"Third party standard" means a recognized standard for defining, reporting, and assessing corporate social and environmental performance that is:
- (1) comprehensive because it assesses the effect of the benefit corporation and the benefit corporation's operations upon the interests listed in IC 23-1.3-5-1 (1)(B) through IC 23-1.3-5-1 (1)(E);
- (2) developed by an entity that is not controlled by a benefit corporation;
(3) developed by an entity that:
- (A) has access to necessary expertise to assess overall corporate social and environmental performance;
- (B) uses a balanced multistakeholder approach to develop the standard, including a reasonable public comment period;
(C) was not materially financed by any of the following organizations and not more than one-third (1/3) of the members of the governing body of the entity are representatives of:
- (i) associations or businesses operating in the same industry, the performance of whose members is measured by the standard; or
- (ii) businesses from the same industry or an association of businesses in that industry; and
(4) transparent because all the following information is publicly available:
- (A) The criteria considered when measuring the overall social and environmental performance of a business.
- (B) The relative weightings, if any, of the criteria described in clause (A).
- (C) The identity of the directors, officers, material owners, and governing body of the entity that developed and controls revisions to the standard.
- (D) The process by which revisions to the standard and changes to the membership of the governing body are made.
- (E) An accounting of the revenue and sources of financial support for the entity, with sufficient detail to disclose any relationships that could reasonably be considered to present a potential conflict of interest.
As added by P.L.93-2015, SEC.3.