A rating system to initiate incentives on corporations' sustainability transparency

Today’s consumers are more conscious about sustainability and de- mand transparent information from corporations about their products and practices. Yet corporations are hardly disclosing enough information to help consumers in their purchase decisions. This research in progress is an investigation to address how corporations are given an incentive to brand themselves by being transparent about sustainability. The action research method is used leading to the development of an MVP and a rating system named “transparency rating” addressed and based on knowledge from current literature as well as feedback from consumers and corporation owners. To support the rating solution, thirteen semi-structured interviews have been conducted with consumers and corporations upon which qualitative data was drawn and thematic analysis was used to refine and redefine the rating system. The transparency rating proposed is a tool that can potentially incentivize corporation owners to share their information transparently and be helpful in consumer purchase decisions.