Top Story of the Week Winter Olympics 2014: a missed opportunity to advance sustainability
(Wednesday - February 05, 2014)
Source: The Guardian - The Sochi Winter Olympics, which opens 7 February, was meant to be the greenest Olympics ever. The budget was certainly there: Russia has doled out more than $51bn, an all-time record, to make the event happen. Yet reports of... Sustainability in Focus Firms are struggling to make progress on sustainability, says new report
(Friday - February 07, 2014) Associated Profiles : TruCost
Source: edie.net - Trucost chief executive Richard Mattison added: According to the World Bank, we expect global economic growth ... The 2014 report includes the launch of the Natural Capital Leaders Index, a new... IKEA's Aggressive Approach To Sustainability Creates Enormous Business Opportunities
(Friday - February 07, 2014)
Source: Forbes - IKEA released its 2013 Sustainability Report this week, and the results in the energy arena are pretty impressive. The company continues to follow through on its commitment to develop and own renewable electricity supplies... Striving for Sustainability: Commercial Properties Go Green
(Thursday - February 06, 2014)
Source: Environmental Protection - Over the past few years, LEED certification has become a hot topic, especially when large buildings, such as the Empire State Building or the George W. Bush Presidential Center, announce LEED achievements. With... McDonald’s Plans to Supersize Sustainability Efforts
(Thursday - February 06, 2014)
Source: AGWeb - It was announced last month that McDonald’s is going to invest in sustainable beef. While a clear definition has not been entirely outlined attendees of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Cattlemen’s College got a... More Corporations See Sustainability as a Boon, Not a Burden
(Wednesday - February 05, 2014)
Source: The Motley Fool - Sustainability: Investors aren't always keyed in to this factor as an investing catalyst. However, corporations are increasingly recognizing it as a sound business practice. After all, increasing efficiency and reducing waste are... In Venture Capital, Sustainability Is the New Buzzword
(Tuesday - February 04, 2014)
Source: Sustainable Business - Investors who have shied away from cleantech companies for the past two years haven't lost interest, they're broadening their scope into more areas of sustainability, according to a report by Cleantech IQ. Inspiring Coffee Professionals to act on Sustainability
(Tuesday - February 04, 2014)
Source: Sacramento Bee - The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) was formed in 1982 by a small group of coffee professionals keen to set quality standards for the specialty coffee trade and create an official forum for discussing common... Which Sustainability Factors Are Most Linked to Brand Strength'
(Monday - February 03, 2014) Associated Profiles : CSRHUB
Source: WorldNetDaily - In the previous posts in this series, we have described the relationship between Brand Finance’s Brand Strength Index and CSRHubî’s sustainability rating. The overall correlation between... Why big data will have a big impact on sustainability
(Monday - February 03, 2014)
Source: Guardian - Advances in data gathering, computing power and connectivity mean that we have more information than ever before at our fingertips. IBM estimates that by 2020 there will be 300 times more information in the world than there was... ESG Issues & Players Report: Fracking raising water supply worries
(Thursday - February 06, 2014)
Source: USA Today - The USA's domestic energy boom is increasing demands on water supplies already under pressure from drought and growing populations, a new report says. The water-intensive process used to extract oil and gas from shale underground... The Challenges of Running Responsible Supply Chains
(Friday - February 07, 2014)
Source: NY Times - Horrific factory tragedies often prompt powerful public calls for reform, and the Rana Plaza fire that killed more than 1,100 garment workers in Bangladesh almost a year ago is no exception. Bangladesh is the poster child for the... Dutch Bankers Swear to God as Trust in Lenders Slumps
(Thursday - February 06, 2014)
Source: Bloomberg - “I swear that I will do my utmost to preserve and enhance confidence in the financial-services industry. So help me God.” The oath, the first of its kind in Europe, became binding on board members of Dutch banks last month as... Asset Managers, US Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds Everything You Need To Know About the Emerging Market Currency Collapse
(Wednesday - February 05, 2014)
Source: The Atlantic - Here we go again. First, money poured into emerging markets when it looked like they offered juicy returns. Then it poured out after they didn't. Currencies are collapsing. Stock markets are falling. And central banks are... US Said to Probe Banks Over Sovereign Wealth Fund Deals
(Tuesday - February 04, 2014) Associated Profiles : Libyan Investment Authority
Source: Bloomberg - The SEC put banks, hedge funds and private-equity firms on notice ... Blackstone and Och-Ziff declined to comment on the investigation, as did SEC spokesman John Nester and Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr.... California Pension Gap Widens on Longer Lives, Brown Says
(Thursday - February 06, 2014) Associated Profiles : California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
Source: Bloomberg - Longer life expectancies for retirees may add $9 billion to the funding gap for the California Public Employees Retirement System, the largest U.S. public pension, Governor Jerry Brown said today. Brown... Watching the Watchers 
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Fossil Fuel Divestment Forum Brings Experts to Berkeley
(Thursday - January 23, 2014) Associated Profiles : As You Sow
- Common Dreams - Additional information on the history of divestment in California can be found here ... to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Europe, as well. According to a recent study by the University of Oxford, the Go...
When It Comes To Getting Coal-Burning Utilities to Clean Up, Investors May Have More Power Than Regulators
(Thursday - January 23, 2014) Associated Profiles : As You Sow
- Forbes - Should asset managers ply the companies in which they invest to be more environmentally assertive' That discussion is moving forward now that some institutional investors are pushing major coal-burning utilities to clean... US energy firm promises to review emissions after investor pressure
(Friday - January 17, 2014) Associated Profiles : As You Sow
- Blue & Green Tomorrow - New York State comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the state of Connecticut and corporate social responsibility advocacy group îAs You Sowî, which has urged FirstEnergy to cut emissions, said that... | Check It Out...
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 Corporate executives and managers need to understand the powerful impacts of investors and stakeholders embracing ESG and Sustainability approaches and frameworks that shape global capital markets and influence corporation reputations and “license to operate. Learn more About G&A's ESG Counseling & Strategies _______________________________ Governance & Accountability Institute Research Reports  
 
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_______________________________ Corporate ESG Performance Factors & SustainabilityHQ Corporate ESG Performance Factors are important to financial analysts, asset owners and managers, and many stakeholders. The ESG framework or approach considers environmental issues and impacts, the company’s positioning and actions on social/societal issues, and important aspects of corporate governance. ESG key performance indicators are considered by investors as proxies for effective governance and management. Increasing numbers of of independent research and financial analysis firms monitor and measure these and advisie investors. The Sustainability HQ™ platform is an important profiling and monitoring resource for the G&A team, and for our clients and subscribers. ESG market players and corporate reputation influencers are profiled and monitored by G&A Institute. In these Highlights we provide some results of our continuous global scanning for ESG, sustainability and corporate responsibility news.. The Associated Profiles indicated are in our platforms. For more information, please email us at info@sustainabilityhq.com
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