Council on Economic Priorities (CEP) [no operative website at present, unfortunately]
"Alice Tepper Marlin founded this nonprofit public interest organization to research corporate social responsibility in 1969.
CEP publishes corporate reports, gives yearly corporate responsibility awards, started the Campaign for Cleaner Corporations and provides corporate social responsibility research for investors. CEP also provides Global corporate ratings, News Update Service, Corporate Environmental Data Clearinghouse (CEDC).
CEDC gathers and analyzes information on environmental policies and performance of individual corporations using a wide variety of researchers. CEP has SCREEN information reports providing the investment community with concise, comprehensive and unbiased information on a range of social and environmental issues. The SCREEN service also offers International Corporate Ratings - using its ties to similar organizations in other countries including the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. This provides a truly global perspective to its corporate social responsibility research.
Each company's social performance is objectively measured in eleven issue areas summarized in CEP's unique rating system. Company performance is monitored throughout the year with changes noted in quarterly reports.
All of CEP's information covers a variety of issues:
- the environment
- women & minority advancement
- disclosure of information
- labor relations, family benefits
- charitable giving, community outreach
- military contracts, nuclear power
- tobacco, product liability, animal testing
- South Africa and Third World concerns
CEP's research includes a database of over 700 companies. Included are the Standard & Poor's 500, smaller companies with exemplary records in social performance, major internationally-based companies, and a variety of British, German and Japanese companies.
CEP's monthly newsletter Research Reports presents some of the best research we've seen. Some of the topics covered have included:
- The Campaign for Cleaner Corporations (C3)
- International Banks and Aid for Conversion
- Corporate Social Responsibility & the Computer Industry
- Converting from Defense
- Denim Revolution: Levi's Adopts a Code of Conduct
- Transnational Corporations: Global Influence, Global Responsibility
- America's Corporate Conscience Awards
- Responsible Investing: Screening Corporate Social Performance
The Council on Economic Priorities also publishes several books and guides:
- The Better World Investment Guide: One Hundred Companies Whose Policies You Should Know About Before You Invest Your Money
(Prentice Hall, 1991).
- Shopping for a Better World: A Quick and Easy Guide to Socially Responsible Supermarket Shopping
, series since 1988.
- The Students Shopping for a Better World guide published in 1993. A new updated and expanded 400-page book, Shopping for a Better World 1994 will be available in Fall 1994. The book will also be available on computer diskettes.
For more information call or write: Council on Economic Priorities (CEP), 30 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003 Phone (212) 420-1133.
Maintained by Rory O'Brien robrien@web.net
Last update of this page May 8, 1998