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Research: Sussex University 2019 Research: SDG5 Gender Equality & SDG8 Decent Work+description

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With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development it is of high relevance to governments, companies and their stakeholders to track and assess the contributions of business to the achievement of the SDGs. This project is a partnership between the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) and WikiRate, to support this need, engaging students in advancing the SDGs by proactively researching, analyzing and sharing the achievements of companies in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as reported in sustainability reports and Communication on Progress reports (COPs) submitted to the UN Global Compact.

By researching and analyzing company performance and making new data available on WikiRate, students and researchers contribute to an open archive of comparable company performance data - making corporate sustainability more transparent and useful for all.

There are three main components to this exercise:

  1. Collecting and add data to WikiRate according to the set of metrics in your project for 1 company over 1 years.
  2. In parallel to the data research, collecting qualitative information according to the SDGs and metrics researched, which provide additional context to understanding how companies are reporting to the SDGs and different issue areas.
  3. Peer review of data research.

Metrics being researched cover a range of SDGs according to a mapping of business disclosures to the SDGs (see the SDG Compass) including environmental, social and governance areas. In the last two years, this research has contributed to academic research and project reports being used to raise awareness and engage companies, policy makers and citizens in improved transparency.

Look through the following company Pernod Ricard research for an example for good practices in conducting CSR data research according to these metrics:

Watch the tutorial video on how to conduct research on WikiRate: 

Get Started

  • Create a WikiRate profile. Click the “join” button on wikirate.org. Create a username [name/student number/etc], add your email address and password, then click submit.

  • When you are signed into WikiRate, join your Research Group: by clicking on the link to your class (see the organizer list on this page), and clicking on "Join Group."

Step-by-Step

  1. Once you have joined your research group, you can start researching. Find the company you have been assigned to research and hit the Research button.
  2. You will see a list of metrics in the dropdown menu. Choose a metric to research and click the Metric details tab to read the methodology.
  3. Start by looking for a source for this information. Your source may already be on the WikiRate platform or you may find the information somewhere else and need to add it to the platform.
  4. Choose the relevant year for the metric value in the dropdown menu and add the value to the answer box. Make sure you convert the value into the correct unit of measurement. If you cannot find the relevant value click Unknown. 
  5. To cite your selected source, click Cite on the right-hand side of the window.
  6. Add a comment to your answer detailing the page number of the source where you found your metric value (if applicable). You can also include relevant excerpts from the report. If you converted the metric value, explain how you did so including equations. 
  7. It's time to submit your answer! Click the Submit button and check everything is correct.
  8. Now hit Next to move onto your next metric.

Further Guidance

Below are some frequently asked questions that might be useful for you if queries come up during your research. 

  • What is a metric? Metrics measure an aspect of company performance in a given year and each metric value must have a source. Researching metric answers is vital to supporting our work and growing a knowledge base on corporate performance.

  • What is a Communication on Progress (COP) report? Communication on Progress reports, or COPs, are reports that companies participating in the UN Global Compact must submit annually to the organization.The reports show how much progress companies have made in 10 sustainability categories that cover a range of environmental, social and governance indicators.

  • What do I do if the company I am researching doesn't provide the information I need? When you are trying to answer a WikiRate metric question but you cannot find the right information in a company’s report or website, answer the question with Unknown. This may be frustrating at first, but you should actually feel good about adding Unknown because you’re shining a light on a gap in that company’s reporting.

  • What do I do if I enter a wrong value or year? Click on the value, then click the edit icon next to the year. Change your value or year, and click Submit.

  • What do I do if I encounter a technical problem? Go to Technical support to report the bug.

  • For all other questions or suggestions email