State Street CEO to Boards of Companies in Portfolio: Disclose More About the Impact of Climate Change on Your Business -- Be More Transparent...and More State Street Corp is one of the world's leading asset managers, with US$2.47 trillion in AUM. State Street Global Advisors CEO Ron O'Hanley in late-January sent a message to the boards of directors of public companies whose stock is in State Street portfolios: SSGA is increasing focus on climate change, safety, workplace diversity and various other ESG issues. Especially climate change. Tell us more about what you are doing. How? The State Street Global Advisors CEO is asking, how is the board [of the company] preparing the enterprise for the impacts of climate change? He is communicating to these directors that it is necessary for boards to disclose more about those plans. The CEO's letter was accompanied by a description of the framework that SSGA uses to evaluate public companies' sustainability efforts. In this week's first Top Story, the highlights of the approach are described for you. Three criteria are used to evaluate and rank companies -- as Tier One, Two and Three. Tier One companies satisfy the three criteria. The results are reflected in the proxy voting of SSGA, the #3 asset manager of ETF's in the USA (Exchange Traded Funds). There were 177 companies in the portfolio that SSGA evaluated in 2016; a mere 7% qualified as Tier One. Tier Two totals 72%, which meant that companies had a sustainability program but had not integrated it into its overall business strategy, articulated how ESG factors affected long-term strategies, or established long-term goals aligned with ESG strategy. (Tier Three companies were described as not doing anything ESG-wise, 21% of companies in the portfolio, according to the Think Advisor story.) Company boards and C-suite should consider that State Street is an active player in the coming proxy voting season. SSGA supported 46% of climate-related proposals in 2016. That's important when you consider the competition: the vote count was zero (voting) at Vanguard, American Funds, Black Rock and Fidelity -- a source of concern and a growing level of activism on the issue among sustainable & responsible investing advocates. In an interview with Bloomberg's top environmental reporter, Emily Chasan in January (our second Top Story below), SSGA CEO O'Hanley said: "We're asking companies to make sure they are identifying and communicating both their risks and opportunities. Climate change may be the poster child for risk out there." The Bloomberg Business Week story has a neat chart for you, with the voting records of "shares of proxy votes in favor of climate-related proposals." The Top 20 of the world's asset managers' voting records are presented. State Street is the fifth-ranked (at the top). Stay Tuned, as we often say, to the coming 2017 Proxy Voting Season at public companies. ESG issues are front and center at some large corporate issuers and the action will be in the maneuvering around the shareholder-offered resolutions on climate change and other ESG issues by the entire voting body. Top Story State Street Wants Companies to Focus on Sustainability
(Wednesday - February 01, 2017)
Source: Think Advisor - State Street Global Advisors, the third-largest provider of ETFs, wants more companies to incorporate sustainability practices into their long-term business strategies and will consider such corporate efforts in its upcoming State Street Asks Boards to Disclose More on Climate Preparation
(January 26, 2017)
Source: BloombergBusinessweek - Climate change is no longer listed as a top issue on the White House website, but it’s very much at the forefront for $2.47 trillion asset manager State Street Corp. Sustainability in Focus
Quite a bit of news this week about agriculture and food & wine Supermarkets look to sustainability as the next organic
(Monday - January 30, 2017)
Source: Baltimore Sun - Giant's pilot program, developed by Brooklyn, NY-based HowGood, comes as more and more consumers want to know how their food is grown and made, and retailers are looking for ways to give them information in a digestible way... Crop advisors gain certification in sustainability
(Monday - January 30, 2017)
Source: Capital Press - Oregon agronomist Bob Simerly is uniquely qualified to help his region’s growers meet increasing demands of food manufacturers seeking to make sustainability claims. Cargill Says Its Sustainability Efforts Are a Model for Others and Are Good Business
(Thursday - February 02, 2017)
Source: Environmental Leader - Cargill has increased its public outreach regarding its sustainability initiatives, saying that they could be a model for others to follow and that it is a good business. PMMI: Are sustainability initiatives sustainable?
(Monday - January 30, 2017)
Source: Food Engineering - As sustainability issues move to the forefront of the national conversation, we reached out to Tom Egan, vice president, Industry Services, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, to find out what the...
The U.S. Wine Industry Focuses On A Sustainable Future
(Thursday - February 02, 2017)
Source: Forbes - Nearly three quarters of the respondents felt that verification by an independent third party is an important aspect of sustainability, In America’s Heartland, Discussing Climate Change Without Saying ‘Climate Change’
(Monday - January 30, 2017)
Source: New York Times - Doug Palen, a fourth-generation grain farmer on Kansas’ wind-swept plains, is in the business of understanding the climate. Since 2012, he has choked through the harshest drought to hit the Great Plains in a... And more about sustainability issues & topics... World’s Stock Exchanges Launching Sustainability Reporting Standards
(Tuesday - January 31, 2017)
Source: Just Means - Sustainable reporting has come of age. The UN and the nonprofits are no longer the only ones advocating sustainability reporting, and the markets themselves are demanding it. When companies report on sustainability issues, they... Save the trees! Sign up for Rainforest Alliance's 30-Day Sustainability Challenge
(Tuesday - January 31, 2017)
Source: Tre Hugger - Since they started out in 1987, the organization's programs have trained more than 1.4 million people in earth-friendly land-management practices, resulting in more than 49 million hectares of farm and forestlands under... Is your sustainable supply chain program really as good as you think?
(Wednesday - February 01, 2017)
Source: GreenBiz - For supply chains, you could argue that this is nothing new, as the complexities of global supply chains always have incorporated a high degree of uncertainty. BSR member companies know they need to manage this uncertainty, and... Saving green while going green: Tips on sustainability
(Wednesday - February 01, 2017)
Source: WSAW - The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has made the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s top 30 College and University list of largest green power users from the Green Power Partnership. 6 insights for creating a great sustainability video
(Thursday - February 02, 2017)
Source: GreenBiz - "I’d love to create a video about what we’re doing!" I hear this line frequently from people who are doing fantastic work and want to showcase their innovations or be a sustainability role model and inspire others to follow suit. How the terms ‘corporate social responsibility’ and ‘sustainability’ were twisted to deny freedom
(Friday - February 03, 2017)
Source: Financial Post - Corporate social responsibility and sustainability are two concepts that have become increasingly popular in recent years. Activists, politicians, and business leaders use them, and corporate and government actions are partly... The Sustainability Mindset Is More Than Cash
(Friday - February 03, 2017)
Source: The NonProfit Times - When an organization plans to be more sustainable, undoubtedly some will say, “This is a finance matter.” Others’ first reaction will be, “We need new programs to generate more revenue.” And, that might be the problem Source: Yahoo - CEMEX announced today the company’s inclusion in the RobecoSAM Sustainability Yearbook 2017, as one of the top-scoring companies in the industry. CEMEX received the RobecoSAM Bronze Class ranking and the RobecoSAM... UN Sustainability Goals: A Road Map For Impact Investing
(Friday - February 03, 2017)
Source: ValueWalk - Equity investors are increasingly thinking about how their decisions affect society. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a good road map for identifying investments that can make an impact—and...
ESG Issues & Players
The energy sector is nearing a 'critical' level. Here's why.
(Wednesday - February 01, 2017)
Source: CNBC - Energy, the second worst-performing sector in the S&P 500 this year, could see further pain. CEOs Earn Less at More-Prestigious Firms
(Friday - February 03, 2017)
Source: Harvard Business Review - Research has found that superstar CEOs, those who win awards like “CEO of the year,” can earn an average of about $7.8 million more in annual pay. But what about superstar firms? Can prestigious companies get away with paying... Sponsored Message | 
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Asset Managers, US Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds Outthinking Activist Investors: 3 Rules for Corporate Boards
(Monday - January 30, 2017)
Source: Fortune - The hottest topic in many corporate boardrooms today is shareholder activism — or more specifically, the vulnerability of becoming the target of a shareholder activist and what to do about it. Instead of dreading this or, worse... Government policy hurts pensions: low interest
(Monday - January 30, 2017) Associated Profiles : California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
Source: calpensions.com - But they will have identical funding levels if CalSTRS, like CalPERS last month, adopts a recommended lower investment earnings forecast this week. Though their pension generosity and investment portfolios are different, both of... Saudi Public Investment Fund to be one of world’s top SWFs
(Sunday - January 29, 2017) Associated Profiles : Sanabil al-Saudia - (Has been known as Public Investment Fund), Hassana Investment Company
Source: Financial Times - Among the throngs who descended on Davos this year, a big drawcard for some of the world’s most influential financiers and dealmakers was a Saudi chief executive on his first trip to the annual gathering. The attention... Fed Leaves Rate As Is, For Now
(Thursday - February 02, 2017)
Source: US News - The Federal Reserve has left its key interest rate unchanged at a time of solid economic gains but also heightened uncertainty surrounding the new Trump administration The Trump Team -- And Potential Impacts on Sustainability What is the scope of a president’s executive orders?
(Wednesday - February 01, 2017)
Source: The Economist - Donald Trump has not wasted time fulfilling campaign promises. In just his first week as America’s 45th president, Mr. Trump signed executive orders and memoranda freezing federal hiring, backing out of the Trans-Pacific... Trump’s Proposed Changes to Tax, Dodd-Frank, DOL Could Impact Executive Compensation
(Thursday - February 02, 2017)
Source: Lexology - If enacted, these proposals could have a significant impact on the way businesses handle executive compensation, permitting companies greater flexibility in structuring compensation arrangements. His staff also hinted at a... Here’s how Trump’s energy policies may impact oil output, prices
(Thursday - February 02, 2017)
Source: CNBC - U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to boost the U.S. fossil fuel industry and create more jobs by opening more areas to drillers, but there will be little real impact on the market in the short term, an energy consultant... | | | _________________________________________ 
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