Patent ID: 8255271
Filing Date: 2012-08-28
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A computer for implementing a rating system, the computer having access to a database populated with data concerning at least one non-economic factor for a company, the computer comprising: means for enabling a user to input at least one weighting; means for transparently displaying at least a formula, the at least one weighting, and a portion of the data that generates a sustainability score, the formula being displayed in a manner that demonstrates how the sustainability score is computed; means for associating each user-input weighting with a respective non-economic factor a page viewable by a user and configured to display a layout and wording of questions used to elicit the data, a link to a source of the data, a manner in which the data was provided, a time during which the data was provided; and a processor configured to compute the sustainability score using the formula, the formula mathematically applying each associated user-input weighting to the respective non-economic factor, wherein the displaying means outputs the sustainability score, the sustainability score defining a rating of the company incorporating the at least one non-economic factor, and, in response to a user interaction, the processor is configured to cause the display, by the display means, of at least a portion of the data used by the formula; wherein at least one of the questions originated from an inquiry identified as having arisen from a public comment; and wherein the system is configured, in scenarios where the data is deficient, to examine a rule base to determine (a) a default response to at least one of the questions and (b) how the default response is combined into the sustainability score.