICS:
Brandlogic® is a leading brand consultancy, offering a full range of services including brand research, strategy, design, digital, communications, employee engagement and sustainability reporting. A 100 percent employee-owned firm, the firm has a 35+ year history of serving complex, global organizations to solve their most pressing business and branding challenges. For more information about Brandlogic, visit www.brandlogic.com.
CRD Analytics is a leading provider of independent sustainability investment analytics. Using its proprietary SmartView™ 360 Platform, CRD Analytics empowers its clients with actionable and performance-driven information distilled from large sets of complex data including 200 financial, environmental, social, governance, brand perception and reputational risk. At the core are the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) G3.1 indicators. CRD Analytics partners with its investment clients to construct proprietary index-based products–Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), separately-managed accounts, mutual funds and Unit Investment Trusts (UITs). For more information about CRD Analytics, go to http://www.crdanalytics.com
Note to Media: To set up an interview with James Cerruti, Hampton Bridwell or Michael Muyot, please contact Doreen Clark of Kohnstamm Communications at (651) 789-1269.
Media Contacts:
Doreen Clark (651) 789-1269 Doreen@Kohnstamm.com
Aaron Berstler (651) 789-1264 Aaron@Kohnstamm.com
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