|
SAM Research seeks:
- to define and measure corporate
sustainability performance and its impact on
corporate financial performance. The quantified
impact of corporate sustainability performance
on corporate financial performance provides
valuable information in assessing the fair value
of a company's securities. This additional information
is the competitive advantage SAM Research creates
in SAM's investment process.
- to provide a wide spectrum of
sustainability research services and products
which can be used over the entire array of standardized
and customized investment products.
- to engage with companies and
facilitate corporate change towards a more sustainable
business approach. The publication of the SAM
Screening methodology, of the criteria and questions
used to measure a company's sustainability performance,
is a powerful means used by SAM to create awareness
and competition supporting the continuous improvement
of corporate sustainability.
- to promote excellence and best-practices
in the sustainability investment world by actively
engaging with stakeholders in public forums,
industry-wide initiatives and global standardizing
efforts.
SAM Research has defined the following set of
key principles.
Quality – apply highest
quality and professionalism standards in all areas
of work.
Objectivity and Accountability
– Apply rule-based assessment processes
in a systematic and objective way, ensuring that
all companies are assessed fairly. The external
verification of the yearly assessment of listed
companies by PricewaterhouseCoopers ensures that
all companies are assessed according to the pre-defined
rules.
Transparency – publish
the methodology and criteria used for the assessment,
as well as the main outcomes of the research process.
Leadership and innovation –
Promote excellence, innovation and best-practices
in the investment world and continuously evolve
the research approach on the basis of new insights
into the value creation mechanisms.
Companies that promise to deliver shareholder
value are identified via the Corporate Sustainability
Analysis™. The effectiveness of this approach
is dependent on three distinct characteristics:
Industry Focus – SAM adopts
a detailed industry-specific approach in evaluating
a company's sustainability performance. By identifying
and interpreting industry-specific sustainability
challenges, SAM can select industry-specific criteria
to distinguish between the leaders and laggards
in each industry group. SAM's Sustainability Analysts
are organised by industry and market sector to
ensure profound understanding of industry-specific
issues and best practice.
Best-In-Class – SAM believes
in identifying leadership within industries. By
identifying the best company within an industry,
SAM aims to highlight best practice in addressing
sustainability in each industry. This approach
deliberately stimulates the competitive impulses
of businesses to be the best-of-breed. By identifying
market sector leaders and communicating widely
about these, SAM encourages the best companies
to continually enhance their approach to integrating
sustainability into their businesses.
Performance Orientation –
While recognising that approaches to managing
certain sustainability issues and challenges vary
depending on the maturity of the issue, SAM Research
constantly aims to evaluate and identify performance
rather than the mere existence of policies and
systems designed to address particular sustainability
issues - real commitment is demonstrated by performance.
|
