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Newsletter

Source: Governance & Accountability Institute

Sustainability-Highlights-Header
June 26, 2014

SERVICES  |  RESEARCH  |  EVENTS  |  WEBINARS  |  BLOG  |  ARCHIVE

Check It Out...


G&A Institute Sustainability Update
Informative, insightful, thought provoking
The Governance & Accountability Instituteblog focusing on the sustainable world evolving daily before our eyes.  Read it, absorb it, question it and challenge.
G&A's Sustainability Update
Insights & perspectives for your sustainable journey...

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Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility Reporting

G&A Institute is the Global Reporting
Initiative's (GRI
) sole data partner for the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. As the data partner we monitor, analyze and database information on all Sustainability reports issued in these territories. For a list of recently issued Sustainability reports please follow the links below:

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Featured Events

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Governance & Accountability Institute Service Highlight

Many Reasons to Contact
Governance & Accountability Institute. Is this one yours?

G&A's Sustainability Coaching, Team Building & Training
0f88563598.jpgGetting everyone up-to-speed on ESG and Sustainability; understanding the complexity of ESG issues and frameworks; assembling the Corporate Sustainability team and preparing them for strategy-setting and program implementation.  Learn more About G&A's Sustainability Coaching, Team Building & Training

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Governance & Accountability Institute Research Reports


Learn more @ G&A!

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Corporate ESG Performance Factors & SustainabilityHQ

Corporate ESG Performance Factors are important to financial analysts, asset owners and managers, and many stakeholders.  The ESG framework or approach considers environmental issues and impacts, the company’s positioning and actions on social/societal issues, and important aspects of corporate governance.

ESG key performance indicators are considered by investors as proxies for effective governance and management. Increasing numbers of of independent research and financial analysis firms monitor and measure these and advisie investors.  The Sustainability HQ™ platform is an important profiling and monitoring resource for the G&A team, and for our clients and subscribers.

ESG market players and corporate reputation influencers are profiled and monitored by G&A Institute. In these Highlights we provide some results of our continuous global scanning for ESG, sustainability and corporate responsibility news. The Associated Profiles indicated are in our platforms.  For more information, please email us at info@sustainabilityhq.com
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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 Sector Investors 
- State and Municipal Retirement Funds

Asset Managers
- Investors adopting ESG guidelines / policies & shaping market trends

Navigating the way to sustainability...
Contents © 2009 - 2014 | All Rights Reserved
Copyrights for other providers are noted where appropriate. Please credit the source if quoted.
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What Does "Sustainability" Mean to You?

When you hear the word "sustainability," what comes to mind?  Writing in Fast Company, Phillip Barlag thinks the word still needs a common understanding.  Sustainability might be better understood in clear context - as applied for example to the corporate sector.  "Sustainability in corporate terms," he writes, "is really about helping companies thrive forever."

Back in 2006/2007, when we were creating the Governance & Accountability Institute, sustainability was just becoming a word many company managements were tuning in to.  Author Barlag notes that about that time sustainability could be viewed as a fad.  Today, it is a movement (as much of the content of this newsletter portrays each week).  We used to scour the media environment to find news or commentary or other content related to sustainability (especially in the business media).  Now, we are passing through thousands of items for the relevant content for our research, our blogs, web platforms or for the Highlights newsletter.

The Fast Company commentator suggests that fixing on the profit factor will help corporate managements better understand the importance of sustainability and more effectively reach marketplace success and presumably greater profits.  He makes a strong business case for companies to follow the example of Patagonia, Seventh Generation and other companies.

His conclusion:  "While every company will establish different goals for profitability, changing the nature of sustainability to be profit-centric will greatly help move the collective agenda forward...reframing the discussion (about sustainability) around "profit forever" can elevate corporate sustainability above the noise...:"

Interesting commentary that we invite you to read in our Top Story this week.

Top Story of the Week

Sustainability Doesn't Mean Less Profit, It Means Profit Forever
(Monday - June 16, 2014)
Source: fastcoexist.com - Sustainability has become a term that serves as a catch-all for everything altruistic and pro-social. These are not bad things, of course, but as the word sustainability has entered the collective consciousness, it has – in many...

Sustainability in Focus

10 leading sustainability innovations
(Monday - June 16, 2014)
Source: The Guardian - A study released today profiles 100 leading sustainability innovations. We showcase the top 10, featuring carbon-neutral plastic, e-waste recycling kiosks and an ethical smartphone...

Applying Sustainability Principles to Real-World Problems
(Monday - June 16, 2014)
Source: Public News Service - As sustainability becomes more of an actual practice than just a buzzword, the University of Wisconsin’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies this fall will begin to offer a 12-credit Sustainability Certificate to...

UNEP FI offers institutional investors new sustainability model
(Tuesday - June 17, 2014)
Source: Reuters - Integrated Governance – A new model of governance for sustainability, a report by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative(UNEP FI), which represents total Assets-Under-Management of approximately...

10 Questions: Erin Decker, sustainability manager, Salesforce.com
(Wednesday - June 18, 2014)
Source: Forbes - Today, Decker manages sustainability initiatives at Salesforce.com ( CRM 5.88% ) , where she and her team help set the company’s environmental strategy and keep employees engaged in making sustainable decisions. The team also...

New Study Maps Top 100 Sustainable Solutions - DNV GL
(Thursday - June 19, 2014)
Source: Marine Link.com - DNV GL hosts Sustania100 launch event which reveals latest study on 100 leading sustainability innovations deployed in global markets.

Why Sustainability Needs A Serious Makeover
(Thursday - June 19, 2014)
Source: PSFK - Blending what we desire with what we need is a recipe for pushing boundaries and breaking new ground. In Dynamic Doers, a series by PSFK and iQ by Intel, we look at versatile entrepreneurs, artists, designers, and developers who...

Activist spreads sustainability message
(Thursday - June 19, 2014)
Source: Yorkshire Post - A climate change activist and entrepreneur has set herself the challenge of spreading the sustainability message – one cup at a time. Cristina Talens, who lives in Harrogate, set up her business, Source Climate Change Coffee...

In World Cup Spotlight, Rio Scores Goals on Urban Environment & Sustainability
(Thursday - June 19, 2014)
Source: National Geographic - With the World Cup now underway, all eyes are on the cities of Brazil playing host to the epic, international football competition. But there’s more to celebrate, according to C40 Chair, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes. His...

Ford Motor Company's Sustainability Chief Talks Innovation, Progress And A Vision For The Future
(Thursday - June 19, 2014)
Source: Forbes - “As our vehicles are the source of our most significant environmental impact, it is vital that we focus on improving the environmental performance of each product,” explained John Viera, global director of sustainability and...

Consumers Will Pay More For Corporate Social Responsibility
(Friday - June 20, 2014)
Source: The Non-Profit Times - More than half of online consumers around the world (55 percent) will pay more for products and services from companies that are socially and environmentally responsible. North America (42 percent) and Europe (40 percent) lag...

The importance of carbon footprinting for sustainability impact
(Friday - June 20, 2014)
Source: The Guardian - The simple truth is that food and drink sustainability can be a very complicated business to understand. There are a multitude of issues that need to be considered, from land use change to industrial energy efficiency – which can...

ESG Issues & Players

Warming Arctic Could Lead to Fewer Extremely Cold Winters: Study
(Monday - June 16, 2014)
Source: Nature World News - Arctic warming is associated with fewer extreme winters in the U.S. and Europe, a new study suggests. January 2014 saw temperatures in the U.S fall several notches, with Minnesota recording -37°C and even Sunshine State Florida...

The role of the institutional investor in corporate governance
(Thursday - June 19, 2014)
Source: Business Day - Developing good relations between a company and its shareholders is as much a task for the shareholders as it for the Board. Institutional Investors as “professional shareholders” with large investments in companies have more at...

Coal’s Share of World Energy Demand at Highest Since 1970
(Tuesday - June 17, 2014)
Source: Bloomberg - Coal dominated world energy markets last year by supplying the biggest share of demand since 1970, making it the fastest growing fossil fuel, according to an annual review by BP Plc. Consumption grew 3 percent last year, driven...

Asset Managers, US Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds

Market Structure Map - First Things First
(Friday - June 20, 2014)
Source: Tim Quast, president, ModernNetworks IR LLC - If you’re in a tree sawing off a branch, note which side of it you’re standing on. The guy studying the branch was Brad Katsuyama, CEO at dark pool IEX, which has designs on exchange-hood. He was speaking along with others...

US public sector schemes adapt to falling asset values
(Wednesday - June 18, 2014) Associated Profiles : Washington State Department of Retirement Systems
- Financial Times - What was once the last safe habitat for defined benefit pensions in the US â the public sector â is under threat. The sector accounts for 19.4m workers in state and city governments and education...

"Cluster Of Central Banks" Have Secretly Invested $29 Trillion In The Market
(Monday - June 16, 2014) Associated Profiles : State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) Investment Company (China)
- forexfactory.com – China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange has become the world’s largest public sector holder of equities, according to officials, and we suspect the Fed is close...

Watching the Watchers

Responsible Endowments Coalition

Headquarters
: Brooklyn, NY
Established: 2004

ESG/Sustainability Focus: Yes, for encouraging colleges and universities to make responsible investments with their endowments.

KEY PARTNERS
Social Investment Forum, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, 2020 Women on Boards, Trillium Asset Management, and Portfolio 21, among others.

OVERVIEW/MISSION
The beginning of the Responsible Endowments Coalition mission statement reads: "The Responsible Endowments Coalition (REC) works to build and unify the college and university-based responsible investment movement, both by educating and empowering a diverse network of individuals to act on their campuses, and by fostering a national network for collective action."

BACKGROUND
Student activists from five colleges and universities founded REC in 2004. (Barnard College, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, and Williams College.)  Today more than 100 colleges participate.

The group's student-led activities focus on social change by inspiring young people to take action on human rights and environmental issues within the context of guiding colleges and universities to make responsible investments with endowment money.  Investing is more than just making money - it should include a higher purpose, organizers believed.
REC says its members schools manage over US$150 billion.

News Sweeps
New Coalition Advocates Socially Responsible Investing of College Endowments
(Friday - June 20, 2014) Associated Profiles : Responsible Endowments Coalition
- The Chronicle of Higher Education - The Responsible Endowments Coalition was started last month by students at Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Barnard, Swarthmore, and Williams Colleges. Members...

Students apply ethics to college endowments
(Tuesday - May 27, 2014) Associated Profiles : Responsible Endowments Coalition
- The Christian Science Monitor - Sarah Pritchard is a student at Mount Holyoke College and the student representative for the Responsible Endowments Coalition, a nationwide nonprofit that works for social change...

Stanford divesting coal helps student-led campaigns
(Thursday - May 22, 2014) Associated Profiles : Responsible Endowments Coalition
- Worcester Telegram & Gazette - Stanford has also provided an investment rationale for other universities, according to Dan Apfel, executive director of the New York-based group Responsible Endowments Coalition....

 

These feeds are provided for Accountability-Central in partnership with 3BL Media.  3BL Media distributes press releases, blogs, videos, podcasts, reports, newsletters and more to the growing audience of stakeholders interested in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability.  Visit 3BLMedia.com for more.

Sodexo Mexico’s Commitment to Ethics and Social ... - June 25, 2014
SAP Pledges 20% Electric Fleet by 2020 - June 25, 2014
Will GMO Labeling Muddy the Sustainable Food Water... - June 25, 2014
Bombardier Recipient of Sustainability Distinction - June 25, 2014

 

For more news and content from 3BL Media,
click here
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SustainabilityHQ Highlights is prepared by the Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. based on continuous monitoring of trends and developments in Sustainability and ESG. The SustainabilityHQ platform is available by subscription.

Governance & Accountability Instiute is the “Sustainability Headquarters™” for clients in the corporate, investment, public and social sectors.  The G&A team provides research, monitoring, advisory and strategic information resources to clients in the corporate, investment, public and social sectors.The G&A services portfolio includes:ESG Counseling, Strategies & Benchmarking | Competitive Benchmarking |
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