Frequently Asked Questions

We maintain an open membership policy. Any company that expresses the desire to improve its sustainability performance is welcome to join BSR. We believe all companies have areas of their performance that can be improved. As our founders stated, BSR works with “leaders and learners, and most companies are both.”

The integrity of this model is safeguarded by our policy against allowing companies to cite BSR membership as a “seal of approval,” certifying in some way that they have achieved a certain level of performance. As such, we are clear about stating that BSR membership alone does not provide any qualitative assessment of a company’s performance on sustainability.

Please contact us for further information.

BSR membership is open to companies and organizations only. 

Membership may be initiated any time.

We ask that all members read and adhere to our membership Policies and Benefits, created to protect our members' privacy, the value of membership, and the intellectual property of BSR.

BSR places no other formal obligations or expectations on its members in terms of their policies, practices, or performance. BSR encourages its members to get involved in sustainability through engagement with our staff of experts, participation in projects or collaborative initiatives, attendance at the annual BSR Conference, and participation in other BSR activities and events. We have found that members receive greater benefits by engaging actively, and we also encourage companies to involve multiple representatives, across functions and geographies, in their BSR relationship.

We do not endorse or certify companies. We believe that it would be a conflict of interest to certify companies when we have a member relationship with them and often consult for them as well. In addition, we believe that the sustainability agenda is so dynamic that the criteria for certification will—and should—change over time, making it difficult to determine where to “set the bar” for certification. Finally, we believe we can add greater value by focusing on how to improve sustainability performance across the board for business rather than measuring performance.

Membership fees are based on a company's gross annual revenues or an organization’s annual operating budget. Please refer to this chart of our annual membership dues.

Annual dues cover 12 months from the date of membership and renews annually in the month your company joined.

While BSR is a 501(c)(3) public benefit nonprofit organization, members receive services and benefits in return for their annual membership dues. Therefore, membership dues are not a charitable contribution.

BSR accepts payment by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or American Express), but a transaction fee will be applied. Payments may also be made by check (make payable to "BSR") or wire transfer. Email memberservices@bsr.org for wire transfer details. Membership dues are non-refundable.

Payment is only accepted in the currency of the membership dues stated in the membership agreement (normally U.S. dollars).

Associate membership is available to companies with annual gross revenues of less than US$1 billion and non-company organizations (e.g., NGOs, nonprofits, and academic institutions). Please refer to the member benefits comparison matrix page to compare Corporate and Associate membership benefits.

Members may choose one of a suite of engagement options as part of their membership. Please refer to the engagement options overview for details.

Access to and participation in BSR’s collaborative initiatives is a core benefit of BSR membership. Please refer to the collaborative initiatives engagement options overview for details.

Please contact us at memberservices@bsr.org. 

Member companies can obtain permission to use BSR's name, logo, and statement of membership by contacting Member Services at memberservices@bsr.org.

Members are free to place BSR's logo, a statement of membership, and/or a link to the BSR site (www.bsr.org) on their website. Members may also use BSR's name and logo on other promotional materials, with approval from Member Services. The use of BSR's name and logo are proprietary and protected by federal law. Membership and use of BSR's name and logo cannot be used as a statement of endorsement.

Please email memberservices@bsr.org.

Please use our password reset form.

The BSR Insight is for BSR members only and can only be shared/forwarded to member organization personnel. If you know someone who would be interested in the BSR Insight or in receiving more information about BSR, please contact us at memberservices@bsr.org and we would be happy to send out membership information. 

You can find a list of upcoming Sustainability Matters webinars and access recordings of past webinars on our webinar page. Note that a Member Center log-in is required.

BSR member company contacts can email the job description to web@bsr.org. It will be posted on our sustainability jobs page.