The Illumination Index is a prototype audit tool
Companies say a lot about sustainability.
This is what their data actually shows.
Search a company to see how its public sustainability claims compare to its own reported data.
Seven companies evaluated. More in development.
What companies say publicly
"Committed to a sustainable future"
"Carbon neutral by 2040"
"Net zero"
"100% renewable energy"
What their own data shows
Emissions filings
Third-party audit records
Court and regulatory proceedings
Year-over-year data
vs.
What the Illumination Index is
A prototype framework that compares what companies report publicly against what their own data shows.
Most sustainability frameworks were designed for investors and analysts. They evaluate environmental outputs: emissions volumes, water usage, supply chain practices. The Illumination Index evaluates something different: the degree to which a company's public sustainability communications align with its own formally reported data.
This is a measure of communicative alignment, not environmental performance. Both are important. They are not the same variable.
The Illumination Index is a prototype developed at the University of Oregon. The seven companies evaluated were selected to demonstrate the framework across varied industries and disclosure contexts, not to serve as a comprehensive cross-industry comparison.
How to Use the Illumination Index
1. Choose a company
Browse the companies evaluated using the Illumination Index prototype.
-OR-
Contact us about a company you’re curious about and we’ll publish the findings.
2. Read the findings
See what the index found. This is where a company's claims held up against its own data, and where gaps were detected.
3. Decide for yourself
Use the evidence to make more informed decisions about the companies behind the products you buy.
The Illumination Index lines up two sources for every company.
Public Communications
Company website sustainability pages
Social media and press releases
CEO letters
Annual reports via social media
Consumer-facing marketing claims
Formal Reported Data
ESG/Sustainability reports
Third-party audit and verification records
Regulatory Findings
Court Proceedings
Year-over-year emissions data
The gap between those two sources, measured across eleven indicators, produces the Illumination Index value.
The Proof
Amazon Case Study
Amazon publishes one of the most detailed sustainability reports in this dataset. The volume is real. The infrastructure is real, however, absolute emissions stand 34% above the baseline of the Climate Pledge Amazon co-founded. That calculation does not appear anywhere in Amazon's sustainability communications, neither does the greenwashing lawsuit filed four months before the report was published.
Illumination Index value: 19 / 22
A higher value means more gaps were found between what a company says and what its data shows.
Survey findings conducted alongside the research.
71%
of consumers are skeptical of sustainability claims but cannot explain why
81%
have little to no familiarity with ESG, the framework companies use to report sustainability
52%
said independent verification is the one thing that would make them trust a claim
That is what the Illumination Index provides.
Companies In This Prototype
Selected to demonstrate the framework across different industries and disclosure behaviors. These are illustrative applications of a prototype, not a definitive ranking.
A lower Illumination Index value indicates greater alignment between a company's public communications and its formally reported data.
A higher value indicates more gaps were detected. This is not a sustainability performance ranking.
The data is already out there. The Illumination Index puts it in one place.
Every finding on this site is drawn from publicly available sources including sustainability reports, regulatory filings, third-party audits, and court records. The framework organizes that information so consumers can draw their own conclusions.