Using The GRI Standard For Sustainability Reporting Leads To Higher Quality Reports, Analysis of Corporate Sustainability Reporting Shows The S&P 500 (R) universe of large-cap companies is the most widely used gauge for investors of large-cap U.S. corporate entities. There is more than US$7 trillion investments benchmarked to the S&P 500, with index assets of almost $2 trillion represented. The index captures more than 80 percent of available market capitalization, notes owner S&P Dow Jones Indexes / McGraw Hill Financial.
The G&A Institute team closely monitors US corporations included in the index (a number are clients of G&A), and analyzes the reporting practices of the constituent companies. In the first year of the study, we looked at 2010 sustainability / CSR / citizenship reporting by the S&P 500 and determined that about 20% were doing some kind of structured sustainability and related subject matter reporting. That was a good baseline year to build on, but 80% were laggards.
The next year the volume of reporting dramatically increased to more than 50% of the universe; then to three-quarters, and in our latest examination, for year 2016 the result was that 82% of the universe is reporting -- only 18% of the 500 are now laggards in this regard.
But what about the quality of reporting (as volume increased)? We teamed with the analysts at The CSR Sustainability Monitor (headquartered at Baruch College, Weissman Center for International Business, Zicklin School of Business, City University of New York) to utilize the CSR Monitor's Big Data to extract deeper intelligence on corporate reporting.
Two important questions posed and the definitive answers back:
Question #1: What is the quality and scope of the reports being published...and
Question #2: is there a difference between the S&P 500 companies using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework and those not doing so.
Answer to question number two: YES -- there is a big difference in most categories. And to answer the first question: The research partners provide details for you in the Top Story today. G&A Consulting Services Note: If you're thinking about moving to the GRI Standards (either from Non-GRI, or from G4) we can help to maximize the value of your transition. Find out more about our GRI Standards Gap Analysis Service here: http://www.ga-institute.com/services/our-portfolio-of-services/sustainability-esg-reporting-disclosure/esrs-csrd-gap-analysis/Top Stories This Week... RESEARCH RESULTS: Using The GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework Improves The Quality of ESG Disclosures - Joint Research From G&A Institute and Baruch College Shows
(Tuesday - July 18, 2017)
Source: Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. - But Now That Most Companies Are Publishing Sustainability Reports the Question Arises: What is the Quality of the Content of These Reports? To explore the answers, G&A teamed with The CSR-Sustainability Monitor® (CSR-S Monitor)...
Note to Our Readers: You can learn more about G&A Institute's ongoing monitoring of the S&P 500 sustainability journeys at: http://www.ga-institute.com/research/research/research-reports/
And Top Story #2 -- Related to Sustainability Reporting...
Are Sustainability Rankings Consistent Across Ratings Agencies?
(Thursday - July 20, 2017)
Source: CPA Journal - As more and more companies begin to devote serious attention to sustainability reporting, many different systems of rating the depth and effectiveness of sustainability efforts have arisen. Important Items for Your Attention: Editors' Sustainability Scans - Progress! Asian institutions edging further into sustainable investing
(Wednesday - July 19, 2017) Associated Profiles : New Zealand Superannuation Fund
Source: asia.nikkei.com - Eight other Australian funds were in the top 20, as was the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. "Climate change, and the coming transition to a low-carbon energy system, also present investment opportunities for long-term...
#CSIMonth: Sustainability is the key to innovation and the next frontier for business
(Monday - July 17, 2017)
Source: BizCommunity - We have undergone the industrial age, the technology age, the people or talent age and now we're on the cusp of the green age. We live in a world where we are undeniably fast destroying our planet and heritage for our children...
The Accounting Profession and Sustainability
(Tuesday - July 18, 2017)
Source: CPA Journal - The word “sustainability” can have a lot of definitions. We can think about sustainability from an environmental perspective, but we can also think about sustainability as the notion of dealing with change, providing information...
[more]
What artificial intelligence means for sustainability
(Wednesday - July 19, 2017)
Source: GreenBiz - Will AI mean a massive technological boost to sustainability priorities? Or will the rapid changes associated with AI give us a net negative sustainability outcome?
Numbers suggest sustainability sells produce
(Wednesday - July 19, 2017)
Source: The Packer - The numbers show sustainability sells produce, said Andrew Mandzy, director of strategic insight with New York-based Nielsen, which tracks retail sales trends.
What's the Answer to a Sustainable Future? We Are.
(Wednesday - July 19, 2017)
Source: National Geographic - “The future of sustainability will depend, as always, on the supreme importance of conservation and putting repurposing, reusing, reducing, and refusing to use”
Before sustainability was cool
(Friday - July 21, 2017)
Source: Daily Journal Online - The word “sustainability” has become a buzz word, but the truth is, sustainability is not simple. For farmers and ranchers, it looks different farm to farm, crop to livestock. While the specifics depend on who you ask, the...
Our Focus This Week on A Range of ESG Topics & Issues -- Things to Think About..
Elon Musk Says Artificial Intelligence Is the ‘Greatest Risk We Face as a Civilization’
(Monday - July 17, 2017)
Source: Fortune - Appearing before a meeting of the National Governor’s Association on Saturday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk described artificial intelligence as “the greatest risk we face as a civilization” and called for swift and decisive government...
Fracking pollution stays in waterways long after the fracking is done
(Wednesday - July 19, 2017)
Source: Popular Science - Dumping fracking water into rivers, lakes, and streams can cause lasting environmental damage, according to a recent study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology—even if you treat it first. The first half of 2017 was the planet’s second-warmest on record
(Wednesday - July 19, 2017)
Source: Washington Post - NOAA announced that the first half of 2017 was the planet’s second -warmest on record, trailing only 2016. Planetary temperature records date back to 1880
Earth is becoming 'Planet Plastic'
(Thursday - July 20, 2017)
Source: BBC News - US scientists have calculated the total amount of plastic ever made and put the number at 8.3 billion tonnes.
Corporate governance and leadership
(Friday - July 21, 2017)
Source: Business Tomes - What do you think led to the rising shareholder activism in Singapore in recent times and how far do you think this will go to improve corporate governance here?
Major firm CEOs made 271 times typical US worker pay in 2016
(Friday - July 21, 2017)
Source: Herald.net - Chief executives of America’s 350 largest companies made an average of $15.6 million in 2016, or 271 times more than what the typical worker made last year, according to the Economic Policy Institute’s annual report on executive... Sponsored Message |
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News & Opinion: Asset Managers, US Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds
Oman to Follow Abu Dhabi With Sovereign Fund Merger Plans
(Wednesday - July 19, 2017) Associated Profiles : State General Reserve Fund (Oman)
Source: Bloomberg - The Gulf state is seeking to combine State General Reserve Fund with smaller peer Oman Investment Fund to create an entity ... Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.
Tennessee's state pension fund rated nation's best
(Tuesday - July 18, 2017) Associated Profiles : Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS)
Source: Times Free Press - A money management publication has said the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, the state's retirement fund for state government, higher education and other public employees, manages its investments better than any other...
QUORA: DOES GLOBAL WARMING IMPACT THE ECONOMY? (opinion)
(Monday - July 17, 2017)
Source: NewsWeek - Global warming affects the geography within which the global economy operates. It changes growth zones. It changes shorelines. It changes the places where humans will feel comfortable living. In addition, if humans actually... Manhattan Institute Report Chronicles the Decline of New York City’s Pension Systems
(Wednesday - July 19, 2017) Associated Profiles : New York City Comptroller’s Office: Bureau of Asset Management
Source: reason.org - In a new Manhattan Institute report, authors Ed McMahon and Josh McGee recount the troubled history of the five funds collectively referred to as the New York City Pension System. New York City’s history of pension... News for You From the Corporate Sector - With (+) and (-) Signs HSBC triggers investigation into palm oil company over deforestation allegations
(Monday - July 17, 2017)
Source: The Guardian - HSBC has triggered an investigation into Noble Plantations following allegations the company was preparing to clear thousands of hectares of rainforest in Papua for oil palm cultivation.
Source: Sustainable Brands - Making sustainability practices a core business driver has been a corporate and communal imperative for several years now. Increasingly, organizations are finding that aligning core business strategies with the principles of...
Chipotle Shuts Down Virginia Restaurant Over Reports of Norovirus
(Wednesday - July 19, 2017)
Source: NBC News - Chipotle confirmed on Tuesday that it received multiple reports of customers getting sick after eating at a location in Sterling, Virginia, and that it closed the restaurant on Monday to conduct "a complete sanitization."
[more]
Trump Administration News... Affecting Directions on Governance, Sustainability & Climate Change
White House details plan to roll back environmental regs
(Friday - July 21, 2017)
Source: The Hill - The Trump administration provided details for its aggressive plan to roll back environmental regulations Thursday. | | | TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES | 
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