SCORE Overview

What is SCORE?

An easy-to-administer sustainability assessment that....

Educates managers on what sustainability means in practice, in their lingo

Assesses your organization's progress toward sustainability

Benchmarks you against other organizations

Shows you what to do to improve

Provides a long-term vision of full sustainability

Assemble the right people and we can gather the data on over 70 practices
in as little as 2 hours!

Click here for a flier on SCORE or use the QuickLinks at the top of the page for more info.

Developed by AXIS Performance Advisors in conjunction with the International Sustainable Development Foundation and the Zero Waste Alliance. The companion book, The Business Guide to Sustainability, won the American Library Association's award for 'Best Academic Titles for 2007.'

SCORE in the news: Event Marketer Magazine

“I think that SCORE is an excellent tool to help an organization assess its internal strengths and weaknesses with respect to sustainability. I think it can be very helpful to organizations that are committed to sustainability and have a desire to improve and excel.” —Dean Kubani, City of Santa Monica

“Even though we have been pursuing sustainability for several years and have a robust infrastructure to support our efforts, the SCORE process uncovered new directions and helped us refocus our energies and actions." —Clark Brockman, SERA Architects

“This was a good exercise because it really made me think about some of the areas Nike can improve on. We have a lot of work to do!” —Chuck Gatchell, Nike

“It was a real eye opener for all of us and reminded us of how much we have done as well as how much we still need and want to do. I am most pleased with the quick turn around on the analysis. The more I learn about this the more impressed I am with the whole approach.”
—Michael Stusser, OSMOSIS Spa and founder of the Green Spa Network

Some of our SCORE clients

Alaska Airlines

British American Auto Care

British Columbia Ministry of Education

City of Corvallis

City of Santa Monica

Curry Brandaw

Dartmouth College

Doubletree

Howard County, MD

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon

METRO

Nike

Organically Grown

Osmosis Spa

Precor

Progressive Investment

SERA Architects

Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt

Standard Insurance

World Vision

“This assessment was very valuable. It tells you where you are now but also gives you ideas of projects you should undertake to become sustainable. It was easy to use and a good reality check for how far we need to go.”—Administrative manager in a City

“I am excited about the assessment and truly appreciate what you and Marsha have done to help put it all in place. Your book is extremely well written and organized, to the point where those who read and implement the assessment should be well on their way to understanding what it will take to develop a successful Sustainable Development program.” —Yancy Wright, Sustainable Initiatives Coordinator, Sellen Construction

QuickLinks: What is SCORE • What's special about SCORE • SCORE assessment areas • How SCORE Works
• Sample SCORE items • SCORE Options • Licensed Assessors • Becoming Licensed • Pay for SCORE Report w/credit card

What’s special about SCORE?

SCORE includes over 100 practices and is organized by functions that practically all organizations have (HR, facilities, purchasing, finance, etc.). This makes it easy to assign responsibility and it helps departments understand what they are supposed to do.
For each practice, it provides three levels of performance so you can see where you are now and where you need to go long-term.
SCORE for Small Business uses a subset of these practices and is faster and less expensive (for companies with fewer than 50 employees)
There are special sector assessments for services, government and manufacturing, as well as some specialized sectors (e.g., spas, travel industry, wastewater treatment, etc.) capturing special opportunities for each sector. More specific sectors are also under development.
It can easily be combined with other sustainability assessment processes (e.g., impacts assessment, greenhouse gas inventories) or sustainability planning processes.
It dovetails with the award-winning book, The Business Guide to Sustainability by Hitchcock and Willard (Earthscan, 2006, 2009) that can provide frameworks, tools and strategies for improving your sustainability performance.
It can supplement emerging sustainability rating systems and award programs.

Learn how to administer SCORE in your own organization year after year to measure progress;
consultants can become licensed to use SCORE with clients.

Click here to be added to a notification list when we are offering training on SCORE next.

"I REALLY loved your Business Guide to Sustainability -- its been very handy around here lately. What I liked best was that it was clear/concise and laid out in a way that made real sense. The way the chapters were structured (into the functions and sectors) was particularly helpful - not everyone I work with is interested in reading a whole book, but they will read a pertinent chapter! (to tell you the truth, I had originally borrowed it fromthe library - but I desperately wanted to highlight and underline so many things that I went out and bought it."

—Jacqueline Drumheller, Alaska Airlines

FOR MORE INFO: Click here for a flier on SCORE or use the QuickLinks at the top of the page for more info on this website.