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 Experts: As Traditional Banks Fail To Meet Local Needs, Community Investing Poised To Break Through To Mainstream In 2011
(Source: Green America, Social Investment Forum) "Community investing” (CI) is already the unsung hero in thousands of towns and neighborhoods across America, where CI quietly has added jobs, local services and support for small businesses where traditional lenders have been unable or unwilling to do so. In 2011, community investing is poised to become much more widely visible as a result of three important trends that could boost related investments from individuals and institutions, according to experts from the Social Investment Forum, Green America, One PacificCoast Bank and the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions. Associated Profiles : Social Investment Forum (SIF), Green America - Co-Op America Giving Sustainability a Seat In the Boardroom
(Source: Greenbiz) Sustainability today is seen by many company leaders as an important strategy in business success, and that idea has made it into more and more boardrooms in the last several years. In light of that trend, BSR recently completed a paper for the U.N. Global Compact examining the role of the board in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Based on that work, as well as BSR's experience working with member companies, this article examines board roles and responsibilities, the three approaches to incorporating sustainability into the board structure, and how the composition of the board influences the company's approach to sustainability. Associated Profiles : UN - Global Compact Nanotechnology: "The Next Big Controversy in Food"
(Source: Miami New Times) What is nanotechnology? Michael Passoff, a senior strategist with shareholder activist group As You Sow, recently wrote an article about nanotechnology and its use in food manufacturing. "Nanotech is already used in vitamins, supplements, and sports drinks," he says. "It is the next big controversy in food." Associated Profiles : As You Sow The most important Earth Day since the first Earth Day
(Source: Philly Burbs.com) As we prepare to celebrate the 41st Earth Day and millions of people around the country take part in events cleaning up litter and streams, fixing park benches and maintaining trails, we are under the biggest environmental threat since the first Earth Day. More people are buying green products, hybrid cars, and renewable energy, recycling more and supporting local produce at farmer's markets, underscoring the public involvement and commitment to environmental protection. Commentary  Whose money is it, anyway? Try the “Universal Owners” Money
(Source: Hank Boerner, Talk Back CSRWire) Let’s ask ourselves, whose money is it, anyway? In a recent CSRwire Talkback blog post, I wrote that, in my opinion, the highest test of true corporate responsibility is to see how the corporate board and management respect the concept of managing other peoples’ money (OPM). That set me thinking: as the billions and tens of billions of dollars that trade every day go swirling around the capital markets…whose money is it, anyway that stock traders and investment bankers and hedge fund managers and other market mavens are using to “play the market?” Yours and mine? Let’s think about that for a second or two as we read of investment banking bonuses.
Sovereign Wealth Funds 'Hot money' will keep pressure on economy
(Source: China.org) China is facing continuously increasing pressure from capital inflows - so-called "hot money" - because of a contradiction between the nation's macroeconomic policies and the financial demands of market players, said a senior official at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on Tuesday. "This contradiction is restricting our steps in further opening up the capital account," said Li Chao, a deputy administrator of SAFE at the first China Trade Finance Annual Conference held in Beijing. Associated Profiles : State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) Investment Company (China Petrobras Drop on Fuel Prices Sinks Brazil’s Sovereign Fund (Source: Bloomberg) Brazil’s refusal to allow higher gasoline prices is cutting into returns of its sovereign wealth fund, whose main holdings are shares of state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA. (PETR4) The fund, set up in December 2008 with 14.3 billion reais ($9.1 billion) in capital, lost 7.4 percent from the end of March through April 20, marking the biggest monthly decline since October, data from Brazil’s regulator show. Associated Profiles : Sovereign Fund of Brazil Commentary Financial Heist of the Century: Confiscating Libya's Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) (Source: Global Research.ca) The objective of the war against Libya is not just its oil reserves (now estimated at 60 billion barrels), which are the greatest in Africa and whose extraction costs are among the lowest in the world, nor the natural gas reserves of which are estimated at about 1,500 billion cubic meters. In the crosshairs of "willing" of the operation “Unified Protector” there are sovereign wealth funds, capital that the Libyan state has invested abroad. Associated Profiles : Libyan Investment Authority |
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United States Pension Funds State retiree benefits gap grows to $1.26 trillion
(Source: CNN Money) States are $1.26 trillion in the hole when it comes to their pension and retiree health obligations, according to a report released Tuesday. And taxpayers are ultimately on the hook for this shortfall, which soared 26% in one year. The Great Recession has wreaked havoc on states' pension and retiree health systems, the Pew Center on the States found. The report covers fiscal year 2009, which began July 1, 2008 in most states. Associated Profiles : State Employee’s Retirement System of Illinois (SERS) Cuomo Orders ‘Pay-To-Play’ Ban for New York Pension After Hevesi Sentenced
(Source: Bloomberg) New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo directed the state Insurance Department to issue permanent regulations banning placement agents, lobbyists and elected officials from any pension-fund business. The order follows the April 15 sentencing of former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi, who will spend as long as four years in prison for giving preferential treatment to a Los Angeles-based money manager in exchange for almost $1 million in gifts. The comptroller is the sole trustee of New York’s $140.6 billion pension fund, the nation’s third-biggest. Associated Profiles : New York State Common Retirement Fund N.J.'s unfunded pension debt still growing
(Source: North Jersey.com) New Jersey's unfunded pension obligation has grown by 350 percent in just the last five years, accelerating even after a special gubernatorial task force called for reform to be "a top priority." The panel, created in 2005 by Gov. Richard J. Codey, said "reform of the system should start now," pointing to an unfunded obligation — the difference between what the fund is worth and what it owes — that totaled, at the time, $12.1 billion. Associated Profiles : New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits Commentary Editorial: Go easy on pension reform
(Source: News-Express) With state pension reform still being hammered out in Tallahassee, a new national report again shows Florida is among the country's healthier systems. That should buttress the argument that - while more revenue is needed and employees should start contributing to their retirement - the Florida Retirement System is not mismanaged. Associated Profiles : Florida Retirement System Pension Pla Watching the Watchers  Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
Headquarters: Washington, DC
Established: 1971 OVERVIEW/MISSION
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) describes itself as “a consumer advocacy organization whose twin missions are to conduct innovative research and advocacy programs in health and nutrition, and to provide consumers with current, useful information about their health and well-being.” CSPI’s Web site has the tagline “Transforming the American diet” and also calls itself “an aggressive non-profit consumer organization conducting innovative programs in nutrition, alcohol, and food safety.” BACKGROUND
Highlights from CSPI’s history include a 1973 campaign against sodium nitrate in meats, successful efforts to require sodium labeling on foods, opening an advocacy office in Canada in 1996, and lobbying efforts in 2009 that CSPI says resulted in “the U.S. House of Representatives [passing] the most sweeping reform of the food-safety system in 70 years.” News Sweeps Time to communicate the good news about our food
(Wednesday - April 27, 2011)Source:PR Week US - But numerous studies show that high fructose corn syrup is no different than any other sugar—a finding supported by Michael Jacobsen of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Marketing products without this ... Eating for Life | Italian mainstay chicken spiedini gets a remake
(Wednesday - April 27, 2011) - Serving tip: Instead of serving the grilled chicken over a bed of fettuccine alfredo — referred to by the Center for Science in the Public Interest as a “heart attack on a plate” — try it on a bed of... 'Sports Drinks' Targeted
(Wednesday - April 27, 2011) - The "artificial" caramel in colas is made by "reacting sugars with ammonia and sulfites under high pressure and temperatures" resulting in the formation of methylimidazole and 4 methylimidazole (4-MI) ... |
