ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews some of the historical work on measurement, in particular, the work of Archie Carroll and Donna Wood in the field known as corporate social performance (CSP). It provides a measurement system based on Carroll and Wood's framework along with some practical applications. In Donna Wood's 1991 framework, CSP is a "set of descriptive categorizations of business activity, focusing on the impacts and outcomes for society, stakeholders and the firm itself". The chapter details other measurement systems with particular emphasis on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). It looks at how the plethora of systems could be tightened up using the theory of orthogonal indices. GRI promotes the use of sustainability reporting as a way for organizations to become more sustainable and contribute to a sustainable global economy. As the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) community has become more watchful and social investment funds more demanding, the need for an overall index of progress on CSR has emerged.
