CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF CORPORATE ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING SCORING SYSTEMS

Abstract

Scoring systems are increasingly being used to rate, rank and benchmark corporate environmental reports. This paper outlines the four basic levels of measurement or scales utilised in scoring systems highlighting the rules of scaling and statistical application. The scoring systems created by seven groups of analysts and researchers are described and assessed for their methodological approaches. The research shows that the axioms of the scales are rarely obeyed, thus creating skewed and misleading results. The implications of utilising such scoring system to rate, rank and benchmark companies can have repercussions on the type of publicity that companies receive, and they must be better understood and executed in order that companies can deal with the consequences more readily.