Brief Notes for Your Favorite Investor Relations Officer
To Help Move the Needle on Sustainability at
The Board Level in 2016 If you are a corporate investor relations officer, you’ll want to read this week’s Top Story. If you are a manager looking for information to take over to the IR office in your company, this is good for helping to “build the investment case.” IR magazine, an authoritative voice for the investor relations professional, puts the recent Ceres report in focus. Ceres, an important NGO, recently released a brief summary that calls attention to important topics for the board room and C-suite – climate change, pollution, diversity, workers’ rights, governance issues – and the board room general lack of oversight of these important issues. What is the board room missing out on? What should the IR professional tune in to regarding corporate sustainability? The IR Magazine article by Adam Brown is a good conversation starter for the sustainability manager and the IR manager. Conclusions reached include tying executive compensation to sustainability advances and urging the board to pay more attention to “the extraordinary challenges of global climate change” and more. It’s a good quick read for the IR officer. From all of us at G&A Institute to our valued clients, friends and colleagues: A most joyful holiday season and our best wishes for the 2016 New Year. The promise of the New Year is shaping up to be a most momentous period for corporate sustainability and responsibility, and for sustainable investing practices. We stand ready to assist your company to become a sustainability leader in 2016 (please contact us to schedule an introductory call in Q1!), and we'll continue to bring you the news, research & highlights of actions that advance the sustainability agenda in the new year! See you in January. Top Stories of the Week Ceres report recommends boards focus on sustainability
(Friday - December 11, 2015)
Source: IR Magazine - Boards of directors should focus on sustainability issues that significantly affect revenue, promote board diversity and establish stronger ties between executive compensation and sustainability to prepare for the ‘extraordinary... Special Report on Paris Climate Conference
To the disbelief of critics and the surprise of many, leaders from around the world agreed this past week to a less than perfect, but meaningful plan to reduce global warming. Here are some of the stories that both explain and herald this extraordinary event. Paris climate change agreement: the world's greatest diplomatic success
(Monday - December 14, 2015)
Source: The Guardian - In the final meeting of the Paris talks on climate change on Saturday night, the debating chamber was full and the atmosphere tense. Ministers from 196 countries sat behind their country nameplates, aides flocking them, with...
Hope From Paris
(Monday - December 14, 2015)
Source: New York Times - Did the Paris climate accord save civilization? Maybe. That may not sound like a ringing endorsement, but it’s actually the best climate news we’ve had in a very long time. This agreement could still follow the path of the 1997... How the world learned its lesson and got a climate deal
(Monday - December 14, 2015)
Source: Reuters - Six years earlier, countries had bitterly walked away from global climate talks in Copenhagen without a deal. The decision to reassemble in Paris to try again at getting almost 200 countries to sign a pact on cutting carbon... China, U.S. relationship key in climate agreement
(Monday - December 14, 2015)
Source: Los Angeles Times - After the December 2009 Copenhagen climate talks descended into chaos, some of the sharpest finger-pointing was directed at China.
Paris climate deal: what comes next
(Monday - December 14, 2015)
Source: USA Today — First there were tears, hugs and a standing ovation that greeted approval of a historic international climate deal. Now the world's nations must focus on the nitty-gritty details to implement a complex, 31-page plan to... Here's what the Paris world climate agreement will do — and what it won't
(Sunday - December 13, 2015)
Source: Los Angeles Times - The historic climate agreement reached at the Paris summit Saturday commits for the first time virtually every nation to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
196 countries approve historic climate agreement
Sunday - December 13, 2015)
Source: Washington Post — Negotiators from 196 countries approved a landmark climate accord on Saturday that seeks to dramatically reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases blamed for a dangerous warming of the planet.
Sustainability in Focus
The Appeal of Sustainable Investing
(Monday - December 07, 2015)
Source: Morningstar - Sustainability is on a lot of people's minds these days. Jeremy Grantham opened his keynote address at last summer's Morningstar Investment Conference by outlining several issues that he said were "obsessing" him, among them... Sustainability – it's the world boom that Australia could lead
(Monday - December 07, 2015)
Source: Morning News (AUS) - World demand for sustainable goods and services is booming and there is ample opportunity for Australia to diversify and cash in on the trend. A Change of Tides for Sustainability
(Tuesday - December 08, 2015)
Source: Triple Pundit - By 2050 global business must be carbon neutral.” —Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Group founder, at the 2015 World Climate Summit / Sustainia Awards Ceremony, a companion event to COP21 Sustainability and genetic selection’s tremendous untapped potential
(Tuesday - December 08, 2015)
Source: Beef - At its core, sustainability is not a new issue for the beef industry. Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) and Integrated Resource Management (IRM) are approaches to management that leading producers have used for years. What is new... Business needs to embrace sustainability targets
(Wednesday - December 09, 2015)
Source: Nature - Companies that do not align their management strategies with sustainable development goals will lose out, warns Klaus Leisinger. Closing the Gate: Sustainability Assurance
(Wednesday - December 09, 2015)
Source: AG Web - Yet, the concept of sustainability will become increasingly important to the success of your business. Consumers—many of whom have never been to the end of a dirt road—want to know more about where their food comes from and how... Research indicates sustainability increases brands' bottom line
(Wednesday - December 09, 2015)
Source: Biz Community - The 2015 Nielsen Global Corporate Sustainability Report shows that 68% of South African consumers are willing to pay more for brands that come from companies who are committed to positive social and environmental impact; this in... Take a clue from stock exchanges to gauge sustainability's future
(Wednesday - December 09, 2015)
Source: GreenBiz - If you want a powerful tool for predicting where the sustainability field is heading, just look at what’s going on with stock exchanges. They are the machines behind public equity economics, and deeply rewarding sources of trend...
Walmart sustainability at 10: An assessment
(Wednesday - December 09, 2015)
Source: GreenBiz - It’s been 10 years since Walmart set out on its quest to become a leader in sustainability, beginning with three bold, aspirational goals. This is the second of a two-part series that takes stock of the company and its progress,...
We Know How To Make Farms More Sustainable, But We're Not Doing It
(Thursday - December 10, 2015) Associated Profiles : Michael Pollan
Source: Huff Post - Two years ago, when acclaimed food journalist Michael Pollan trumpeted the most encouraging ag research finding of recent years, most would have guessed such a breakthrough coming from some sort of left-wing utopia, a Berkeley or...
Sustainability: Map the evidence
(Thursday - December 10, 2015)
Source: Nature - Too many studies go unread. Collate them to enable synthesis and guide decision-making in sustainability, urge Madeleine C. McKinnon and colleagues. Companies give 'sustainability' the 'big data' approach
(Friday - December 11, 2015)
Source: CNBC - Fashion designer Yael Aflalo found herself perplexed by the wastefulness and toxicity in the industry she called home. Companies were outsourcing work to countries with lax environmental regulations. Simple, mass-produced... A Better Scorecard for Your Company’s Sustainability Efforts
Friday - December 11, 2015)
Source: Harvard Business Review - What does Ben & Jerry’s have to do with the Paris climate conference? No, the company isn’t providing free ice cream to attendees (at least not that we know of). The connection is actually much deeper and more meaningful. Ben &... ESG Issues & Players Here's What Americans Think About the Environment
(Wednesday - December 09, 2015)
Source: Pacific Standard - Climate change politics are pretty simple, some would have us believe: There are those who think we have to do something about climate change, those who think we don't, and those who doubt it's even happening. But, a new study...
Fracking firms target sites close to Scottish cities
(Tuesday - December 08, 2015)
Source: The Guardian - Nine companies have applied to drill for shale gas in 19 sites, each covering 100 sq km, in heavily populated areas of central Scotland Demand for water set to outstrip supply by 50 per cent by 2040
(Monday - December 07, 2015) Associated Profiles : World Resources Institute
Source: Business Green - For example, 88 per cent of coal mines and 80 per cent of textile production is located in the 29 countries ranked as "high to extremely high" for water stress risk by the World Resources Institute. At the same Corporate tax avoidance damaging public trust
(Friday - December 11, 2015)
Source: Economia - According to a survey from the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE), corporate tax avoidance concerned 34% of the respondents, followed by executive pay (25%), exploitative labour (20%), employees being able to speak out about... Asset Managers, US Pension Funds,
Sovereign Wealth Funds After San Bernardino, NYC officials push city to divest from gun makers
(Wednesday - December 09, 2015) Associated Profiles : New York City Comptroller’s Office: Bureau of Asset Management
Source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle - Two out of five New York City pension funds have already divested from gun manufacturers -- NYCERS, the New York City Employees Retirement System; and NYC TRS, New York City Teachers Retirement System. All... Sovereign funds of West Asia get aggressive on India
(Thursday - December 10, 2015) Associated Profiles : Kuwait Investment Authority
Source: wap.business-standard.com - Last week, Kuwait Investment Authority invested $300 million in debt-laden GMR Infrastructure by subscribing to foreign currency convertible bonds. Abu Dhabi Investment Council made two large... Arnold: Half of US energy industry may go under?
(Friday - December 11, 2015)
Source: CNBC - John Arnold, the legendary energy trader formerly of the hedge fund Centaurus Advisors, expects half of the U.S. energy industry to go bankrupt next year if the price of oil does not rebound No One Knows How Messy the Fed Increase Could Get
(Thursday - December 10, 2015)
Source: Bloomberg - The greatest monetary-easing cycle in the history of the U.S. has left a mind-boggling amount of cash floating around in the economy. Banks hold $2.5 trillion in excess reserves -- money they essentially don’t know what to do... | Check It Out...
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