In its third annual Corporate Responsibility Review, oekom research, the German sustainable investment rating agency, analyzes the corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance of approximately 3,100 companies from more than 45 industries in over 50 countries. Overall, the results of oekom's analysis are not particularly heartening; according to the firm, "Only one in six companies currently satisfies the environmental and social requirements laid down by oekom research as prerequisites for oekom Prime Status."

Yet, of at least equal interest to sustainable investors is oekom's review of the global state of sustainable investment itself. Here, the results chart significant progress; as the report states, "The global volume of sustainable investments totals approximately eight trillion euros ($11.2 trillion)." The report also points out that not only did sustainable investment hold its own during the financial crisis and its aftermath; indeed, "the stricter the sustainability criteria applied when selecting securities, the better the performance of the investment product."

To arrive at its rankings, oekom employed what it terms "absolute best-in-class" criteria, by which the sustainability performance of companies is not only compared to its industry peers; companies must also "meet absolute requirements in terms of sustainability performance," according to the report. Absolute criteria, oekom contends, helps guard against the erroneous inclusion of companies like BP -- ;whose long history of health and safety violations culminated in last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster -- ;among top sustainable companies.

Furthermore, citing the 2010 European SRI Study published late last year by Eurosif, oekom pointed out that more than one-third of sustainable investments in Europe continue to use such exclusionary criteria as controversial industry sectors and significant violations of recognized labor and human rights standards.

Not surprisingly, oekom observed that companies in sustainability sectors are more likely to receive a positive rating, "as their products and services make a major contribution to sustainable development." The ranking of companies listed on the MSCI World bears out the observation, as the top five finishers are all renewable energy companies. Of the top five, the US-based First Solar ranked fifth.

For the first time, oekom rated companies on the MSCI Emerging Markets index. Wipro, an IT company headquartered in India, ranked first in the emerging markets breakdown.

Overall, oekom found that only one-quarter of companies "have the basis for a sustainable management system." Furthermore, widespread violations by companies of social and economic standards persist. According to the report, half of the manufacturers in the electronics sectors have been involved in violations of employees' rights, often through their supply chains. An astounding 75 percent of consumer electronics manufacturers have had substantiated antitrust violations as well.

In addition, 40 percent of companies in the mining sector have been involved in human rights violations, the report states.