Must Read | The PPAI 100 Playbook Detakstudio / Shutterstock.com 38 • JANUARY 2026 • PPAI Responsibility & Innovation 22Know that third-party certifications provide automatic credit. Accreditations such as B Corp and EcoVadis trigger standardized partial credit within the Responsibility category. These programs remove subjectivity from the scoring. 23Understand that disclosure – not perfection – is what’s measured. The scoring model can only award points based on the information you provide. Document your initiatives clearly to ensure the system recognizes them. In places, you may be offered the opportunity to provide contextual answers for full or partial credit. 24Innovation scoring is centered on customer experience. The model rewards improvements that make doing business easier and more efficient, be it ordering, billing or security standards. 25Expect shorter surveys. We’ve heard the feedback clearly, and we are working to abbreviate the survey experience in 2026 while still collecting key data for benchmarking industry progress. Not all questions are related to scoring, which is clearly labeled, for an even quicker process. 26Treat PPAI 100 as a measurement framework, not a contest or moral judgment. It’s natural that PPAI 100 creates grounds for bragging rights, but its higher purpose is to create a scorecard for each company to measure its progress and identify opportunities to level up. The goal is accurate representation from a holistic standpoint. Some of the greatest success stories come from businesses that don’t have industry-leading revenue but are comparable to promo’s largest firms in other ways. Ellis is the publisher and editor-in-chief of PPAI Media. We’ve heard the feedback clearly, and we are working to abbreviate the survey experience in 2026.
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