In May of 2010, we launched a multi-phase research program entitled Rate the Raters, which aimed to shed light on the universe of corporate sustainability ratings and to influence and improve their quality and transparency.

Phases one, two and three explored the ratings landscape today, how ratings work, and where there is room for improvement. For phase four we elected to look forward, to offer our vision for the necessary future of ratings. Watch the video or download the full report to find out more.

While this is the final phase of the program, we wanted to end with a clear call to action: We invite all ratings organisations to respond publicly by 1 January 2012 to the same short set of questions we posed to the 21 raters with whom we worked during phase three.

In making this request, we are channeling the sentiment of the many stakeholders with whom we’ve spoken during the project, who want to see the same level of transparency from raters as we all expect from the companies they rate. The questionnaire is included in our report. We commit to compiling all responses and making them publicly available in the spring of 2012.

Watch the video or read the report now, and please join the debate by commenting below or sharing your views on Twitter (#RatetheRaters).

See our phase one, phase two and phase three reports for further background and context.