The Sustainability Consortium

No the consortium is not developing a consumer-facing Index or label. Rather, we are developing Sustainability Measurement and Reporting Standards (SMRS's) that will define, for a particular product type, what product manufacturers should measure, how to measure it, and how to report it to a common database. This reporting will be facilitated by IT tools and standards that make this viable in real supply chains, and by research concerning how buyers, merchants, and end-consumers make decisions about sustainable products. Once the product-level sustainability information is in a common database, then manufacturers, retailers, and third-party certification and index owners will be able to use these data for a variety of purposes, all aimed at driving communication of and improvement in product sustainability.

No. The Sustainability Consortium publicly releases all research findings six months after their completion, and an executive summary is made publicly available at completion, all on our website. These findings are also released in peer reviewed journals and discussed at conference proceedings. To receive research findings immediately following completion, you must be a member of the Consortium.

No. The Sustainability Consortium’s progress is updated and announced on our website. You can also follow us on Twitter or become a friend on Facebook where we also regularly announce progress. The Sustainability Consortium also hosts an annual conference, open to non-members, where the progress of the Consortium will be presented.

The Sustainability Consortium has two levels of membership. Tier One members have the opportunity to participate on our Steering Committee and in any sector working groups and/or consortium working groups of interest. Tier Two members have the opportunity to participate in sector working groups. Please review Our Work on the website to learn more about each of these groups and review our membership forms under Join.

One year. The Sustainability Consortium is comprised of members that join for one year terms and renew on an annual basis.

There is no limit to the number of individuals that can participate. The Sustainability Consortium is structured to allow individuals of varying functional areas to engage with relevant work in the Consortium. Please review Our Work on the website to see how multiple functions and individuals of your organization would benefit from membership. Most face-to-face meetings, including the Steering Committee meetings, are limited to two individuals per organization.

As of January 1, 2011 the Consortium will adopt a new governance structure which will include a Board of Directors made up of corporate and university members, and several Advisory Councils (Academic, Civil Society, Corporate) to facilitate stakeholder involvement in TSC’s decisions.

The Steering Committee meets twice annually in-person and conducts business remotely throughout the year. The working groups of the Consortium meet more frequently through remote meeting technologies and meet twice annually in-person.

This is a global effort. The Sustainability Consortium has international membership and explores the complexities of global supply networks from a global life cycle perspective.

Yes. The Sustainability Consortium has multiple retailers within its membership, and we are actively seeking retail partners of various sizes, geographies and types of products sold.

This is environmental and social. The Sustainability Consortium develops science and tools that address the environmental and social implications of products throughout the life cycle.