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Newsletter

Source: Governance & Accountability Institute

Sustainability-Highlights-Header
September 11, 2013

SERVICES  |  RESEARCH  |  EVENTS  |  WEBINARS  |  BLOG  |  ARCHIVE

Top Story of the Week

Walk the Talk, UNGC Advises Business Leaders

In a survey of 1,712 company leaders in 113 countries, the UN Global Compact asked about how companies are walking the talk on sustainability.

Top  line:  regarding corporate sustainability, while increasing numbers of chief executives recognize the need to change, they are not following through with concrete actions.

The survey results show some progress but there is still a l-o-n-g way to go for even the UNGC signatories to drive sustainability into the DNA of their organizations.  The Guardian and UNGC presented the results of the survey (details in the top story this week).  One-third of the signatories responded, and the Global Compact leadership saw a gap between “principles and practice” in the various responses to its questions.  Call this “what-companies-say-and-then-do” gap.

Example:  Nine out of 10 boards say they discuss and act on sustainability issues.  But just 8% link progress in sustainability with C-suite pay-for-performance incentives.

Example:  Looking at the supply chain, half of the respondents said they had communicated “expectations” to their suppliers.  About 20% help suppliers meet those expectations (say, with training, or other assistance). And a mere 8% verify that remediation steps have been taken.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon wrote of the results that "while UN Global Compact participants are on a good track in terms of high-level commitments and goal-setting, much more needs to be done to deepen sustainability efforts in how they think and act, from boardrooms to supply chains."

The UNGC is a global collaboration and strategic policy initiative for business; companies are asked to commit to and embrace certain universal principles, and to partner with the UN.  Each year the signatories attest to their compliance with the 10 principles, which deal with human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption.  At this writing, there are 10,000+ participants including 7,000 businesses in 145 countries.

Wake up call for businesses: sustainability progress remains slow       
(Friday - September 06, 2013) 
Source: The Guardian - If you're under the illusion that sustainability is already embedded into the corporate sector, then it's time to wake up and smell the coffee. A comprehensive survey of 1,712 corporate members of the United Nations Global...

Sustainability in Focus

The 10 Cities That Are Leading The Way In Urban Sustainability      
(Friday - September 06, 2013) 
Source: Fastcoexist.com - Cities are the laboratories where the most innovative ideas for surviving in the future can be tested. These 10--from New York to Tokyo to Bogota--were just awarded City Climate Leadership Awards for their work.

Entering the Era of Smart Sustainability Reporting
(Friday - September 06, 2013) 
Source: Triple Pundit - As sustainability reporting has gone from vanguard to mainstay over the past decade, sustainability professionals have struggled with the question of who actually wades through the reams of data that comprise a typical...

Ethical awards: green wash or genuinely recognising sustainability?       
(Wednesday - September 04, 2013) 
Source: Guardian - Earlier this year, Kellogg's and PepsiCo were featured in Oxfam's Behind the Brands report on ethical shortfalls, scoring low on commitment to improving the rights of women and farmers. Neither was given a good rating for...

Profiting from sustainability: 5 tips for corporate boards
(Tuesday - September 03, 2013) 
Source: Guardian - Of all the challenges facing corporate sustainability leaders, a lack of board-level support can be one of the most frustrating. While a chief executive's top priority is day-to-day operations, directors' main job is to think...

Should Climate Risks Be Included in Sustainability Reports?
(Thursday - August 29, 2013) 
Source: Triple Pundit - Historically, sustainability reporting has been largely about the firm’s impact on society and the environment. Is the firm using up a lot of resources? Polluting? How does it impact local communities’ lives and livelihoods? ...

ESG Issues & Players

World Water Week 2013 - The global water crisis – why water politics matter for business security
(Tuesday - September 03, 2013) 
Source: Guardian - The world is facing a global water crisis. This year, the World Economic Forum and world business leaders identified that water supply crises are amongst the highest impact risks facing the modern world. As populations grow, and...

Fukushima radiation levels '18 times higher' than thought
(Monday - September 02, 2013) Associated Profiles :Water.org 
Source: BBC - Last week the plant's operator reported radioactive  water had leaked from a storage tank into the ground. It now says readings taken near the leaking tank on Saturday showed radiation was high enough to prove lethal...

What are We Talking About When We Talk about Socially Responsible Investing?
(Friday - August 30, 2013) 
Source: Millionaire Corner - When it comes to socially responsible investing, affluent investors primarily believe it means not investing in companies whose practices and policies violate their beliefs

Asset Managers, US Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds

A New Divestment Focus: Fossil Fuels
(Friday - September 06, 2013) 
Source: NY Times - A student movement has gathered momentum at more than 300 campuses over the last year. Members have encouraged college and university endowments to divest themselves of their holdings of companies in the fossil fuel business to...

The origins of the financial crisis: Crash Course
(Friday - September 06, 2013) 
Source: The Economist - The collapse of Lehman Brothers, a sprawling global bank, in September 2008 almost brought down the world’s financial system. It took huge taxpayer-financed bail-outs to shore up the industry. Even so, the ensuing credit crunch...

NYC Comptroller Candidate Vows ESG-Aware Pensions 
(Friday - August 30, 2013) 
Source: AI-CIO - Scott Stringer, a candidate in the November 5 election for New York City comptroller, has promised to prioritize sustainable investment practices for the city’s $140 billion pension system. The current Manhattan Borough president...

Making the most of sovereign wealth funds      
(Thursday - September 05, 2013) Associated Profiles :National Fund [of Kazakhstan] 
- opalesque.com - With a lack of transparency and political complications affecting the use of SWFs worldwide, it’s no wonder there are wide disparities when it comes to their correct use, writes Pierre-Emmanuel Iseux, Member...

Watching the Watchers
African Biodiversity Network

Headquarters: Thika, Kenya
Established: 1996-2002

ESG/Sustainability Focus: Yes: focus on “biodiversity and community livelihood in Africa.”

KEY PARTNERS

International partners are The Gaia Foundation and GRAIN; ABN works with numerous other partners from 12 Eastern, Western, and Southern African countries.  Signatory of Time to Act! and member of Alliance for Food Sovereignty

OVERVIEW/MISSION
The African Biodiversity Network describes itself as “a regional network of individuals and organisations seeking African solutions to the ecological and socio-economic challenges that face the continent.” Though ABN has numerous global partners and funders, it stresses indigenous knowledge and unified approaches to Africa’s social and environmental problems.  ABN states its vision as “Vibrant and resilient African communities rooted in their own biological, cultural, and spiritual diversity, governing their own lives and livelihoods, in harmony with healthy ecosystems.”

News Sweeps
Africa: Let's Have Healthy Food for All Africa's People       
(Wednesday - August 28, 2013) Associated Profiles : African Biodiversity Network 
- AllAfrica - When I think about farming in Africa, one of our major goals is to see local farmers being able to grow safe and healthy food in balance with nature. Greenpeace calls it ecological farming, and it would not only feed...

CSO in Africa to Counter Corporatisation Agriculture       
(Sunday - August 11, 2013) Associated Profiles : African Biodiversity Network 
- Spy Ghana - âNow more than ever we are finding the livelihoods of the continentâs small-scale farmers increasingly under threat, often in the name of development and poverty alleviation....

African Food Alliance Meets In Ethiopia To Oppose GM Products      
(Saturday - August 10, 2013) Associated Profiles : African Biodiversity Network 
- ModernGhana - The meeting will also oppose Bill Gate's Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the new G8 Alliance for food security. A statement issued by AFSA in Accra and copied to Ghana News Agency identified the...

G&A Announces...


G&A Institute Sustainability Update
Informative, insightful, thought provoking... The new blog from the Governance & Accountability Institute focusing on the sustainable  world  evolving daily before our eyes.  Read it,  absorb it,  question it and challenge it.  G&A's Sustainability Update™ – insights and 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 theUnited 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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Governance & Accountability Institute Service Highlight

Top 8 Reasons to Contact 
Governance & Accountability Institute. Is this one yours?

G&A's Awards & Recognitions Program

Your corporate sustainability journey may have begun.  Or, the  journey may be far along, maturing  – and the story being told through the GRI sustainability report.  Who is taking notice? Who is recognizing the company's reporting effort (the progress report for corporate achievements), and bestowing recognition?  Which of the many “best of” lists, and ratings, rankings, scores ,and other third party judgments is your company being included in – where are you positioned in the race to the top? Learn more About G&A's Awards & Recognitions Program

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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 atinfo@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...

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Please credit the source if quoted. 
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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:
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