Brands & Sustainability Saying / Doing Both Matter to Stakeholders We think the Sustainable Brands annual conference is one of the “must attend” gatherings of sustainability managers and service providers. This year’s theme was “How Now,” with focus on “how” companies can support, strengthen and innovate their brands [for sustainability] – “now!” (This was the organizations’ 15th annual conference.) Outstanding experts in branding and related fields share their wisdom and experience. The focus of this week’s Top Story, as originally published on the Huff Post platform, is: Sustainability is not what your brand says/it is what it does. Author Karen Monson, Senior Director of Global Citizenship and Sustainability at pharma company Janssen, shares her perspectives on the conference. She focuses on a graphic used by author Denise Hohn – “A Brand is What You Do and How You Do It” and expands on the theme. Janssen, she explains, explores new ways to address sustainability for people, planet and its business. Partnering as a “big company” with smaller, emerging healthcare companies, Janssen encourages these incubating entities to innovate. Janssen also invests in the local communities. Conferences like those staged by Sustainable Brands, she writes, helps her to learn about best practices, trends, and provide inspiration. But returning to the home office, she observes, you have to take action on purpose-driven issues…a brand is about what you do / not what you say. And she asks, what does your brand do? This is an insightful article worth reading. Our view: The brand is the logo, in ancient Greek language, meaning the “sign,”, the “word,” what goes before us to market and represent the values of our enterprise, to remind prospects and customers of the trust in our product or service, and the brand is an important part of motivating people (to follow, to buy, to be loyal to the brand). More and more, as we see in our extensive monitoring and analysis of volumes of corporate sustainability reports each month, the sustainability journey [of the business enterprise] is an important foundation for strengthening, protecting and projecting brand trust and brand value. It is the sustainability “doing” as well as the “saying” (disclosure and reporting) that matters to stakeholders. The doing and saying go hand-in-hand, in our opinion. If the doing does not match the saying, serious dissonance occurs – undermining brand value. What say you? Top Story of the Week Sustainability Isn't What Your Brand Says; It's What It Does
(Monday - July 13, 2015)
Source: Huff Post - Recently, at the 2015 Sustainable Brands Conference, I was struck by something Harvard Business Review contributor and the author of "What Great Brands Do," Denise Yohn, showcased on the main stage. Her visual read: "A BRAND IS... Sustainability in Focus Sustainability Offers Opportunities. Procurement Should Grab Them
(Monday - July 13, 2015)
Source: Procurement Leaders - Sustainability efforts worldwide received a jolt recently from major players in the coffee industry. Nespresso, the coffee-making unit of Nestle, reported on progress in its Positive Cup sustainability program, including... City releases final Greenworks progress report on sustainability plan
(Monday - July 13, 2015)
Source: PhillyVoice.com - Release of Greenworks Philadelphia 2015 Progress Report marks six years of data on more than 160 initiatives and 15 targets under Nutter Administration... Today’s buzzword: Sustainability
(Tuesday - July 14, 2015)
Source: Agri-View - Sustainability is today's buzzword. Webster defines sustain as "to cause to continue - as in existence or a certain state, or in force or intensity; to keep up, especially without interruption diminution, flagging, etc.. Sustainability Initiatives Can Drive Corporate Revenue Growth and Innovation
(Tuesday - July 14, 2015)
Source: BusinessFacilities.com - Sustainability innovation is powering business growth: Between 2010 and 2013, revenues from company-defined portfolios of sustainable products and services grew by 91%. For S&P Global 100 companies that break out revenue for...
Latin America Has Uneven Record on Environmental Sustainability
(Tuesday - July 14, 2015)
Source: Inter Press Service - Millions of Latin Americans have better access to clean water and decent housing than 25 years ago. But the region still faces serious environmental challenges, such as deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions – a legacy of the... Isn't sustainability your job? Why it's time to be nice at work
(Wednesday - July 15, 2015)
Source: GreenBiz - A recent New York Times story confirmed my suspicion that the primary reason most employees hate their jobs are lousy managers. Bad managers destroy motivation, passion, interest and curiosity. Bad managers even adversely affect... Is the energy system really ready for sustainable energy?
(Wednesday - July 15, 2015)
Source: PHYS.org - New research into sustainable energy systems focuses on integrating renewable and nuclear power plants into the electrical grid – a topic high on the agenda for scholars, industry and policy makers... Business Leaders State Sustainability Reporting is a Process That Drives Positive Change
(Wednesday - July 15, 2015)
Source: CSRWire - Marks and Spencer, Sky, BT, Lloyds Banking Group and British American Tobacco are among the leading organizations that are driving change internally through their reporting processes. Enhancing investor engagement: why engage investors around sustainability?
(Thursday - July 16, 2015)
Source: IR Magazine - More and more companies see sustainability issues as being fundamental to the success of their business. But a recent Accenture/UN Global Compact survey of more than 100 investors and 1,000 corporate CEOs finds that, although 88...
ESG Issues & Players Geothermal heat below West Antarctic ice 'SURPRISINGLY high'
(Monday - July 13, 2015)
Source: The Register - Geothermal heating from the Earth beneath the intensively-studied West Antarctic Ice Sheet has been measured for the first time ever, and been found to be "surprisingly high" according to investigating boffins... Crude drops after Iran deal hit, hit oil stocks
(Tuesday - July 14, 2015)
Source: Reuters - Oil prices dropped, pushing commodity-linked shares and currencies lower on Tuesday, after Iran and six world powers reached a historic nuclear deal expected to increase the supply of Iranian crude on world markets... Justice Department warns food companies: Poison customers, risk prosecution
(Tuesday - July 14, 2015)
Source: The Augusta Chronicle - After a deadly listeria outbreak in ice cream, the Justice Department is warning food companies that they could face criminal and civil penalties if they poison their customers... What it will take for social finance to take off
(Tuesday - July 14, 2015)
Source: Fortune - World leaders, finance ministers, business leaders and investors gathered this week in Ethiopia for the United Nation’s International Financing for Development Conference to discuss channeling resources to the UN’s new... Gloom and Doom Not a Good Strategy for Climate Change Advocates
(Thursday - July 16, 2015)
Source: Huff Post - The idea of branding climate change could seem like another exercise in navel-gazing unless you consider the effectiveness of the opposition. They've got branding down, relentlessly repeating the mantra, "science is inconclusive... Asset Managers,US Pension Funds,
Sovereign Wealth Funds ESG Gaining Traction Among Pensions and Wealth Funds
(Tuesday - July 14, 2015) Associated Profiles : New Zealand Superannuation Fund
Source: swfinstitute.org - Asset managers are even integrating ESG factors into smart beta strategies. On July 14th, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZSF) announced the appointment of Northern Trust's... Public Employee Pension Funds Prepare for Year of Crappy Returns
(Wednesday - July 15, 2015) Associated Profiles : California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
Source: Reason - The funds bounced back big time last year, with the California Public Employee Retirement System's (CalPERS) returns hitting 18.4 percent. But, the Wall Street Journal notes (full article is paywalled, but... 5 Challenges for Socially Responsible Investing: BNY Mellon
(Wednesday - July 15, 2015)
Source: Think Advisor - While socially responsible investing is gaining traction among investors, several challenges remain to unlocking its full potential… Watching the Watchers Global Sourcing Council Headquarters: New York, NY
Established: 2007
ESG/Sustainability Focus: Yes, focused on sustainability and global sourcing
OVERVIEW/MISSION
The Global Sourcing Council states that its mission is to "…promote an exchange of ideas and information among businesses, trade organizations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and academia; to discuss and define practices in global sourcing; and to encourage progressive economic growth leading to increased trade, investment and social good, all with an aim to increase knowledge, deepen trade relations and broaden commercial and cultural ties among nations."
BACKGROUND
GSC was founded in 2007 and focuses largely on creating opportunities to discuss global sourcing and sustainability.
STRUCTURE
GSC calls itself a "voluntary, public-private initiative."
METHODOLOGIES / OPERATIONS
According to its charter, GSC's work encompasses several elements:
Offering an open forum for discussing "social, economic and political effects of global sourcing arrangements." The openness and collaborative aspects of GSC's activity enables it to draw diverse discussants from around the world and develop ideas about best practices. GSC hosts speakers, conferences, and Webinars, and makes annual 3S Awards, recognizing sustainable and socially responsible sourcing.
Engaging multinational companies "to establish strategic, harmonized outsourcing relationships with the various countries' trade organizations."
Publishing newsletters and disseminating other information about global sourcing. GSC maintains an online Knowledge Center with links to publications about sourcing and related issues.
GSC also plans to offer a certification program aiming to "provide tools for implementing principle of socially responsible sourcing (SRS) and to bring social responsibility into the core of outsourcing profession." News Sweeps EQHO Globalization and Digital Divide Data Join Forces with New Multilingual Desktop Publishing Partnership
(Friday - June 05, 2015) Associated Profiles : Global Sourcing Council
- Benzinga - Among many awards and recognitions, the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) selected DDD as a Rising Star on its 2015 Global Outsourcing 100 list and the Global Sourcing Council...
Sourcing Matters: Becoming More Intentional About Your Business Spend
(Wednesday - May 06, 2015) Associated Profiles : Global Sourcing Council
- The Huffington Post - The world takes note Recognitions by the Global Sourcing Council, International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP), the Rockefeller Foundation, plus research by Accenture, Avasant,...
John Magee
(Friday - March 20, 2015) Associated Profiles : Global Sourcing Council
- Bloomberg - President of both the South Central US and Latin America regions. He is a Member of several logistics industry professional associations, including The Global Sourcing Council and Supply Chain ASIA. He... 
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