Business leaders and managers are being challenged by the rising expectations of stockholders and stakeholder with regard to the corporate performance in the areas of ESG (environmental, social issue and governance) performance. Peers and competitors are increasingly setting the pace for industries and sectors as they create and implement sustainability and corporate responsibility strategies and actions. Who cares about this? Asset owners and asset managers looking at investments through the ESG/Sustainability lens. And third party stakeholders who are setting the pace in ESG research, standard setting (for industries), media, issue advocates…and others watching the corporate sector. Our team is watching the watchers for you. We bring you news, commentary and research in key areas of interest for both investors and asset managers -- and for corporate boards, executives and managers. As Sustainability and ESG frameworks are adopted by more investors, the capital markets are determining winners, laggards and losers. Track the trends, the news, updates, the important developments – makeSustainability HQ™ your headquarters for ESG knowledge management. ESG / Sustainability Book Review - Strategic Governance: Enabling Financial, Environmental and Social Sustainability – by Hank Boerner and Mark W. Sickles
(Source: Review by CSRwire Contributing Writer Elaine Cohen) Strategic Governance provides a unique opportunity to reorient your thinking about what’s possible for your business. It introduces you to an enlightened, principle-based governance regime. If you transform this new way of thinking into effective action, you can achieve extraordinary results simply because the "new idea" driving your actions departs from conventional wisdom. For this reason, Strategic Governance book is also an opportunity to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. EU puts up €250k award money for best project proposal on ESG integration
(Source: Responsible Investor) The European Union (EU) has put up a funding award of up to €250,000 to co-finance an innovative project that could prompt mainstream investors to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) information into their valuations of companies. In a call for idea proposals, the EU said the funding should be used to back 50% of the costs of a winning project that would support its own push to mainstream the use of ESG data by the financial markets. It said this might include the development of teaching or training modules on the valuation of ESG performance and its integration into professional financial or educational qualifications. Another suggestion, it said, included the establishment of a network or academy (virtual or real) to support improvements in the integration of ESG information into market valuations of companies. Associated Profiles: European Union Allowance (EUA Corporate Boards — Still Pale, Male, and Stale
(Source: BNET.com) About 15 years ago, I was talking to a CEO about finding new independent directors and I suggested one possible candidate. “Oh,” he said, “we already have a woman.” We haven’t made much progress since then. Women make up 26 percent of the cabinet and 17 percent of the House of Representatives. So why do so many corporate boards still meet the classic description of “pale, male, and stale?” Associated Profiles: Governance Metrics International (GMI) How to build a performance culture for sustainability
(Source: Guardian.co.uk) It is common now for leading global companies to set challenging time-bound sustainability goals as part of their overall business strategy. Stakeholders expect detailed reporting on progress – and even setbacks. As companies continue to set the bar higher, meeting ever more ambitious targets requires more than good intentions and operational fixes. Embedding sustainability holistically depends on creating a high performance culture that motivates employees to be focused, engaged and creative for the long-term. Associated Profiles:UN - Environmental Programme Corporate Responsibility Magazine Releases their Top 100 Corporate Citizen List
(Source: TriplePundit.com) Corporate Responsibility Magazine announced their list of the top 100 corporate citizens yesterday, Wednesday, March 2, in a ceremony at the NYSE. The list was based on a consolidated metric that included the following categories, shown below with their respective weightings. Associated Profiles: IW Financial Sovereign Wealth Funds Sovereign Wealth Funds’ AUM Touch $4T
(Source: FIN Alternatives) The world’s sovereign wealth funds have seen their coffers swell to $3.98 trillion, an increase of 11% over the last 12 months, according to new data from the Preqin research firm.The 2011 Preqin Sovereign Wealth Fund Review says the percentage of SWFs investing in alternatives has also risen over 2010, pointing out that SWFs, with their longer-term horizons and fewer liabilities than other investors, are important investors in alternative assets. Associated Profiles :National Wealth Fund Singapore wealth fund upbeat on U.S. economy
(Source: Reuters/Wall Street Journal) The U.S. economy will grow above trend at a rate of between 4 and 4.5 percent in 2011, Tony Tan, the head of Singapore's $200 billion sovereign wealth fund, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview. The head of Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) told the paper that Americans were being too hard on themselves and have failed to recognize the resilience of the U.S. economy. Associated Profiles: Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) Control of Libya’s Hidden Wealth May Be Next Battle
(Source: CNBC) As the battle for Libya rages on, the struggle over control of the country’s sovereign wealth fund and its $70 billion in assets has just begun. With a sizable pot of ready cash and stakes in a few elite European companies — including the British publisher Pearson and the Italian soccer club Juventus — the fund served as an emphatic calling card for its founder, Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, a son of the Libyan ruler who was once regarded as the reformer in the family. Associated Profiles: Libyan Investment Authority , The Carlyle Group |
Make SustainabilityHQ™ your daily headquarters for important news, commentary and research results – your HQs for Sustainability and ESG knowledge management. The key capital market players focused on Sustainability and ESG (environmental management, social issues and effective corporate governance) are profiled with an abundance of relevant information. Updates are continuous. The third party organizations helping to shape corporate valuations and corporate reputations are profiled and news about these players is updated every day. Log in and check it out!
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Tel: 646 – 430 - 8239 _______________________________ Strategic Governance - Enabling Financial, Environmental, and Social Sustainability
A new book by Hank Boerner and Mark Sickles of the Governance & Accountability Institute. Click here for more information. _______________________________ 
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United States Pension Funds Government employee pensions anger private sector workers
(Source: TimesNews.net)At its heart, the issue is this: Some public workers get a sweet deal compared to other workers. And it's taxpayers who pay for it. That's set off resentment in a time when economic doldrums have left practically everyone tightening their belts. Many people have found their tax bills rising even if their earnings haven't. A USA TODAY/Gallup poll last month found that Americans largely side with the employees, though about two in five that want government pay and benefits reined in. Associated Profiles: New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits CalPERS Assists in Medco Investigation
(Source: CalPERS) The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has announced that it has been cooperating and collaborating as appropriate with the California Attorney General’s Office and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding allegations that Medco Health Solutions (Medco) paid former CalPERS Board Member Al Villalobos more than $4 million as a consultant on the CalPERS business that may have included improper conduct by former CalPERS Chief Executive Officer Fred Buenrostro and some former CalPERS Board Members. Associated Profiles: California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) The Sixteen States That are Killing Their Pensions
(Source: 24/7 Wall Street) For decades, public employees have had pension plans identical to those provided by most large American companies. These are defined benefit plans that pay workers a fixed sum each year after they have retired based on the amount of years they have worked and their salaries at the time of retirement. The trouble this causes for governments is that these funds often do not grow as quickly as the obligations they have to pay out, creating a budgetary crisis. It is not unusual to for a plan to have an obligation to offer its members a guaranteed level of growth which allows retirees to be able to rely on future payments, no matter how the funds perform financially. Associated Profiles:Colorado Public Employees Retirement System (PERA), Florida Retirement System Pension PlanWatching the Watchers  INAISE (International Association of Investors in the Social Economy)
Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
Established: 1989
KEY PARTNERS
None overtly mentioned, though it appears that member organizations – which include board members’ regular work places – take an active role in INAISE. Network members are listed online. OVERVIEW / MISSION
From INAISE:
“INAISE (the International Association of Investors in the Social Economy) is a global network of socially and environmentally oriented financial institutions. Created in 1989, INAISE has grown rapidly as the movement of social investors gained importance, volume and visibility in a number of European and non-European countries.” INAISE is a nonprofit organization with members from over 20 diverse countries, including Bangladesh, Canada, South Africa, and Luxemburg. To become full members of INAISE, organizations should be finance organizations or networks of finance organizations that “carry on investment activity in the social economy and which subscribe to the articles of association.” Nonfinancial organizations are eligible for associate membership. |
