|
Welcome to 2017 -- Quo Vadis for Corporate Sustainability and Sustainable Investment for This New Year? At the outset of the Year 2016 we were seeing so many (mostly) positive trends converging in a critical mass that spelled out "s-u-c-c-e-s-s-f-u-l" year ahead for sustainability professionals, whether they toiled in the corporate sector, in the capital markets, in NGO offices, in the public sector, and so on. In January 2016 we began to explore these trends one-by-one and in the collective, to develop commentary around the respective themes and developments. Throughout the year, a good number of U.S. and global thought leaders and sustainability influencers were publicly sharing excellent content on each or several of the trends and we incorporated that shared input in essays that would help to illustrate the point that important trends were converging -- especially in 2015 and into 2016.
So what did we see coming together in 2016 -- and what's ahead for 2017 now that we have a new Administration and a new U.S. Congress in place? Will the positive trends fade in influence, diminishing the value of the public and private sectors' focus on creating a more sustainable nation -- and global society -- through positive actions? What do you think? There are two parts to that question/answer: (1) As for the promise of 2016 trends, you can explore these in the collection of our essays available with our team's compliments on the Governance & Accountability Institute web site. Click here for more information on how to download. (2) And looking into 2017: Yes, there will likely be changes, some perhaps dramatic, that may divert the course of the Federal government, state and municipal governments in terms of addressing climate change and other pressing societal issues. And that may perhaps lessen some of the pressures on the holdouts in Corporate America that are not yet embarked on their sustainability journey. (In our 2016 survey, we determined that 99 of the S&P 500® universe of companies were not reporting on the journey.) We're keeping the monitoring & charting effort going at G&A Institute and sharing perspective on the trends we described in 2016, and the updates to these -- and new developments -- for the year 2017. We invite you to share your news, research and perspectives on these trends, and others that we have not yet addressed in our trend-watching. (We got to about 50 trends and stopped the writing at that point in Fall 2016.) Send your thoughts, news updates and shared perspectives to us at: info@ga-institute.com. The background on our shared perspective effort for 2016 is on our corporate blog at: "So Many Positives in 2016 for Sustainability." We're acknowledging as well the many inputs to the work by sustainability influencers. Check it out here. We are calling this year's effort "Momentum 2017 - Sustainability Forward!" -- our new shared perspectives will be presented under that title. The first of these updates is presented for you on G&A Institute's "Sustainability Update" blog here. Best wishes for the new year from the team at G&A Institute.
Top Story So Many Positives in 2016 for Sustainability – Corporate Citizenship – CR – Sustainable Investing — The Core of “Trends Converging!” Commentaries. It’s 2017 — Now What? Of Significance Carrot Outweighs Stick for U.S. Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability in Focus Sustainability still key, with challenges ahead Survey says: It’s time to make sustainability a priority Sustainable retail trends to watch in 2017 Report: U.S. AG sustainability grows The five innovations that shaped sustainability in 2016 The 6 best sustainability books of 2016 UK lags behind emerging markets in consumer attitudes to sustainability, Unilever study finds Will 2017 be the year we get serious about sustainable food? Sustainability Over Capital ? This Entrepreneur Duo says Yes How does workplace safety and health align with sustainability? 4 Steps Toward Sustainability Almond Board Program Streamlined How Sustainable Investing Can Help You Meet Portfolio Goals Without Sacrifice Source: Sustainable Brands - A new global consumer study from Unilever reveals fascinating insights regarding consumer interest in and commitment to sustainable products, as well as an over $1 trillion market opportunity for brands that can effectively and...
In 2017, disruptive forces will shape climate action Insurer: 2016 saw highest natural disaster losses in 4 years The Oil Trade That Shows Where OPEC’s Cuts Are Starting to Bite Five U.S. cities at the forefront of the fight against climate change The climate struggle is real: 10 biggest global warming stories of 2016 Asset Managers, US Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds Sovereign-Wealth Funds Threatened by Government Spending Pulling US Public Pensions Back from the Brink | GET CERTIFIED IN CSR WITH _________________________________________
G&A Institute Sustainability Update™ Update 2017 – Forward Momentum! For Sustainability – Pope Francis Set the Tone in 2016 _________________________________________ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ GRI'S USA, UK & IRELAND
G&A Institute is the exclusive Data Partner for the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) in the USA, UK and Republic of Ireland. We identify, receive, collect, analyze, database, and communicate about every report issued in any of the 3 countries. Over the past 6+ years, G&A analyzed 6,000-plus sustainability reports in this pro bono role and databased 100+ important data points for each report.
_________________________________________
Navigating the way to sustainability... | |||||||||||||||||
The Sustainability Highlights eNewsletter is prepared by Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. based on continuous monitoring of trends and developments in Sustainability and ESG. Governance & Accountability Instiute is the “Sustainability Headquarters™” for clients in the corporate, investment, public and social sectors. Based in New York, G&A is a for-profit consulting organization providing a range of value-added strategies, services and resources related to ESG & sustainability to clients in the corporate and capital markets communities.For G&A's full range of services, click on each of the links below: For more information, contact Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. | ||||||||||||||||||
These trends were (and for now, still are) very promising for sustainability professionals. The result was a collection of these essays gathered in one volume: 
