Software is becoming ubiquitous. For those of us in the information
industries, it has infiltrated almost every aspect of our working
lives - from creating information with word processors and spreadsheets,
to organizing it with databases, to disseminating it with the
Internet. There are thousands of programs for sale that are created
with particular purposes or markets in mind, whether that be videogames
for teenagers or financial analysis packages for the loans departments
of banks.
Unfortunately, there are almost no programs created yet specifically for SRI professionals. There is one, though, KLD's SOCRATES, that is a good example of a highly useful database of SRI information on corporate performance.
"SOCRATES is the most comprehensive social investment software
package on the market today.
Review Company Profiles and Ratings
SOCRATES has KLD's in-depth profiles on over 650 US corporations,
including every company on the Standard & Poor's 500 and the
Domini 400 Social Index.
SOCRATES PLUS includes coverage of the Willshire 5000 for alcohol,
gambling, tobacco, military contracts and nuclear power.
The profiles have social ratings evaluating each company's strengths
and concerns, covering community, diversity, employee relations,
environment, non-US operations, products, alcohol, tobacco, gambling,
nuclear power and military contracting.
SOCRATES contains many statistics, including:
...Monitor Shareholder Actions
SOCRATES contains information about shareholder actions, compiled
by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR).
...Track Portfolios and Rank Companies
The portfolio feature allows money managers to store clients'
portfolios in SOCRATES so they can run updated reports on their
holdings. The weighting system scores companies, generating a
rank order based on values users assign to the social rating issues..."
