How Valuable is Your Brand -- and What Are You Doing to Enhance the Brand Through Your Company's Sustainability Journey?
And how much value might your enterprise be "losing" in untapped brand value? Hmmm... Some of the most popular -- and valuable -- brands in the world are housed under the big umbrella of Unilever (and consider that the Anglo-Dutch parent company name itself is a valuable brand). Think Unilever brands: Dove (soap); Hellmanns (mayo); Lipton(tea); Breyer's (ice cream); and Ben & Jerry's (one of the great pioneers in CSR and purveyors of iconic ice creams). In results announced in January, Unilever said its sponsored international survey results revealed these top lines: (1) today a third of consumers are buying from brands based on their social and environmental impact; and (2) there's a billion Euros opportunity now for brands that make their sustainability credentials more clear to the marketplace. The company said in announcing results: "As well as confirming the public's high expectations of brands when it comes to having a positive social and environmental impact, the study's findings uncover an unprecedented opportunity for companies to get it right. More than one-in-five people surveyed said they would actively choose brands if they made their sustainability credentials clearer packaging and in marketing." This represents a potential untapped opportunity of almost one trillion Euros out of a 2.5 trillion euro total market for sustainable goods. Wow! Looking at this, Jake Dubbins, savvy CEO of the London-based media/ad firm, Media Bounty, was moved by the results to offer his own views on "brands, and the multinational companies that own most of them." He looks at the actions of Unilever, Tesla, The Body Shop, Energizer, and other brand marketers. Says Dubbins: "...there's a huge shift taking place...effectively positioning your brand as sustainable...you'll be well placed to tap into the emerging markets across the globe who are now leading the way in sustainability..." Jake offers us more of his expert perspectives on why the most "sustainable" brands enjoy clear competitive advantage (and "top tips for success") in his post on The Drum. That's our Top Story for you this week: Top Story Research for Unilever shows that brands are missing out on £820 billion by not pushing sustainability
(Tuesday - February 21, 2017)
Source: The Drum - What defines sustainable? How sustainable is your brand? In short, does your brand actually have permission to ‘push’ sustainability? Sustainability Topics & Issues in Focus An Italian Coffee Giant On The Future Of Sustainability
(Monday - February 20, 2017)
Source: Fast Company - Illy is perhaps one of the most recognized coffee businesses in the world. The Italian roaster has become synonymous with European espresso. It's been family-run since 1933 and has transformed into one of the biggest global... Why Paris 2024 promises record sustainability wins
(Tuesday - February 21, 2017)
Source: Green Biz - The Paris 2024 Olympics bid committee promises to host the "Greenest Games Ever" by slashing carbon emissions by more than half compared to London 2012 and Rio 2016. Automakers Tout Sustainability, But Want to Roll Back Emissions Standards
(Wednesday - February 22, 2017)
Source: Triple Pundit - In 2016, U.S. automobile sales achieved a seventh consecutive annual increase. Americans bought 18.4 million new last year, exceeding economic forecasts that expected 17.7 million to roll out of dealerships. The sustainability of ecommerce packaging is in question
(Wednesday - February 22, 2017)
Source: Packaging Digest - Does ecommerce generate more packaging waste than traditional retail distribution? With ecommerce sales growing in the U.S. at 14.6% in 2015, according to Internet Retailer, it’s time for some answers. A new whitepaper by...
Source: GreenBiz - Around the globe, we are facing unprecedented sustainable business issues. From resource constraints and scarcity to the unpredictable forces of climate change, rising income inequality and public expectations, businesses of all... Why the time is right to chart a new sustainability course
(Thursday - February 23, 2017)
Source: GreenBiz - Around the globe, we are facing unprecedented sustainable business issues. From resource constraints and scarcity to the unpredictable forces of climate change, rising income inequality and public expectations, businesses of all... Source: Energy Management Today - The interrelated goals of predicting energy requirements and cutting costs will continue driving the sustainability and energy management software market through 2022, according to a study available from Persistence Market... On the Corporate News Front: Heineken couples sustainability and financial reporting as emissions tumble
(Friday - February 24, 2017)
Source: Edie.net - A "firm belief" that business growth and sustainability go hand-in-hand has seen Heineken publish its latest sustainability report alongside a financial report for the first time, with the report highlighting rapid business... Source: Just Means - Monsanto Company today released its 2016 Sustainability Report, Growing Better Together. Highlights include Monsanto’s actions to help mitigate and adapt to climate change through collaborative efforts, the advancement of its... Source: Packaging Digest - It’s not every day you get to hear packaging executives at Amazon talk about sustainability in packaging for ecommerce. And that is just one headliner of many scheduled for the SustPack 2017 conference...
News/Updates on ESG Issues & Players
Exxon's New Chief Endorses Carbon Tax to Combat Climate Change
(Friday - February 24, 2017)
Source: Bloomberg - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said a revenue-neutral carbon tax “would promote greater energy efficiency and the use of today’s lower-carbon options, avoid further burdening the economy, and also provide... Red State America Acts on Climate Change--but Calls It Other Names
(Thursday - February 23, 2017)
Source: Scientific America - President Donald Trump has the environmental community understandably concerned. He and members of his Cabinet have questioned the established science of climate change, and his choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency,... Investing in disaster resilience now ‘mission critical’ for business
(Wednesday - February 22, 2017)
Source: Reuters - In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Gillis, Ellis & Baker, a New Orleans-based insurance company, relocated from the battered, flooded city to nearby Baton Rouge so it could carry on serving its 4,000 clients, who all... US household energy spending hits 50-year low
(Tuesday - February 21, 2017)
Source: CS Monitor - As renewable energy use has expanded significantly over the last decade, household energy costs have declined. That's the conclusion of a new report from the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and Bloomberg New Energy... Sponsored Message |  | |
Institutional Investor Updates: News About Asset Managers, US Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds
Fulfilling sovereign wealth funds’ promise
(Friday - February 17, 2017) Associated Profiles : Qatar Investment Authority
Source: Financial News - Funds like the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) grabbed headlines as they gobbled up assets – including listed securities, private companies, and real estate – primarily in Europe and North America. But the world in... 4 Biggest Hints Hidden in the Fed's Meeting Minutes
(Thursday - February 23, 2017)
Source: The Street - How President Trump's proposed government stimulus measures might affect the economy was a key question at the Federal Open Markets Committee's most recent meeting.
Can CalPERS influence how the Dakota Access Pipeline is built
(Friday - February 24, 2017) Associated Profiles : California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
Source: curious.kcrw.com - Thursday, the Dakota Access Pipeline protest site was cleared of its activists after a deadline passed to leave the encampment. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe began protesting the pipeline out of concern that a leak could... Commentary for You from G&A Institute via Sustainability Update Blog News From the Sustainability Front as The Trump White House Makes Controversial Moves on ESG Issues — Actions and Reactions
(Thursday, February 23, 2017) Forward Momentum! – Sustainability 2017 by Hank Boerner, Chair/Chief Strategist, G&A Institute
Are you like many of us having sleepless nights and anxiety spells as you watch the antics of the Trump White House and the creeping (and similarly moving-backwards) effects into the offices of important Federal agencies that the Administration is taking over? Consider then “other news” — and not fake news, mind you, or alt-news— but encouraging real news that is coming from other than the Federal government. Quo Vadis, The Peoples’ U.S. EPA — Where Now in the Trumpian Era?
(Wednesday, February 22, 2017) – by Hank Boerner, Chair/Chief Strategist, G&A Institute
Quo Vadis (where are we going) with our Environmental Protection Agency? The leader’s baton is passed and the U.S. EPA has a new head of agency. E. Scott Pruitt got passed the opposition mounted to his nomination by President Trump and is now the 14th Administrator of the Agency. He was the Attorney General of the State of Oklahoma. In the American West & Midwest: Coal-fired Electricity-Generating Plants to Close
(Wednesday, February 22, 2017) Forward Momentum! – Sustainability 2017 by HankBoerner – Chair/Chief Strategist, G&A Institute
Some good news to share: Several large American coal-fired electric utility plant operators are abandoning the burning of coal and moving to natural gas and renewables to generate electricity. This news was reported by The Washington Post on February 14th. Headline: “The West’s largest coal-fired power plant is closing. Not even Trump can save it.” Sign up to be notified as we post new content to the G&A blog here.
The Trump Team -- And Potential Impacts on Sustainability
Pruitt to EPA employees: ‘We don’t have to choose’ between jobs and the environment
(Wednesday - February 22, 2017)
Source: Washington Post - In his first full work day as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt made clear Tuesday that he intends to step back from what he sees as the agency’s regulatory overreach during the Obama... Execs say Trump is good for US business
(Wednesday - February 22, 2017)
Source: CS Monitor - The survey, conducted by JPMorgan Chase, also showed that 80 percent of mid-market executives are optimistic about the current business climate, a 39 percent hike from the same survey last year. Trump Eyes Easing Obama Rules for Sprawling Pipeline Network
(Thursday - February 23, 2017)
Source: Bloomberg - The hints of a pipeline spill are subtle: the hiss of rushing fluid, a streak of rainbow sheen. Tucked far below ground, a ruptured line can escape notice for days or even weeks, especially in the backcountry, where inspectors... Thousands of emails detail EPA head’s close ties to fossil fuel industry
(Thursday - February 23, 2017)
Source: Washington Post - In his previous role as Oklahoma’s attorney general, the Environmental Protection Agency’s new administrator regularly huddled with fossil fuel firms and electric utilities about how to combat federal environmental regulations... | | | _________________________________________ 
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Governance & Accountability Institute's blog focusing on the sustainable world evolving daily before our eyes. Read it, absorb it, question it and challenge. Recent posts: “The Authoritative Voice for Wall Streeters,” Says It … Barron’s Tells Mainstream Investors It’s a “New Era of Sustainable Investing” … And that is, in the Trumpian Era, No Less… News From the Sustainability Front as The Trump White House Makes Controversial Moves on ESG Issues — Actions and Reactions Quo Vadis, The Peoples’ U.S. EPA — Where Now in the Trumpian Era? In the American West & Midwest: Coal-fired Electricity-Generating Plants to Close _________________________________________ 
Missed the G&A Institute webinar with guests Robert Dornau of Robeco SAM Group (managers of the DJSI) and Evan Harvey, Director of CSR for NASDAQ...on "Why your company should respond to the RobecoSAM CSR questionnaire this year?" you can access the archived recording and slides here. _________________________________________
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