Highlights #250 is Now in Your Mailbox - With An Important Flash Report About the S&P 500. Companies And Their Bedrock Sustainability Reporting This week you are receiving the 250th issue of G&A Institute’s SHQ Weekly Highlights newsletter. It was on November 16, 2009 that the first Weekly Highlights was published and distributed to a few hundred individuals interested in ESG and Sustainability, corporate responsibility, sustainable & responsible investing…and related issues & topics. Wow -– has that distribution roster grown! The newsletter now connects with almost 14,000 professionals and institutions worldwide. And where it was still an early morning a “hunt” for suitable information six years ago, today the editors’ challenge is to select the most important items from a constantly-widening torrent of news, research results, commentary & opinion…and other information related to the topics. We hope you have benefitted from our efforts to inform you and your colleagues over these 250 issues. Today we focus on content for you, the professional who studies and acts on the stories, reports and commentaries that now examines not only the original list of topics (from 2009), but also new issues including the hot topic of materiality; the growing importance of sustainability indexes and benchmarks; and dramatically-expanded corporate sustainability reporting, to mention a few. Our Highlights content is tweeted and re-tweeted, and posted and distributed through social media, Web sites and organization bulletins. We pleased to report that the Governance & Accountability Institute's information channels have continued to grow and expand and have a positive impact on society to bring us all closer to a more sustainable business and natural environment. We thank you for your continued interest and support. A portion of the Weekly content over the past six years has focused on the extensive research work of the G&A Institute team. This week’s Top Story is a “Flash Report” about the continued expansion of corporate sustainability/responsibility reporting. Our team led by Louis D. Coppola (EVP of G&A) and his team of five interns determined after careful examination that three-quarters – 75% -- of the S&P500 Index ® Companies are now publishing corporate sustainability reports in 2014. The growth in such reporting among the S&P 500 is dramatic: one-fifth of companies reporting in 2011 (just under 20%); more than half (53%) reporting a year later, in 2012; then 73% reporting by 2013 – 7-in-10 companies among the largest public issuer universe for investors. And that number is holding steady: 75% reporting in 2014. We invite you to read the Top Story this week – there’s very important information for you that you will be seeing in many references over the coming year. Thanks to our intern research team working with Lou Coppola [who designed the analysis] to create this important Flash Report: - Selene Lawrence (2015 Team Leader)
Hunter College — BS, Geography - Tania Apicella
Rutgers Business School — MBA - Simon Fischweicher
Bard College — MBA, Sustainability - Evan Guyton
Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business — MBA - John Rovetto
William Paterson, University of New Jersey — BS, Business Management
And, our Highlights Editor (and EVP) Ken Cynar notes...As much as things change, they do stay very much the same. He presents a few headlines for you from past issues (see end of this Highlights) -– as well as Sustainability in Focus and other standing features that you are accustomed to seeing every week. Thanks from all of us at G&A for continuing to tune in to our weekly newsletter! Top Story of the Week FLASH REPORT — Seventy-Five Percent (75%) of the S&P 500 Index Published Corporate Sustainability Reports in 2014
(Monday - June 08, 2015)
 Source: Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. - Sustainability reporting has become the clear norm in the U.S. capital markets as represented by our four year study of the S&P 500*. Over the last four years there has been significant uptake in sustainability reporting from just 20% in 2011 to 75% in 2015, demonstrating the necessity of measuring and managing ESG issues in response to growing stakeholder and stockholder demands. To put this in context G&A in tracking prior year(s) reporting found that: - in 2011, just under 20% of S&P 500 companies had reported;
- in 2012, 53% (for the first time a majority) of S&P 500 companies were reporting;
- by 2013, 72% were reporting — that is 7-out-of-10 of all companies in the popular benchmark
Sustainability in Focus H&M Chief: There is a clear business case connected to sustainability
(Friday - June 05, 2015)
Source: Business Green - Swedish clothing giant H&M is at the forefront of the debate on how fashion can become more sustainable. Managing director Karl-Johan Persson spoke to Hubbub's Trewin Restorick about the company's commitment to making... Trapped by Success: Thoughts on Sustainability in Business Following SB’15 San Diego
(Friday - June 05, 2015)
Source: Triple Pundit - Few weeks ago “Mad Men” ended with Don Draper’s “om” moment followed by a 1971 Coca Cola jingle, “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke.” While the “Mad Men” series is sadly no longer with us, the Mad Men era is still very much here. Investors crank up sustainability
(Thursday - June 04, 2015)
Source: World Finance - Reports suggest that investors are increasingly looking at the impact of their investment portfolios on the wider world, and that they need not trade-off profit for feeling good...
Swedish sustainable textile initiative expands
(Thursday - June 04, 2015) Associated Profiles : Stockholm International Water Institute
- Big News Network - 28 Swedish textile and leather companies have worked with the project, which was launched through the Stockholm International Water Institute... Opinion: The investors’ case for sustainability
(Thursday - June 04, 2015)
Source: MarketWatch— Investors worldwide are increasingly seeking opportunities that promise to bring environmental and social benefits, in addition to market rates of return. If this trend continues, with the advancement of... 'The business case for sustainability is now incontrovertible'
(Wednesday - June 03, 2015)
Source: ReCharge - After announcing his impending retirement after nine years as CEO of global risk management specialist DNV GL, Henrik Madsen this week starts a new role as the latest board member at the UN Global Compact – the world's largest... Companies call for tougher sustainability standards for palm oil
(Wednesday - June 03, 2015)
Source: The Guardian - Industry leaders such as PepsiCo, Walmart and Starbucks banded together Monday to call for stricter certification standards for sustainable palm oil... Reframing Sustainability For China, And Future Cities
(Wednesday - June 03, 2015)
Source: Forbes - For the first time ever (as of 2012) more people – over 700 million – live in China’s urban areas than in its rural regions[1]. By 2020, about 60% of China’s population will live in cities;[2] and 300 million urban residents are...
Harvard Business School 2015 Commencement Features Sustainability
(Tuesday - June 02, 2015)
Source: Just Means - Harvard has made it a University-wide priority to address the challenges of climate change and sustainability. The University created a Sustainable Plan in 2014 that provides the roadmap for building a healthier, more sustainable... The Business Case for Sustainability
(Tuesday - June 02, 2015)
Source: Project Syndicate - BERKELEY – Investors worldwide are increasingly seeking investment opportunities that promise to bring environmental and social benefits, in addition to market rates of return. If this trend continues, with the advancement of... 'Fast 10' sustainability leadership tips
(Tuesday - June 02, 2015)
Source: GreenBiz - Working on the front lines of a very visible brand is filled with action: problems to solve; surprises — some interesting, some... Values key to sustainability leadership says survey
(Monday - June 01, 2015)
Source: FreightWeek - LONDON/TORONTO: Leadership in sustainable development is not possible without making sustainability part of a company's core business model claims a new survey. 6 trends driving businesses to double down on sustainability
(Monday - June 01, 2015)
Source: GreenBiz - At a sustainability Leadership Summit held by the Rainforest Alliance this month in New York, business, government and NGO leaders discussed the rapid evolution of their work in sustainability. Many said the field is actually... ESG Issues & Players 49 US states making plans to cut power plant emissions
(Thursday - June 04, 2015) Associated Profiles : Union of Concerned Scientists
- theguardian.com - An analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit environmental group, found that 31 states are well on their way to meet the EPA's interim targets. In fact, coal-heavy states... Shareholders push companies to change executive pay
(Wednesday - June 03, 2015)
Source: The Hill - Responding to pressure from investors, a third of companies say they have changed their executive pay compensation plans, according to a new survey from the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) released Tuesday... Time To Hit The Corporate Social Responsibility 'Reset Button'
(Monday - June 01, 2015)
Source: Forbes - It is overstatement to say that over the last several decades corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs have become commonplace within many large companies and financial institutions, particularly those who have investments... Asset Managers, US Pension Funds,
Sovereign Wealth Funds Investors need climate change behavioural shift - study
(Friday - June 05, 2015) Associated Profiles : Mercer
Source: Reuters - There is increasing debate about the impact of climate change on investments, particularly in fossil fuels. A study by consultants Mercer - backed by the International Finance Corporation,... California Pension Thermal Coal Divestment Would Be a First
(Friday - June 05, 2015) Associated Profiles : California State Teachers’ Retirement System
Source: Institutional Investor - CalSTRS spokesman Ricardo Duran says that in April, his systemâs board directed staff to begin researching the possibility of dumping its coal stocks, in anticipation of this... How 3 public pensions got their houses in order
(Thursday - June 04, 2015) Associated Profiles : State Employee’s Retirement System of Illinois (SERS)
Source: benefitspro.com - Amid all the press about unfunded liabilities and legal battles, some public pension systems manage, and are managed, quite well. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Center for State and Local Government... Public Pressure Grows On Gulf Countries Sovereign Wealth Funds
(Tuesday - June 02, 2015) Associated Profiles : Qatar Investment Authority
Source: Live Trading News - A banker who works closely with Qatar Investment Authority, which manages an estimated $256-B, said the fund had become more conservative in recent months. It was now focusing on developed assets... Looking Back: 2009 - Early Highlights Features Sustainability Indices Sprouting Up
(November 15, 2009)
Source: CNBC - If you like your investment portfolio with a side order of conscience, there are a lot of new sustainability indices out there for you. Climate Groups Retool Argument For Global Warming
(December 9, 2010)
Source: National Public Radio - The number of Americans who believe that global warming is a scientific fact has been dropping, and environmental groups and climate scientists who say the evidence for warming is clear are scratching their heads over this reversal and scrambling to find a new strategy. Ceres Report: Insurers Slow to Recognize Climate Change Threat to Their Business Models and Larger Economy
(September 8, 2012)
Source: Ceres - Only 11 of 88 major insurers surveyed recently have formal policies in place to deal with growing climate change risks, according to a major new report issued today by Ceres. The report was to have been delivered today at a conference of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) that was cancelled due to Hurricane Irene. The new report, “Climate Risk. Telling the Story of Your Sustainability Journey Through a CSR Report
(Tuesday - July 17, 2012)
Source: Hank Boerner, chairman, Governance & Accountability Institute, CSRWire - No matter your age or status, that's a wonderful incentive to begin a conversation. Everything we do tells a story; if we apply that to the corporation, the story is told through strategies adopted, the corporate culture, the... UN Global Compact Expels 99 Companies in First Half of 2013
(Tuesday - July 09, 2013) Associated Profiles : UN - Global Compact
Source: UN Global Compact – The UN Global Compact has announced that it has expelled 99 companies in the first half of 2013 for failure to communicate progress for at least two consecutive years. These expelled companies represent three percent of... Missed Targets: when companies fail to keep their key sustainability promises
(Tuesday - July 22, 2014)
Source: The Guardian - When the Walt Disney Company reached out to Rainforest Action Network for help in crafting a new sustainable paper sourcing policy in 2012, the nonprofit was all ears. As the world's largest publisher of children's books and... | Check It Out...
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Recent Posts Should Public Company Boards Tie ESG Performance Metrics To CEO / C-Suite Compensation & Incentives? NASDAQ OMX Group and CRD Analytics Announce Companies In/Out of the Sustainability Benchmark Sweeping Changes in Corporate Sustainability? Yes – Check Out Sustainable Brands Top 10 As Part of Trust Across America’s “North American Trust Awards” – the new “Hank Boerner Accountability Award” Goes to Intel Disclosure -– It’s All About Materiality So – What is Material in Climate Change? An interesting dialogue is going on… Corporate CEOs – Acknowledged to be the Face of the Brand — What Face Do Sustainability Leadership Companies Present? _______________________________
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 It is always helpful to know what peers and competitors are doing in certain practices -- what are the best practices of investment and industry peers in terms of transparency, disclosure and structured reporting on their sustainability performance? What story do peers tell of their sustainability journey -- the strategies adopted, internal organization for success, implemented programs and initiatives, the third party recognitions they earned? What is the story being told through their disclosures and reporting of the success of the sustainability journey? Learn more About G&A's Competitive Benchmarking Analysis _______________________________
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 Sustainability HQ™ platforms. For more information, please email us at info@sustainabilityhq.com
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