Photo by VH

Consumer Perception Survey

Before building the Illumination Index,

I surveyed 21 people about their perceptions and opinions when companies talk about sustainability. It was designed to inform the site's design direction, not to serve as a representative sample.

The results explain how and why this site exists.

62%

Were likely to use a free corporate transparency scoring tool

52%

Said that independent verification matters most for trust

81%

Had little or no ESG familiarity before this survey

71%

Felt skeptical of generic sustainability claims

Vague claims feel less trustworthy.

People already know this but they just can't label it.

Specific & SBTi Validated

"We have reduced our absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 32% vs. our 2019 baseline. Targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).”

Consumer Suspicion Score: 2.2/5

Vague Carbon Claim

"We are taking meaningful steps to reduce our carbon footprint and work toward a cleaner future for the planet."

Consumer Suspicion Score: 3.7/5

1.5 point gap

Specificity moves trust significantly. This gap is larger for carbon claims than packaging. People intuitively know something is off, they just don’t know exactly what it is.

Photo by Shutter Shock

This survey shaped my design decisions on this site.

Every score on this site is tethered to specific evidence. 95% of respondents said that's what they'd need to trust a rating.

I designed the Illumination Index to be consumer-facing from the start, which meant understanding what consumers could actually digest and act on.

The Illumination Index gives consumers a clear, evidence-backed way to evaluate corporate sustainability claims.

See Company Scores