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Newsletter

Source: Governance & Accountability Institute

Sustainability-Highlights-Header
April 21, 2010

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From across the nation and around the world, INSIGHTS-edge brings you news, commentary and research in key areas of interest regarding ESG, Sovereign Wealth Funds and US Public Sector Pension Funds.  We watch the watchers...who are watching you.

ESG / Sustainability
Wal-Mart's Chairman Pulls a Long Supply Chain Toward Sustainability
(Source: NY Times)
If a single executive at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. deserves the lion's share of credit for the company's recent drift into corporate sustainability, most agree it is Lee Scott, CEO of the largest retailer on the planet from 2000 to 2009. Scott, now the chairman of Wal-Mart, has been praised by many for sparking a cultural overhaul at the big-box chain that resulted most recently in a voluntary commitment to slash 20 million metric tons of carbon emissions from its global supply chain by the end of 2015. Other notches on Scott's résumé are the company's pledge to attain 100 percent of its power from renewable sources of energy and a promise to create zero waste. 

Top Trends for CR in 2010
(Source; The CRO.com)
If there is any single question we at CR Magazine get asked the most, it’s what is coming around the corner. The truth is that we have no crystal ball. But because we get the question a lot, we spend more time than anyone else asking around. Then we write down what we hear. And we report it to you. Here are today’s nine most-anticipated CR trends, and why you should care. 

American Competitiveness Hinges on Clean Energy
(Source: Xconomy.com)
Energy is a $6 trillion global industry, and will likely grow to more than $10 trillion by mid-century. As clean energy replaces carbon-based energy sources around the world, new markets employing millions of people will emerge.  Countries like China recognize this opportunity, and are racing decisively ahead. Meanwhile, the United States’ inaction is relegating our country to the back of the pack.

Sovereign Wealth Funds
The Ethics of Sovereign Funds: Investing the People's Money

(Source:  ChinaStakes.com)
The capital of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) belongs to the people of their respective countries, whether China, Saudi Arabia, Norway or Singapore. The overwhelming citizenry of these countries are hard working individuals and families - not powerful, politically connected, fat-cats, like the heads of Blackstone or Carlyle Group.

World Bank gets help from sovereign wealth funds to invest in developing nations
(Source: Washington Post)
As the World Bank tries to rebuild after a global economic crisis that arguably boosted its reputation but left it strapped financially, the agency will get support from a new quarter: sovereign wealth funds. Under a program announced last week, state-owned investment vehicles from South Korea, Azerbaijan, Netherlands and Saudi Arabia have agreed to invest $600 million in a bank-sponsored equity fund for less-developed countries.

Sovereign Wealth Funds Grow by 19%, State Street Says
(Source: BusinessWeek)
Sovereign wealth funds in Asia- Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa increased assets by 19 percent over nine months, according to a survey of 12 clients by State Street Corp., the world’s third-largest custody bank. Total assets of the funds rose to $136 billion by September, from $114.5 billion at the end of 2008, said State Street Global Advisors, the bank’s investment management unit. State Street declined to identify the funds in the survey, citing client confidentiality.

Sovereign wealth funds eye India
(Source: The Economic Times – India)
Mumbai: The Indian equity market may see the entry of more government-promoted investment or sovereign funds as these investors seek higher returns in economies which have rebounded faster after the global financial crisis.


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For more on:

ESG & Sustainability Players
- Shaping Perceptions, Valuations & Decision-Making

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs)
- State-Owned Global Investors

US Public Employee Pension Funds / Investors 
- State and Municipal Retirement Funds

 

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US Public Sector Pension Funds
CalPERS misses point, says governor's adviser
(Source: Orange County Register)
“CalPERS appears to be missing the point of the recent Stanford pension liability study, and by extension, the University of Chicago and Northwestern pension liability study also released recently that reached the same conclusion,” Crane wrote. “For example, on its website CalPERS makes the following statement in defense of its method of reporting pension liabilities:

Lehman holdings cost Ohio pensions $480M
(Source: Columbus Dispatch)
State records show that Ohio's public pension funds took a $480 million hit in investments managed by Lehman Brothers as the banking giant collapsed. Calculations on the shrinking values of the pension funds' Lehman-managed holdings were released to U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy of Columbus before a hearing yesterday on the collapse.

Study: The Funding of State and Local Pensions: 2009-2013
(Source: Center for State and Local Government Excellence)
An analysis of the effects the 2008 economic downturn has had on state and local government pension plan funding, along with future projections. The brief's key findings are:

• State and local plans, which were headed toward full funding, were knocked off track by the financial crisis.

• Their funding ratio dropped to an estimated 78 percent in 2009 from 84 percent in 2008.

• Funding will likely continue to decline to 72 percent by 2013.

• Reversing this decline will be difficult, as plans face constraints in increasing revenues from either employee contributions or taxes

Watching the Watchers

Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia

Headquarters: Hong Kong
Established: 2001

KEY PARTNERS
Carbon Disclosure Project, Asian Development Bank

OVERVIEW / MISSION
The Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA) defines its work: “ASrIA is a not-for-profit membership association dedicated to promoting corporate responsibility and sustainable investment practice in the Asia Pacific region. ASrIA’s members include investment institutions managing over US$4 trillion in assets, however membership is open to any organisation which has an interest in sustainable investment.”

BACKGROUND
ASrIA provides information on sustainable and socially responsible investments around the world. Its activity includes organizing conferences and events, plus publishing research on SRI-related topics.

ASrIA has about 100 institutional members, and over 5,000 subscribers to its e-bulletin. Voting members, all financial institutions, range from AIG Investment to SAM Group. Associate members are nonprofit organizations who do not pay membership fees; they include such NGOs as Oxfam Hong Kong and Securities Commission Malaysia. Supporting members pay fees and enjoy all member privileges except voting rights. Membership fees are on a sliding scale.

Insights-edge Highlights is prepared by the Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. Click here for more information on the Governance& Accountability Institute’s INSIGHTS-edge resources.   

Governance & Accountability Institute is a monitoring, intelligence-gathering and knowledge management center operating at the intersections of powerful forces reshaping relationship between stockholders and stakeholders, and the public corporation. For more information, contact us at 516.248.2383 or info@ga-institute.com.