Are Consumer Companies Serious About What They Say
In Their Sustainability/Responsibility Reports? Forbes’ contributor Christopher Meyer seeks to ask and answer this question in our Top Story selection this week. He explores the actions and statements about responsibility to society that leading consumer marketers make. Is the commitment and action “for real,” or part of the effort to differentiate [a company] from its consumer market peers via smart PR? For his examples the author looks at such enterprises as Luxottica (glasses), its peer Warby Parker; Toms (footwear), and Eileen Fisher (clothing). Some of the perspectives offered are harsh – Warby Parker has made a “structural commitment to social benefit, while Luxottica pursues practices that shift consumer surplus to investors, an unsustainable form of capitalism.” Some are praiseworthy: Eileen Fisher claims “We don’t want sustainability to be our edge…we want it to be universal…” Where this is relevant: “As customers, we want to understand companies’ motivations because we think it will help us to identify those who are genuinely trying to be part of the solution,” notes the writer. The Forbes contributor is focused in this commentary on some well-known domestic and global consumer marketers, and explores what might motivate a potential buyer to look more closely at the culture, commitments, statements and achievements of companies who want their business (to purchase clothing, glasses, apparel, foods such as Whole Foods, furniture at IKEA, and so on). This is an important development in consumer marketing. Moving up the value chain, we at G&A Institute monitor the large consumer marketers and their sustainability journeys. We've been assisting clients to sell more products and services to these larger customers by strategically aligning, executing and communicating effectively about their (the supplier) sustainability & responsibility programs. Examples are an industrial manufacturer, a food company or a service company service selling to the large, globally-recognized corporate sustainability leader that in turn is likely selling to the consumer (think of such enterprises as Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Hershey’s, Nestle’s and other large diversified companies in the consumer and institutional food space). The majority of these consumer market leaders are jockeying to be the leader among peers.) So, at the top of the value chain, the major customers are asking ever-more penetrating questions of their suppliers/providers. This is occurring in many industries – food, vehicles, apparel, beauty products, beverages, hard goods, electronics, etc. The takeaway here is that if your customer is consumer focused, tune in to what leaders such as Warby Parker is doing (good examples in the Top Story). If you are selling higher up to the global sustainability leadership companies, if you are not already doing so, be prepared to respond to a growing list of questions about your ESG strategies, goals & objectives, measurements, performance, and achievements. These questions are asked directly and through third party service providers such as EcoVadis or Sedex, while still others are aligning their suppliers with the same reporting frameworks that they use, such as the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI G4) or the CDP questions. At all levels of the value chain, sustainability and responsibility in various forms are increasingly on the minds of the world’s customers! If you'd like to find out more about how G&A can help your organization to build a more efficient and effective sustainable supply chain program, please contact Louis Coppola at lcoppola@ga-institute.com. Top Story of the Week How Can We Know Which Companies Are Serious About Sustainability?
(Wednesday - September 16, 2015)
Source: Forbes - A growing number of consumers want to “vote with their wallets” – but the information provided about companies resembles political campaign messages rather than clear evidence of sustainability
Sustainability in Focus
3 Key Strategies for Implementing Environmental Sustainability
(Monday - September 14, 2015)
Source: Linkedin - Integrating environmental concerns in the daily operations of an organization is not an easy task. Sometimes companies show their environmental management results in “Sustainability Reports”, which any regular citizen can easily...
True Sustainability Means Circularity
(Monday - September 14, 2015)
Source: Factcoexist.com - Four decades have passed since mankind walked on the moon. This triumphant event marked the first time humans could gaze back at their world. Our round, blue and white planet floating in black space enabled humanity to see the...
Welcome to the next generation of sustainable development
(Monday - September 14, 2015)
Source: GreenBiz - The year 2015 is shaping up as one of the most consequential years for environmental/sustainability policy in our lifetimes. In May, the Vatican published the Papal encyclical Laudato Si, a moral reference point for examining...
Let's 'Uberize' sustainability
(Tuesday - September 15, 2015)
Source: Greenbiz - A defining image of 2015 may be the lines of immobile taxis protesting Uber’s dramatic growth in Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro or Paris. Whatever you think about the digital disintermediation driven by Uber’s app and business model,...
How our governance structure supports sustainability
(Tuesday - September 15, 2015)
Source: The Guardian - Guardian News & Media’s governance structure supports the integration of sustainability across the business. Neil Berkett continues as chair of GMG. Suzy Black, Group HR director, remains in the role of sustainability champion on...
After water usage criticism, Coke chooses sustainability over costs
(Wednesday - September 16, 2015)
Source: Ohaha.com - The man responsible for Coca-Cola’s water sustainability program told an Omaha business audience Tuesday that saving water has become a central part of the company’s long-term strategy.
Education: Sustainability solution or false prophet?
(Wednesday - September 16, 2015)
Source: GreenBiz - The first rule of marketing is don’t market to yourself. Yet, it never ceases to amaze me how often sustainability and recycling experts fall into the trap of talking to themselves.
Making a Global Commitment to Sustainability
(Thursday - September 17, 2015)
Source: NASDAQ - "Sustainability" is a word used all too casually these days. As different stakeholders attach their own definitions and agendas, sustainability has morphed into a way of life for some, a strategy for others and a thinly veiled... Unlocking Cities' Sustainable Potentials
(Thursday - September 17, 2015)
Source: Huff Post - More than 50 percent of the world's population today lives in cities. Cities and human settlements are often focal points of climate change issues, health problems, poverty or inequality. At the same time, cities hold significant...
Growing Green Thinkers: How Sustainability Impacts Education
(Thursday - September 17, 2015)
Source: Triple Pundit - Education doesn’t only revolve around the palm-sweating need for top rankings and high standardized test scores. Education also includes the everyday moments in between. Like, when you save a turtle in the road or a lady bug from...
Circling Up for Sustainability
(Friday - September 18, 2015)
Source: Huff Post - The United Nations' 2030 agenda for sustainable development includes 17 lofty-as-ever goals for tackling our most pressing social and environmental challenges -- not the least of which is Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption...
Embracing sustainability
(Friday - September 18, 2015)
Source: The Statesman - The systematic destruction of one habitat after another in a bid to satisfy insatiable human greed is the main cause of this threat and poses a grave challenge for conserving biodiversity. Tips for hiding sustainability reporting from interested stakeholders
(Friday - September 18, 2015)
Source: GreenBiz - A review of the sustainability reporting from top 100 companies by Fortune reveals that sustainability data has benefited from standards, and reports now include very material information about impacts that have implications for...
ESG Issues & Players Meet Janet Yellen: The most powerful woman in the world
(Tuesday - September 15, 2015)
Source: CNN - Janet Yellen is arguably the most powerful woman in the world. Yet few Americans have actually heard of her -- about 70% of the U.S. population doesn't know who Yellen is, according to a NBC/WSJ poll from March.
Water demand from fracking less than 1 percent of U.S. total: study
(Wednesday - September 16, 2015)
Source: Reuters - Fracking by the U.S. oil and gas industry has increased the burden on the nation’s water resources, but still accounts for less than 1 percent of America’s total industrial water use, according to a paper by researchers at Duke...
The Companies With The Best CSR Reputations In The World
(Friday - September 18, 2015)
Source: Forbes - Yesterday when my colleague Fred signed onto the Google homepage he was met with an invitation to donate to the international migrant crisis. Google would match his contribution dollar for dollar Asset Managers, US Pension Funds,
Sovereign Wealth Funds Here's what the Federal Reserve wants to see before raising interest rates from record lows
(Friday - September 18, 2015)
Source: Fox Business - So what will it take for the Federal Reserve to finally raise interest rates? The U.S. economy is now in its seventh straight year of expansion. It's growing at a steady if unexciting 2.2 percent annual rate. Unemployment has... Middle East sovereign investors face reduced funding
(Monday - September 14, 2015)
Source: Gulf News - Dubai: The fall in the oil price is expected to reduce funding and increase withdrawal risk of Middle East sovereign investors but many of these investors are better placed to manage these challenges than in the past, according... NYC Retirement Systems gives significant pay raises to leaders
(Thursday - September 17, 2015) Associated Profiles : New York City Comptroller’s Office: Bureau of Asset Management
Source: Pensions & Investments - The results showed that the New York City pension system's salaries trailed those of its peers. The study enabled Mr. Evans and Scott Stringer, the city comptroller, to persuade trustees for each... Watching the Watchers  Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
Headquarters: Washington, DC
Established: 1971 OVERVIEW/MISSION
The mission statement of The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is: "The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a consumer advocacy organization whose twin missions are to conduct innovative research and advocacy programs in health and nutrition, and to provide consumers with current, useful information about their health and well-being." CSPI’s Web site has the tagline “Transforming the American diet” and also calls itself “an aggressive non-profit consumer organization conducting innovative programs in nutrition and food safety.”
BACKGROUND
Highlights from CSPI’s history include a 1973 campaign against sodium nitrate in meats, successful efforts to require sodium labeling on foods, opening an advocacy office in Canada in 1996, and lobbying efforts in 2009 that CSPI says resulted in “the U.S. House of Representatives [passing] the most sweeping reform of the food-safety system in 70 years.”
STRUCTURE
CSPI receives its largest share of funding from newsletter subscriptions and individual donations. The group has annual revenue of USD$17 million, 5-10% of which comes from private foundation grants. (Additional financial information is online.)
News Sweeps 'McWhopper' Mega-Burger Would Have Mega-Calories
(Friday - September 18, 2015) Associated Profiles : Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
- Discovery Communications - Aug 27, 2015 11:49 AM ET // by Rachael Rettner, LiveScience Related Links Is Street Food Safer Than Restaurant Food' World's First Test Tube Burger Tasted in London Junk Food vs. Junk Food: Reading the...
NYC to start putting salt warnings on restaurant menus
(Wednesday - September 16, 2015) Associated Profiles : Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
- United Press International - New York City joins Seattle in providing sodium and other nutritional information to customers, but Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public...
Soft Drink Industry Fights to Keep its Market, but Presence in Schools Has Lessened
(Wednesday - September 16, 2015) Associated Profiles : Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
- youthtoday.org - Though the soft drink industry has been busy countering public health initiatives to fight obesity, sugary drinks are much less available in school, according to the Center for Science in the Public... 
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