The partners of SIRI Company have developed various approaches basing on the regional perspectives to define, analyse and evaluate corporate responsibility. In the same time, uniform internationally valid sets of criteria for sustainability and analysis of enterprises have been developed taking into account regional, cultural and legal differences. The focal point is the question, how companies interact with their internal and external stakeholders. The relevant information for the 600 biggest companies worldwide are collected currently following uniform quality standards and are summed up in a special comany profile, the "SiRi Global Profile".

The advantages of a uniform procedure are obvious:

Internationally relevant data are available for all SiRi partners and their customers in a compatible format.

So, information are usable for investors around the world.

Comparability fo the performance of international companies is improved.

The quality of sustainability ratings and other investor recommendations is increased.

Company research at scoris concentrates primarily on the behaviour of German and Austrian joint-stock companies. For data surveying scoris uses quantitative and qualitative survey methods, comprehensive enquiries in standard sources, as well as stakeholder contacts. Approx. 220 individual aspects are incorporated in scoris company profiles. Scoris approaches the companies directly for information which cannot be obtained from external sources. This is normally done via the transfer of the current databank information to the company combined with an invitation for personal conversation.

scoris and their partners from the SiRi Company network collect data worldwide for the following areas:

A. General Company information
e.g. industry, business areas, turnover, company philosophy
B. Corporate Ethics
e.g. activities against corruption and bribery
C. Activities for the society
e.g. foundations, amount of donations, involvement at the locations
D. Corporate Governance
e.g. transparency of conduct of business, controlling, voting rights limitations, board compensation
E. Customers
e.g. quality management, product quality, customer satisfaction, ethical marketing procedures
F. Employees
e.g. health and work safety, equal opportunity and promotion of women, co-management and employee ownership schemes
G. Environment
e.g. environmental policy and management, certifications, product ecology, efficient use of resources, environmental key data
H. Human rights and suppliers
e.g. incorporation of suppliers into the quality and environmental management system, compliance with minimum job standards, human rights as a criteria for supplier choice
I. Activities in controversial areas
e.g. alcohol, nuclear energy, gene technology, gambling, pornography, armament and arms, tobacco products, animal testing

Since April 2004, scoris and the SiRi Company offer a new and innovative online rating tool: SiRi Pro. On the basis of the detailed and high quality SiRi company profiles, which have been updated continuously for the last three years, SiRi is able to realise customized, individual stustainability ratings for the biggest joint-stock companies world wide.
With SiRi Pro the process of sustainability rating is for the first time completely transparent. Users of this service can simply and quickly define their vision of sustainability and their investment criteria as the basis of a company rating or they can use the standard criteria of SiRi Company. Of course, scoris offers customized support and consulting on the basis of SiRi Pro information.
Siri Pro offers individual company ratings, the realisation of sector surveys and best-in-class-analysis, the definition of sustainable equity portfolios etc. and represents an efficient information tool for all analysts and fund managers.

Scoris works, like all SiRi Company members - along uniform quality standards. Staying independent is an important prerequisite. Longterm corporate research experience is given.  But for scoris research quality means as well:

 comprehensive use of available and especially independent sources
 application of quantitative and qualitative surveying methods 
 workflow documentation 
 the documentation of the information sources used, separation of internal and external information
 direct contact with the companies being researched, written questionnaires and invitation for personal conversation. Companies may comment on surveyed data.
 regular updating of the data
 
The research process and the results should be transparent for the rated companies as well as for the user of the information. The complete workflow is aligned to draw a detailed, exact and objective picture of the situation and the conduct of the rated companies.

Voluntary quality standard CSRR-QS 1.0
The SiRi Company and their european network partners including scoris developed in 2003 - in cooperation with other rating agencies - a voluntary quality standard. With this quality standard, which has been supported by the European Commission, the independant rating agencies want to commit themselves to a transparent, comprehensible and documented sustainability rating process. The new standard for Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Research (CSSR) is currently in a testing period, more information can be find on www.cssr-qs.org.