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Newsletter

Source: Governance & Accountability Institute

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September 27, 2013

SERVICES  |  RESEARCH  |  EVENTS  |  WEBINARS  |  BLOG  |  ARCHIVE

Top Story of the Week

It's late September and here in New York City the annual ritual of the world's public sector, NGO, corporate sector and other civil society leaders gathering for the United Nations General Assembly meetings.  With so many luminaries, influentials and thought leaders gathered in one place, naturally there are a lot of meetings going on - inside the UN complex and outside as well.  In recent years the gathered have increasingly focused on making the world more sustainable for our present 6 billion-plus inhabitants (and the 9 billion souls expected by mid-century).

One powerful global collaboration for leaders is the Global Compact ("UNGC"), which will be unveiling a new "architecture" for the private sector.  Forbes contributor Dov Seidman outlines the new directions for UNGC (and especially private sector leaders signing on to the Compact) in our top story (below).  He addressed the leaders and noted that "...to handle our modern reality of extreme volatility and multiple crises...we need common values and a common mission...” which is what the UNGC and related UN entities for business community and civil society collaborations are designed to accomplish!  We recommend your reading --

The Era of Behavior Demands Principled Sustainability
(Friday - September 20, 2013)  Source: Dov Seidman, Forbes- Tomorrow, I’ll be addressing chief executives from around the world at the U.N. Global Compact’s triennial Leaders Summit in New York. In addition to my remarks, I look forward to leading a discussion with Fu Chengyu, Chairman of...

Sustainability in Focus

UN Global Compact Launches Stock Index
(Thursday - September 19, 2013) Associated Profiles : UN - Global Compact 
Source: UN Global Compact - The UN Global Compact today launched the “Global Compact 100” – a stock index of companies committed to the Global Compact ten principles that shows a total investment return of 26.4 percent during the past year, surpassing the...

Textiles sustainability group to host open meeting during market
(Friday - September 20, 2013) Associated Profiles :Sustainable Apparel Coalition 
Source: Home Textiles Today - Since last March, the group has made a number of strides, including: Completed assessment of the îSustainable Apparel Coalitionî's Higg Index for apparel and identified the customizations...

Sustainability Summit Explores the Many Ways to Leave Fossil Fuels Behind
(Friday - September 20, 2013) 
Source: New Jersey Spotlight - New Jersey is failing to take advantage of opportunities to reduce its use of fossil fuels and convert to cleaner, renewable sources of energy, according to a group trying to promote a more sustainable economy in the state.

How to follow the paths of sustainability trailblazers      
(Thursday - September 19, 2013) 
Source: GreenBiz - Sustainability pioneers do not rest on their laurels. They consistently and passionately work toward long-term improvement, and they are powerful examples of persistent boldness and conviction, particularly when the going gets...

Walmart Takes New Strides Toward Sustainability
(Tuesday - September 17, 2013) 
Source: Daily Green - When it comes to aiming to make the world's largest retailer sustainable, Walmart is focusing on "key initiatives where it can use its size and scale to help address 'hot spots' and accelerate progress in supply chain...

3D Printing in the context of cleantech and sustainability
(Monday - September 16, 2013) Associated Profiles : Clean Edge 
Source:  examiner.com - Three dimensional (3D) printing has gained a lot of attention lately. While invented in the 1980âs, 3D printing technologies have made rapid progress in the past decade and corporations in various industries...

ESG Issues & Players

The American Myth of Cheap Oil and Gas
(Friday - September 20, 2013) 
Source: Bloomberg - In recent years, U.S. business and political leaders have giddily talked of a “Saudi America” gurgling with domestic oil and gas. It’s true that the U.S. now has access to abundant supplies of cheap domestic gas capable of...

Amid 'uncertainty', scientists blame mankind for global warming
(Thursday - September 19, 2013) Associated Profiles :Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) 
Source:  Scientific American - Unrelated to climate change, he noted that six scientists were sentenced to jail in Italy last year for manslaughter after wrongly reassuring people of low risks shortly before an earthquake killed more than...

EPA Restarts Stalled Drive to Improve Water Protection
(Wednesday - September 18, 2013) 
Source: Bloomberg - The Environmental Protection Agency restarted efforts to expand and clarify federal oversight of streams and waterways, after a previous drive provoked a backlash from representatives of farmers and home builders. The agency and...

Corporate Management Was Less Successful at Excluding Shareholder Proposals in 2013 Proxy Season, The Conference Board Says 
(Wednesday - September 18, 2013) 
Source: MarketWatch - While the number of shareholder proposals filed at U.S. public companies continued to increase this year, management has been less successful at obtaining permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to exclude...

Asset Managers, US Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds

How Social Responsible Investing Can Be Irresponsible -- Pension Fund To Sell Energy Stocks?
(Wednesday - September 18, 2013) 
Source: Forbes - The city of Ann Arbor is holding discussions on divesting its pension fund from fossil fuels. It could be argued that this action is a form of ‘socially responsible investing’, but I’d argue that it is quite the opposite...

Sovereign wealth funds: In the shadows of the shadows
(Friday - September 20, 2013) Associated Profiles : Abu Dhabi Investment Authority 
Source: opalesque.com - For many years, the global fund manager has had four names on the must-see list when he visits the Gulf: the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Kuwait Investment Authority, the Saudi Arabian...

CalSTRS 2013 Proxy Season Advances Majority Voting Standard
(Thursday - September 19, 2013) 
Source: Fort Mill Times - The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) today announced overwhelming corporate governance success during the 2013 proxy season, as 77 of the 82 companies engaged adopted a majority...

Watching the Watchers

Carbon Disclosure Project 
Headquarters: London, England 
Established: 2000 

KEY PARTNERS
SAPMicrosoftAccenture, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers(PWC) are key global partners. 

CDP lists research firms, such as TrucostMSCI, andSustainalytics, as data partners. Further partner information is available online. The CDP Supply Chain, a CDP service, works with over 50 large companies (includingWal-mart Stores, National Australian Bank, and PepsiCo) and is part of CDP's efforts to "[extend] awareness of an organization’s carbon footprint, moving beyond the measurement of direct greenhouse gas emissions to include climate change risks and opportunities across the supply chain." 

OVERVIEW/MISSION 
From the organization: “The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an independent not-for-profit organization working to drive greenhouse gas emissions reduction and sustainable water use by business and cities."  
As of summer 2012, CDP is drawing forest footprint disclosure into its operations, too.

News Sweeps

Ryder System, Inc. : Ryder Signs First New York-Based Natural Gas Lease Deal with Willow Run Foods   
(Friday - September 20, 2013) Associated Profiles : Carbon Disclosure Project 
- 4-traders - They know that partnering with Ryder is a low risk way to get started quickly and without a large capital investment." Willow Run Foods will take delivery of the 15 natural gas vehicles in October to replace 15...

BNY Mellon Sustainability Achievements a Boost to Pittsburgh's Green Appeal - WFSB 3 Connecticut
(Friday - September 20, 2013) Associated Profiles : Carbon Disclosure Project 
- Eye Witness -- BNY Mellon, the global leader in investment management and investment services, has reached a new environmental sustainability ... 3.1 million square feet of Class A commercial office...

Save energy if you want more schools, hospitals 
(Friday - September 20, 2013) Associated Profiles : Carbon Disclosure Project 
- Gulf News - Abu Dhabi: When you switch off a lamp or an electric gadget when not needed, it is not merely minimising your own expense, but helps the nation implement more welfare measures for its people, including building more...

 

From G&A Institute's Strategic Partners
Watch G&A Institute's Strategic Partner Greener Media's entries in the SXSW Eco contest – two of their most meaningful and creative creations are presented.

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?

fcceaa59e5.jpgG&A's ESG Counseling & StrategiesCorporate executives and managers need to understand the powerful impacts of investors and stakeholders embracing ESG and Sustainability approaches and frameworks that shape global capital markets and influence corporation reputations and “license to operate.  Learn more About G&A's ESG Counseling & Strategies

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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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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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