China’s Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) and the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) are collaborating on an annual joint report called the Corporate Information Transparency Index (CITI) to expose brands’ supply chains in China. The CITI, which is based on a survey conducted by IPE, has been published every year since 2011. Many experts argue that the worst pollution often happens in the supply chain. Yet some established indexes, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Global Reporting Initiative, and Carbon Disclosure Project, concentrate on the end of the process. CITI focuses on the manufacturing process and evaluates factories itself. Brands which score highly in other indexes may score poorly on CITI.
China’s Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) and the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) are collaborating on an annual joint report called the Corporate Information Transparency Index (CITI) to expose brands’ supply chains in China. Its 2015 findings indicate that only 28 of the 167 companies reviewed were operating in China at minimal acceptable standards. Many experts argue that the worst pollution often happens in the supply chain. Yet some established indexes, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Global Reporting Initiative, and Carbon Disclosure Project, concentrate on the end of the process. CITI focuses on the manufacturing process and evaluates factories itself. Brands which score highly in other indexes may score poorly on CITI.