The Erasmus Corporate Impact Index*, a ranking of companies with the greatest social impact, has been published for the sixth consecutive year. TenneT Holding ranks number one for the first time this year. The Erasmus Corporate Impact Index is led by Karen Maas and is the only independent index in the Netherlands that assesses impact leadership. Read all about the Erasmus Corporate Impact Index 2023 here.
"Influence brings responsibility, especially in an open economy like ours." Prof. Dr. Karen Maas
The Erasmus Corporate Impact Index responds to the shift in business from a short-term focus on profit optimization to a long-term vision of social value creation. It is a topic that is increasingly prominent on the agenda of the boards of large companies. Also, supervisory board members are increasingly being asked about this matter.
The annual research and development of the index is led by Professor Karen Maas, academic director of the Impact Centre Erasmus (ICE) and Professor of Accounting & Sustainability. Maas: "The Corporate Impact Index is the only independent index in the Netherlands that assesses impact leadership. It is a unique opportunity to put the front runners in social value in the spotlight and to motivate the followers and laggers to also take up their role as major organizations in our society."
About the Erasmus Corporate Impact Index
The initiators of the index intend, on the one hand, to give support to management and supervisory directors who stick their necks out and link social responsibility to the corporate strategy. On the other hand, they hold up a mirror to those who still have a lot to gain. This way, the initiators want to steer the dialogue in the right direction, from financial output to social impact.
The study was conducted among the one hundred largest organizations in the Netherlands. The Erasmus Corporate Impact Index provides a total score for the positive impact that companies have on society. The total score is calculated based on five pillars: good and transparent management, the relationship with the outside world, financial health, sustainability and employment. These five aspects are based on more than 20 measurable criteria. The study is repeated annually.
Click here to download the complete overview of the Erasmus Corporate Impact Index list of the pioneers and midfield companies with the largest expected social impact in the Netherlands.
Click here to download the complete overview of the Erasmus Corporate Impact Index list of the pioneers and midfield companies with the largest expected social impact in the Netherlands.
Explanation Erasmus Corporate Impact Index
The Erasmus Corporate Impact Index is a ranking for multiple value creation, developed by Impact Centre Erasmus. Each year, the 100 largest companies in the Netherlands are analyzed on their social contribution: all AEX and AMX companies, complemented with the 50 companies with the largest number of employees. The analysis is based on publicly available data and various databases such as the ESG Risk Rating from Sustainalytics.
The total impact score of each company is calculated based on scores on five pillars:
Good governance
Relationship with the outside world
Sustainability
Financial health
Employership
Each pillar has several metrics and sub-metrics, over 20 in total. The pillar scores and total score are an indication of the impact that the company has in that area. The higher the score, the more expected impact the company has, compared to the other companies in the list.
For 'good governance', the composition of the board of directors and supervisory board, such as youth activity and diversity, is examined.
For 'the relationship with the outside world', it is examined whether the CEO's letter addresses social impact, and the score on the transparency benchmark is also taken into account. For ‘sustainability’, data on the ESG (environment, social and governance) policy was analyzed and the contribution to the SDGs was examined. ‘financial health’' includes revenue growth, profitability, resilience and tax transparency. ‘employership’ was analysed in terms of employee satisfaction, the average salary as a % of the CEO salary, among other metrics. The above examples are only some of the most important ones. The aforementioned examples are all merely a few metrics.
It is important to note that the Erasmus Corporate Impact Index (ECII) is not a static index. The index evolves. Since social impact is subject to constant change, the methodology of the ECII is reviewed annually and (partially) refined. New metrics are added or replaced because these become available or are more suitable for providing insight into impact leadership with a score.
It is therefore an invitation to companies, including the frontrunners, to continue their efforts to increase their positive financial, environmental and social impact and to reduce their negative impact.
In addition to the ECII leader in the overall score, it is, possibly even more interesting, to look at the leaders on the various pillars. This immediately gives a completely different picture. An organization can score well in total, but at the same time not have a high position in one of the pillars. For example, an organization scores high on 'good employment' and 'financial' health but is not in the top 5 on 'sustainability', then there is impact leadership on two pillars but not on 'sustainability'.
* Impact Centre Erasmus developed the index, and is fully responsible for all open-source data analysis, processing and scientific autonomy and integrity since 2021.