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    The SPOTT Index: a proof-of-concept measure for tracking public disclosure in the Palm Oil industry

    Oppenheimer, P. and Clarke, E. and Cupit, O. and Delabre, Izabela and Dodson, A. and Guindon, M. and Hatto, A. and Lam, J. and Lawrence, L. and Melot, C. and Spencer, E. and Wainwright-Déri, E. and Freeman, I. and Hoffmann, M. (2021) The SPOTT Index: a proof-of-concept measure for tracking public disclosure in the Palm Oil industry. Current Research in Environmental Sustainability 3 , p. 100042. ISSN 2666-0490.

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    Abstract

    The production of palm oil has considerable implications for tropical biodiversity. Increasing the environmental, social and governance (ESG) transparency and disclosure of the industry will contribute towards sustainable consumption and production practices. Here, we present a method for producing an index to measure changes in ESG disclosure in the palm oil sector over time based on data collected on SPOTT (Sustainability Policy Transparency Toolkit). The SPOTT Index is based on the number of points scored by a company during an annual assessment, and the number of companies that were included in that assessment time period. The SPOTT Index shows that ESG disclosure of palm oil companies measured improved between 2014 and 2018. Although we demonstrate proof of concept based on a limited number of companies, continued growth of SPOTT will enable the production of a powerful metric in ESG disclosure beyond palm oil and also serve to incentivise sustainable production and consumption in the sector.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Palm oil, Corporate disclosure, SPOTT index, Assessment, Companies, ESG
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
    Depositing User: Izabela Delabre
    Date Deposited: 12 May 2021 10:15
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 18:09
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/43893

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