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Newsletter

Source: Governance & Accountability Institute

Sustainability-Highlights-Header
April 20, 2011

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Business leaders and managers are being challenged by the rising expectations of stockholders and stakeholder with regard to the corporate performance in the areas of ESG (environmental, social issue and governance) performance.  Peers and competitors are increasingly setting the pace for industries and sectors as they create and implement sustainability and corporate responsibility strategies and actions.

Who cares about this?  Asset owners and asset managers looking at investments through the ESG/Sustainability lens.  And third party stakeholders who are setting the pace in ESG research, standard setting (for industries), media, issue advocates…and others watching the corporate sector.

Our team is watching the watchers for you.  We bring you news, commentary and research in key areas of interest for both investors and asset managers -- and for corporate boards, executives and managers.  As Sustainability and ESG frameworks are adopted by more investors, the capital markets are determining winners, laggards and losers.   Track the trends, the news, updates, the important developments – makeSustainability HQ™ your headquarters for ESG knowledge management.

ESG / Sustainability

EPA Scores 100 Percent on Sustainability and Energy Goals
(Source: EPAThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its fiscal year 2010 scorecard on sustainability and energy performance. EPA is meeting or exceeding all the federal goals to decrease energy use per square foot; reduce potable water use per square foot; lessen fleet petroleum use; establish inventories of direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions; incorporate sustainable building practices; and increase renewable energy use.

Credit raters triggered  financial  collapse
(Source: Reuters)  Moody's Corp and Standard and Poor's triggered the worst financial crisis in decades when they were forced to downgrade the inflated ratings they slapped on complex mortgage-backed securities, a U.S. congressional report concluded on Wednesday.  In one of the most stark condemnations of the credit rating agencies, a Senate investigations panel said the agencies continued to give top ratings to mortgage-backed securities months after the housing market started to collapse.  Associated Profiles : Standard & Poors, Moodys

Commentary

You’d Better Give a Damn ‘Bout Your Bad Reputation, and Here’s Why
(Source:  Nell Minow, BNET)  No, most corporate CEOs aren’t Joan Jett. But somehow many of them keep acting as though they’d like to be. Executives at Transocean (RIG), forever associated with the death of eleven employees and the biggest oil spill in American history from its Deepwater Horizon facility, continued to cement their reputation for poor judgment and overall cluelessness.   Associated Profiles : Governance Metrics International (GMI)

Research/Report

ESG 'too important to be ignored' – report
(Source: Global Pensions)  Sustainability criteria such as ESG criteria are too important to be ignored in investment decision making, research by Allianz Global Investors suggests.  A new report from risklab, AllianzGI's specialist investment and risk advisor, said environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk optimised investment strategies can improve portfolio efficiency significantly.  Associated Profiles : Mercer 

Majority of U.S. Companies Report Progress in Adopting Sustainability Strategy; More Programs Expected, Says KPMG Survey  
(Source: PR Newswire)
Nearly 55 percent of U.S. executives say their organization has a formal sustainability strategy in place, according to the recent KPMG International study, Corporate Sustainability: A progress report. Another 12 percent say they are working on a strategy and an additional 19 percent expect to eventually develop a formal plan.  The findings also confirm that U.S. companies are closing the gap with their counterparts elsewhere. More than 62 percent of executives globally say they have implemented a formal sustainability program, according to the study, which was released in connection with the launch of the new KPMG Global Center of Excellence in Climate Change & Sustainability, based in the Netherlands.

Sovereign Wealth Funds

Australia considers tax breaks for sovereign wealth funds
(Source: ReutersThe Australian government on Wednesday said it was considering tax exemptions for sovereign wealth funds that have passive investments in Australian assets.

How a Persian Gulf backwater became an international power broker
(Source: Globe and Mail)  They came to discuss the conflict in Libya, but equally interesting was where this week’s landmark meeting of rebel and NATO leaders took place. Qatar, a tiny, gas-rich emirate on the Persian Gulf, has proved more than a backdrop. It has emerged yet again as a key player in a complicated conflict, the perennial problem-solver in a troubled region. Associated Profiles : Qatar Investment Authority

The 12 Biggest Sovereign Wealth Funds In The World
(Source: Business Insider)  Just how rich are those Middle Eastern oil titans? And how much cash does the Chinese government really have to throw around?  Sovereign wealth funds have become major players in the world, buying large stakes in companies and giving governments' exposure to sectors they may otherwise be unable to achieve. The SWF institute has done research into the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world, and with a total of $4 trillion in assets under management, the sector has quite a few titans.  Associated Profiles : Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Qatar Investment Authority


Make SustainabilityHQ™ your daily headquarters for important news, commentary and research results – your HQs for Sustainability and ESG knowledge management. The key capital market players focused on Sustainability and ESG (environmental management, social issues and effective corporate governance) are profiled with an abundance of relevant information.  Updates are continuous. The third party organizations helping to shape corporate valuations and corporate reputations are profiled and news about these players is updated every day. Log in and check it out!

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Governance & Accountability Institute - Benchmarking Services

In-depth profiling and analysis of leaders in Corporate Sustainability.

Learn from the Leaders to develop Your Winning Corporate Strategies

For information: 
hboerner@ga-institute.com
Tel:  646 – 430 - 8239

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Strategic Governance - Enabling Financial, Environmental, and Social Sustainability
A new book by Hank Boerner and Mark Sickles of the Governance & Accountability Institute.  Click here for more information.

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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.

United States Pension Funds

California’s Democratic governor targets public pensions
(Source: Indybay.orgAt the end of March, the latest round of budget talks between Democrats and Republicans in the US state of California broke down despite general agreement on cuts to social spending. According to state Republicans, pension reform is the sticking point. Although pensions for public employees amount to only four percent of the state budget, both parties are using the budget crisis to demand deep cuts.  Associated Profiles : California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), California State Teachers’ Retirement System

For Pension Funds, Reform Does Not Begin at Home
(Source: Public CEO)  The nation's two largest public pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTRS, are stepping up their drive to reform corporate boards of directors at a time when others are proposing reforms of pension boards.  A new listing of potential directors announced by the pension funds last week is aimed at increasing the "diversity" of corporate boards. The pension funds say the change can alter "group think" and improve corporate performance, boosting shareholder value.  Associated Profiles : California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), California State Teachers’ Retirement System

Commentary

Corruption case calls for ethics reform
(Source: Watertown Daily News)  In a sad ending to a 35-year career in public service, former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi was sentenced to up to four years in a state prison for betraying the public trust in a pay-to-play scheme managing state public pension funds.  Hevesi pleaded guilty last fall to a felony count of official corruption for accepting $1 million in benefits in exchange for awarding pension fund investments to a California businessman, Elliott Broidy of Markstone Capital. With a minimum sentence of one year, Hevesi can seek parole in 10 months.  Associated Profiles : New York State Common Retirement Fund

Research/Report

Liu releases report on NYC pension costs
(Source: Empire State News Net)  New York City Comptroller John Liu’s initiative to provide research on public employee pension issues, released its second report entitled “The $8 Billion Question: An Analysis of NYC Pension Costs Over the Past Decade.”  Liu requested the study to examine the steep rise in annual employer contributions to the Pension Funds over the past decade. Pension cost rose from $1.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2001 to $7.7 billion in Fiscal Year 2010. The study was validated by independent actuaries.  Associated Profiles : New York City Comptroller’s Office: Bureau of Asset Management

Watching the Watchers

Business For Social Responsibility (BSR)
Headquarters:  San Francisco, California
Established:  1992

OVERVIEW / MISSION
BSR is a membership organization that states: "Our mission is clear: We work with business to create a just and sustainable world."

BACKGROUND
BSR was founded as a membership association dedicated to helping businesses be “commercially successful and socially responsible.” BSR began operations with approximately 45 founding members including Ben and Jerry’s, Patagonia, Tom’s of Maine, and The Body Shop. Until the late 1990s membership consisted of mostly U.S.-based companies, including many small- to medium- cap enterprises. As of December 2009, BSR claims 250 member companies and has six offices in Asia, Europe, and North America.

News Sweeps

Future of Green Call: Aron Cramer, Take 2
(Thursday - April 14, 2011) Associated Profiles : Business for Social Responsibility - By Environmental Defense on 04/14/2011 – 9:39 am PDT -- Green By Dave Witzel On February 28, we had a very interesting discussion with Aron Cramer, President and CEO of Business for Social Responsibility. ... [more] 

The Consumer Behavior Gap: Lessons from 3CS Conference
(Wednesday - April 06, 2011) Associated Profiles : Business for Social Responsibility  - ... consumer concerns and awareness to begin to fill in the behavior gap' This article originally appeared on the BSR blog, and is reprinted with permission. Virginia Terry is the Director of Advisory Services at ... [more] 

SustainabilityHQ Highlights is prepared by the Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. based on continuous monitoring of trends and developments in Sustainability and ESG.    The SustainabilityHQ™ platform is available by subscription.

Governance & Accountability Institute is a monitoring, research, intelligence-gathering and knowledge management organizations operating at the intersections of powerful forces reshaping relationship between stockholders and stakeholders, and the public corporation. For more information, contact us at 646.430.8230 or info@ga-institute.com.  G&A Institute manages SustainabilityHQ.