CSRHub Scores Join RampRate’s SPY Index

CSRHub

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Scores Will Drive Triple Bottom Line in IT, Data-Center Supplier Choice

SANTA MONICA, CALIF. May 16, 2012 – RampRate Sourcing Advisors, the premier sourcing advisor for IT infrastructure and cloud computing, has integrated CSRHub’s corporate-social-responsibility scores into its proprietary SPY Index decision hub, enriching it so that IT decision makers can evaluate how well suppliers align with their corporate environmental, social, and community values. VIEW PRODUCT HERE

“CSRHub’s scores are an important addition to the SPY Index, taking the IT industry’s most comprehensive data set on services, prices and quality levels into a new dimension,” said RampRate CEO Tony Greenberg. “Now, we’ll also evaluate providers’ environmental and energy-conservation efforts and other factors, truly measuring total cost of ownership (TCO) and evaluating supplier impacts on your company’s triple bottom line.”

CSRHub rates about 5,000 publicly traded companies on their corporate social responsibility achievements, using more than 150 information sources that measure environmental sensitivity, corporate governance, community engagement and employee treatment.

“This deal puts CSRHub’s transparent, carefully derived scores to work in a tangible, effective way that fully values suppliers’ social and environmental performance,” said CSRHub’s co-founder and COO Cynthia Figge. “It will help smart, forward-thinking companies better decide which suppliers should be their business partners.” “First costs may not matter as much as they have in the past,” said John A. “Skip” Laitner, Director of Economic and Social Analysis for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. “Instead, providing total value-added services for the customer will likely drive future loyalty and business. Those businesses that shift to a new dynamic that engages and empowers their customers, and that delivers high-quality and value-added services have the best chance to secure a robust economic future.”

Customers of RampRate can now access CSRHub scores in RampRate’s supplier evaluation scorecard. The top-level element, called “Alignment with Industry and Community Goals,” will allow buyers of data centers, support, and other IT services to assign a weight to social responsibility in their overall supplier evaluations. The SPY Index database will include the weighted CSRHub scores in creating a prioritized list of suppliers based on their alignment with client goals. Conversely, suppliers will receive feedback on their performance on this and other dimensions along with guidelines for improvement. For companies that wish to more deeply explore their scores and those of their partners, CSRHub offers subscription services, peer analysis, and custom reports to monitor organizational performance.

“Choosing the right supplier can dictate how the public and your customers perceive your company, as recent headlines have shown,” said RampRate board member Peter Gross, P.E., a long-time champion of energy-efficient data centers. “Now, more than ever, it is important to know who you’re doing business with and how they do it, far beyond just pricing and service levels. In the long run, this approach is better for the IT decision maker who wants to create a positive public perception and build customer relationships.”

Former Microsoft executive Will Poole of CreativeCap.org helped midwife the deal, calling it a natural fit that extends the SPY Index’s power to measure a deal’s true return on investment (ROI).

“The definitions of TCO and ROI are changing rapidly, with a growing recognition that many more factors are involved than once thought,” said Poole. “This deal, bringing together organizations with the best information for different parts of those new definitions, will help companies serve the triple bottom line far better.”

The announcement builds on a long-term RampRate strategy of incorporating social responsibility components as a key dimension in IT services. RampRate’s Greenberg has long been involved with the Clinton Global Initiative in encouraging more efficient data-center design to reduce negative environmental impacts. RampRate also has worked with Green Grid and other industry organizations dedicated to propagating environmentally sensitive tech practices.

About RampRate

RampRate is the premier sourcing advisor and decision hub for IT infrastructure and cloud computing. RampRate has delivered proven results for more than a decade, finding the right outsourced IT partners for more than 125 of the world’s most important companies in finance, tech, entertainment, and beyond.

About CSRHub

CSRHub provides access to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability ratings and information on nearly 5,000 companies from 135 industries in 65 countries. Managers, researchers and activists use CSRHub to benchmark company performance, learn how stakeholders evaluate company CSR practices and seek ways to change the world. Media Contacts Tony Greenberg, CEO RampRate Sourcing Advisers 310-319-1599 t@ramprate.com Cynthia Figge, COO CSRHub 425-392-9993 Cynthia@csrhub.com