We studied the materiality matrices of 91 companies as published on their websites, restricting our search for matrices to those that had been published or updated since 2010 in order to provide the most accurate review of current practice. An initial group of 16 companies was identified from an Internet search, which we supplemented with companies identified through four other sources. Framework LLC's 2011 report “The Materiality Bridge” was the source of 10 companies. The 2011 Fronesys report “Materiality Futures” was the source of 14 companies. RobecoSAM provided proprietary data from its Corporate Sustainability Assessment of 2000 firms.¹ This is a representative sample of the Standard & Poor's (S&P) Global Broad Market Index since the sample is based on a geographical and sector mix that closely mirrors the S&P broader universe of approximately 10,000 companies. RobecoSAM evaluated these companies for evidence of a materiality process description, a materiality matrix, or a discussion of materiality issues. We identified 42 companies from their study as having materiality matrices and included them in our review. Finally, from the analysis of integrated reports in Chapter 7, we were able to identify an additional nine companies to include in our review.

The materiality matrix was located either separately on the company's website or in one of its reports (annual, sustainability, or integrated). We evaluated both the materiality matrix itself and the surrounding text or links. Our analysis followed three broad categories: stakeholders, matrix construction, and purpose and use.

Stakeholders

• Does the company explain how it identified its stakeholder groups?
• Does the company explain the stakeholder engagement process?
• How many stakeholder groups did the company engage with?

Matrix Construction

• How is the X-axis labeled?
• How is the Y-axis labeled?
• Does either label have a time element (e.g. current/increasing/future)?
• How many issues are included in the materiality matrix?
• Are the issues defined or explained?
• Are the issues themed by color or symbol?
• Does the company alter the size of the issue dot?
• Are arrows used to show the movement of issues over time on the materiality matrix?
• Is the matrix interactive?
• Is the scoring method for issues explained?
• What is the scale used on the axis? (numerical/categorical/none)

Purpose and Use

• Does the company use the matrix for reporting purposes or management purposes? (The text surrounding the materiality matrix was examined for any reference to the matrix as a tool for reporting or as a tool for management purposes. Management purposes could include either stakeholder engagement or resource allocation.)

The list of companies, the source used to identify the company, the year the matrix was published, and a link to the matrix are provided in Table 6B.1.