Methodology · Version 1.0 · June 2026

1,000 points. Five pillars. Zero ambiguity.

Every organisation on the Conscious Exchange is scored against the same framework. Every score is sourced from publicly available data. Every methodology document is open for inspection and challenge.

The Core Definition

A Conscious Business is an organisation that…

01Exists to serve a purpose beyond profit
02Operates transparently and accountably to all stakeholders
03Regenerates rather than extracts from natural and social systems
04Distributes value equitably across founders, workers, communities, and ecosystems
05Governs itself in ways that include those it affects

The Scoring Framework

Five pillars, equally weighted.

Each pillar is worth 200 points. Each metric within a pillar maps to a specific public source. No pillar can be substituted for another — an organisation can't buy planet points with community spending.

A perfect score requires excellence across all five. Most listed organisations score 700–850. A score above 850 puts you in the Luminous tier — the gold standard.

Pillar Detail

How each pillar is scored.

01 / 05

Purpose

200 POINTS

Purpose & Mission

Does the organisation exist for a reason beyond profit?

We evaluate whether the organisation exists for a reason beyond profit, whether that purpose is embedded in its legal structure (purpose trust, public benefit corporation, cooperative statute, foundation), whether incentives and capital allocation reinforce it, and whether mission-lock survives ownership transitions.

Stated purpose is specific, measurable, non-financial40 ptsDocument review

Purpose is embedded in legal / governance structure40 ptsCharter / constitution review

% of activities directly tied to stated purpose40 ptsAnnual report / on-chain data

External validation (B Corp, UN SDG, benefit corp filing)40 ptsCertification check

Leadership publicly champions purpose over profit40 ptsPublic record / interviews

02 / 05

People

200 POINTS

People & Culture

How does it treat those inside and connected to it?

Worker ownership, pay-ratio caps, transparent compensation, psychological safety, freedom to dissent, union relations, parental leave, and the lived experience of the people inside the organisation.

Living wage / fair pay ratio (CEO:lowest worker)50 ptsDisclosed financials

Gender & ethnic diversity at leadership level40 ptsGovernance docs

Employee ownership or profit-sharing programme40 ptsStructure docs

Worker governance rights (voting, board seats)40 ptsDAO / governance docs

Verified safe and healthy working conditions30 ptsThird-party audit

03 / 05

Planet

200 POINTS

Planet & Regeneration

Does it restore more than it takes?

Measured greenhouse-gas emissions across scopes, biodiversity outcomes, water stewardship, circularity of materials, and verified ecological restoration. Restoration outweighs offsets in our weighting.

Net carbon positive (verified)50 ptsCarbon audit

Circular economy practices40 ptsSupply chain audit

Biodiversity net gain policy40 ptsPolicy doc + evidence

Water stewardship35 ptsReporting standard

No extractive industries in supply chain35 ptsSupply chain mapping

04 / 05

Governance

200 POINTS

Governance & Transparency

Who holds power and can anyone verify what's happening?

Who holds power, who can vote, how financials are disclosed, how decisions are traced, how conflicts of interest are surfaced, and whether outside auditors can verify claims.

Publicly verifiable financials (annual report / audited accounts)50 ptsReport archive

Multi-stakeholder governance (not founder-controlled)50 ptsGovernance structure

Active community proposals and voting40 ptsDAO snapshot / forum / congress

Published conflict of interest policy30 ptsPublic docs

Regular public reporting (quarterly minimum)30 ptsReport archive

05 / 05

Community

200 POINTS

Community & Ecosystem Impact

Does it create positive externalities?

Public-goods funding, open-source contributions, supplier ethics, local economic contribution, and the second-order effects the organisation creates in its sector and region.

% of revenue directed to public good / impact50 ptsFinancial disclosure

Verified positive community outcomes50 ptsImpact reports / third-party

Ecosystem partnerships (other conscious orgs)40 ptsPartnership network

Free / open resources shared publicly30 ptsDocumentation / repos

Indigenous / local community consent and benefit30 ptsFPIC documentation

Scoring Tiers

Three tiers, one threshold.

LUMINOUS850–1000

The gold standard of conscious business

RADIANT700–849

Exceptional across all five pillars

EMERGING550–699

Advancing with verified progress

BELOW< 550

Not eligible for the index

Eligibility

To qualify for the Index, an organisation must:

01Score 550+ on the Consciousness Score
02Have publicly verifiable financials (same standard as a listed company)
03Have been operating for minimum 12 months
04Not operate in fossil fuels, weapons, tobacco, predatory finance, or factory farming
05Have at least one mechanism for public participation (token, share, membership, bond, co-op registration, or product purchase)

Transparency Standard

Same standard as a publicly listed company.

An organisation satisfies the Governance & Transparency pillar if a reasonably diligent researcher can verify its financials, governance structure, pay practices, and impact data from publicly available sources — annual reports, audited accounts, published governance documents, regulatory filings, or verified third-party certifications.

On-chain disclosure is one valid form. It is not the only form and receives no bonus weighting.

Annual Re-Scoring Cycle

When scores change.

Full re-score

Annually, published each May

Interim review

Triggered by ±50 point score change or major governance event

Immediate suspension

If an organisation loses public transparency standards

Public alerts

For activist takeovers, acquisitions, leadership instability, token migrations

Current Governance Alerts

Live status changes.

Organisation

Alert

Status

The Body Shop (#99)

Post-Aurelius acquisition — mission independence under review

Monitoring

New Belgium Brewing (#46)

No longer employee-owned since 2019 Kirin acquisition

Score adjusted

Clif Bar (#85)

Mondelez acquisition 2022 — mission independence monitoring

Monitoring

Danone (#26)

Ongoing activist investor pressure on mission

Monitoring

Natura NTCO (#20)

NYSE ADR potential delisting flagged

Verify before buying

KlimaDAO KLIMA

Token migrated to K2 + kVCM — old KLIMA deprecated

Use K2 ticker

Geographic Equity Commitment

We know the index has a bias.

The Conscious Exchange 100 currently over-represents North America and Europe. This reflects the bias of our primary research sources, not the true distribution of conscious business in the world.

We are partnering with Sistema B (Latin America), B Lab Africa, and B Lab Asia Pacific to identify and properly score conscious organisations in underrepresented regions. We commit to at least 25% Global South representation in Edition 2.

22%

USA

12%

Europe

13%

16%

Global / DAO

LatAm

Africa

Asia

Oceania

Canada