How the ratings work

The scoring system explained

We have ranked companies in the FTSE 350 at 22 September 2008 (excluding investment trusts and some firms new to the index that have not completed a reporting cycle) according to a range of responsible investment criteria. The idea is to help investors who wish to put their money into companies making a positive contribution to society. Ethical investment is subjective - different people have different views on what they consider acceptable - and we do not make any judgment about the social usefulness or otherwise of particular industries. Some companies that would normally be excluded by ethical and green funds, because they operate in areas such as tobacco or arms, are included in our FTSE100 table, marked with a ●. We are not tipping any particular companies.

Scoring: The maximum possible score is 100. The scoring breaks down into three main categories:

• How companies report on their risks and manage their impact on the environment, society and communities - for example, how they deal with workplace relations, charity work and environmental issues. This section accounts for 40 percent of the overall mark.
• The quality of companies' corporate governance, including the independence of the board, the soundness of executive pay policies and the alignment of the interests of executives with those of shareholders. This accounts for 30 percent of the total mark.
• How companies address issues particular to their sector. For instance, food retailers would be assessed on issues including how responsibly they source their products, labelling, marketing and sustainability. This section accounts for 30 percent of the total mark.

Sources: The main source for the assessments is companies' own reporting, supplemented by Co-operative Asset Management's research and engagement with companies, and additional research from investment advisers EIRIS and Innovest.

Results: The results are reviewed by the Co-op's responsible investment team, and by its financial analysts and fund managers. Some companies' scores may be lower than their operational management merits because of lack of reporting. We acknowledge that, whatever framework is used, these assessments are ultimately based on qualitative judgements.