* Disclaimer: When we say “sustainable,” we recognize that no companies are truly without negative ecological or social impact yet. Thus, "sustainable" here implies "more sustainable" or "especially sustainable within a specific sector."
Future Rating
Our mission is to make a genuinely sustainable way of living accessible, attractive and affordable for everyone.
To achieve that, we develop a holistic, scalable sustainability rating mechanism of companies and businesses based on the ESG framework – the Future Rating. Future Maps as well as our partners like GuudCard and RECUP use this rating to generate trustworthy recommendations for consumers. Together we seek to channel 1bn € per month into the sustainable* economy defined by Future Rating until 2030.
» More than the design of specific products or services, what matters most is the deep design of the organisation itself. «
- Kate Raworth, Author of Doughnut Economics, University of Oxford,
Our Criteria
With Future Rating we aim to identify genuine companies with the intrinsic motivation to innovate and improve their sustainability as fast and thoroughly as they can – even if the public or the law doesn’t force them yet. That’s why Future Rating evaluates companies and businesses with a holistic perspective – taking into account their ecological impact, social impact and governance, including the company’s ownership structure.
Ecological Impact
The ecological impact of a company on the environment might include greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and land use – by their direct actions as well as within their value chain and by their customers. Our criteria describe best practices that reduce a company's ecological footprint significantly. Some of which are:
- All products or their main resources are certified as organic.
- All products are vegan.
- Products and services are mostly or completely free of packaging.
- The company closes loops by repairing, upcycling or recycling.
- The company or organization is supplied with power from renewables.
Social Impact
The social impact of a company does include labor conditions, fair payment, the inclusion of disadvantaged minorities or the support of art and culture – within their company and along their value chain. Our criteria describe best practices that improve a company's social impact significantly. Some of which are:
- The company ensures fair treatment of all their suppliers and the workers of the suppliers.
- The company significantly improves the inclusion of structurally discriminated people.
- The company offers lower prices for people with limited financial resources.
Governance
The governance of a company determines how genuine its sustainability efforts are and how likely these efforts will persist in the future. Our criteria describe best practices for internal and external auditing and place a special emphasis on best practices for ownership structures of companies that prioritize purpose over profit for now and the future. Some of which are:
- As a small business the company is very likely led responsibly by its owners and not focused on extracting profits.
- As a purpose company the company is permanently owned by its management, unsaleable and all profits are reinvested or donated.
- The company or organization is a registered non-profit.
- The company's purpose, profit use and future ownership are decided democratically.
- The company is a certified B-Corp with an outstanding rating.
How it works
Gathering of information on companies e.g. about their procurement sources, energy supplier or ownership structure.
Information is assigned to weighted criteria in the areas of ecological sustainability, social sustainability, and corporate governance.
Our algorithm generates an overall assessment of companies. Either a criterion with high weight or several criteria within different categories have to apply to be recommended as sustainable.
Guiding Principles
When we define and weight new criteria for certain economic sectors, we always think about balancing our three guiding principles of:
1
Genuine sustainability – We aim to be strict and identify only those companies that are really genuine about improving their ecological and social impact.
2
Wide impact – If we are too strict, Future Maps is empty and we don’t change anything for the better.
3
Scaleable rating process – We focus on simple criteria with available data, that at least offer a strong indicator of the sustainability of a company or business.
Future Rating is a work in progress and we’d love to hear your feedback.
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