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Newsletter

Source: Governance & Accountability Institute

Sustainability-Highlights-Header
July 5, 2012

SERVICES  |  RESEARCH  |  EVENTS  |  WEBINARS  |  BLOG  |  ARCHIVE

Top Story of the Week

Developing world caused more climate change before Industrial Revolution
(Thursday - July 05, 2012)
Source: NY Daily News - Mankind was causing climate change long before the combustion engine was even invented, according to a new study that suggests developing countries like China and India have contributed more to global warming than previously...

Public pension finances could soon look shakier
(Tuesday - June 26, 2012) Associated Profiles : New York City Comptroller’s Office: Bureau of Asset Management
Source: CNN Money - NEW YORK -- States and cities will soon have to reveal just how big their pension holes are ... and that disclosure is likely to prompt more calls to reform public pension plans.The Governmental Accounting Standards Board on...

Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility Reporting
G&A Institute is the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) sole data partner for the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. As the data partner we monitor, analyze and database information on all Sustainability reports issued in these territories. Recent Sustainability and CR Reports issued in the USA, UK and Ireland are:

USA

United Kingdom

 

ESG / Sustainability

Commission Calls Fukushima Nuclear Crisis a Man-Made Disaster
(Thursday - July 05, 2012)
Source: NY Times - TOKYO — The nuclear accident at Fukushima was a man-made disaster rooted in government-industry collusion and the worst conformist conventions of Japanese culture, a high-level parliamentary inquiry concluded on Thursday...

Court Backs EPA Over Emissions Limits Intended to Reduce Global Warming
(Wednesday - June 27, 2012)
Source: NY Times - WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a finding by the Environmental Protection Agency that heat-trapping gases from industry and vehicles endanger public health, dealing a decisive blow to companies and states...

Feds: Sting targeted online financial fraud
(Wednesday - June 27, 2012) Associated Profiles : State Street Global Advisors (SSgA)
Source: MSNBC - Two dozen people on four continents, including alleged two hackers from New York, have been arrested in an elaborate sting targeting a black market for online financial fraud, federal officials said Tuesday.

Anti-Trafficking Groups Raising Awareness Ahead of London Summer Games - Christian Post
(Tuesday - June 26, 2012) Associated Profiles : ICCR
Source: Christian Post - Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS) is working in partnership with 37 nonprofit organizations and investment firms, including the Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility, FairPensions, Interfaith Center on...

A third of all food produced globally is wasted: United Nations - Economic Times
(Tuesday - June 26, 2012) Associated Profiles : United Nations - All Programs
Source: Economic Times - One-third of food produced globally every year does not reach human mouths - it is either lost in transit or wasted by consumers themselves. This amounts to a staggering 1.3 billion tonnes every year. These chilling...

Global water crisis costs millions of lives: UNICEF
(Thursday - June 21, 2012) Associated Profiles : UN-Water
Source: Deutsche Welle - The UN children's agency has highlighted the global water crisis ahead of a UN summit on sustainability. Every day around 3,000 children die of diarrhea caused by unsanitary conditions, UNICEF said in its annual report.

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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SustainabilityHQ™  is the headquarters for important ESG, sustainability and responsibility news, commentary and research results. Key capital market players focused on Sustainability and ESG (environmental management, social issues and effective corporate governance) are profiled with considerable relevant information, and updated regularly.  Third party organizations shaping corporate valuations, access to capital  and corporate reputations are profiled and news is updated every day.  Log in and check it out!
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Governance & Accountability Institute Services Portfolio

- ESG Counseling, Strategies & Benchmarking
- Sustainability Coaching, Team Building & Training
- Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility Reporting
- ESG & CR Issues Monitoring & Research
- Stakeholder Identification, Monitoring & Engagement
- Strategic Risk Management

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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...

Contents © 2009 - 2012
All Rights Reserved

Copyrights for other providers
are noted where appropriate.
Please credit the source if quoted.
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Sovereign Wealth Funds

Singapore fund Temasek says investment growth slows as global slump buffets Asian companies
(Thursday - July 05, 2012) Associated Profiles : Temasek Holdings
Source: Washington Post - Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings said growth in the value of its investments slowed in the last financial year as a weakening global economy undermined the value of Asian companies.

China's external debt highest since 1985 - Jakarta Post
(Wednesday - June 27, 2012) Associated Profiles : State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) Investment Company (China)
Source: Jakarta Post - China's outstanding external debt in 2011 totaled more than $751 billion by the end of March, the highest since 1985, according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Tuesday. The proportion of...

Abu Dhabi fund cautious on Europe - Financial Times
(Tuesday - June 26, 2012) Associated Profiles : Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Source: Financial Times - The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the worldâ??s largest sovereign wealth funds, expressed caution about Europe and reiterated its optimism toward emerging markets in its 2011 review released on Monday. Sheikh Ahmed...

Libyan fund lost $1.75 bln in investments managed by Goldman, SocGen-head - Reuters
(Monday - June 25, 2012) Associated Profiles : Libyan Investment Authority
Source: Reuters - Mohsen Derregia, chairman of the Libyan Investment Authority, told reporters in Milan LIA needed to review these investments and how they were managed. "Then we will talk to the investment houses and see if we can claim a...

Asset Managers

European Central Bank cuts rates to new low to aid flagging economy
(Thursday - July 05, 2012)
Source: Reuters - The European Central Bank cut interest rates to a record low on Thursday to breathe life into a deteriorating euro zone economy and back up measures agreed by government leaders last week to tackle the bloc's debt crisis.

Cyber bank robbers attempt billion-dollar heist, targeting your money - FOX News
(Wednesday - June 27, 2012) Associated Profiles : State Street Global Advisors (SSgA)
Source: Fox News - The next Internet billionaires won't be pushing social-networking apps. They'll be breaking into your bank accounts. An organized global cyber crimewave has been underway for months, according to a report released today from...

Hedge fund manager to pay $405M to Madoff victims
(Monday - June 25, 2012) Associated Profiles : State Street Global Advisors (SSgA)
Source: MSNBC - Investors will see the terms of the settlement in the next few days, the attorney general’s office said. Merkin used his social and charitable contacts and his reputation as a money manager over two decades to raise more...

The World's Most Respected Companies: Where are the Chinese' - Forbes
(Monday - June 25, 2012) Associated Profiles : State Street Global Advisors (SSgA)
Source: Forbes - The bottom line: Corporate respect isn’t a tangible endowment that comes with partial or outright private ownership. It is an intangible asset acquired with managerial, entrepreneurial, and social ...

US Pension Funds

New York City pension funds sue Wal-Mart - Yahoo Finance
(Wednesday - July 04, 2012) Associated Profiles : New York City Comptroller’s Office: Bureau of Asset Management
Source: Yahoo Finance - A group of New York City pension funds is suing current and former Wal-Mart executives, saying they mishandled an alleged bribery scheme at the world’s largest retailer. The group filed a lawsuit on Monday in the...

Surprise, Retirees! Return the Benefits - Yahoo Finance
(Wednesday - June 27, 2012) Associated Profiles : Oregon Public Employee Retirement System (PERS)
Source: Yahoo Finance - Overpayments can come back to bite plan participants long after they began. After a years-long court battle, the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System is now proceeding to recover roughly $165 million in overpayments from...

Pension funds in Ariz. face bleak future - San Francisco Gate
(Sunday - June 24, 2012) Associated Profiles : Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS)
Source: SF Chronicle - The largest system, the Arizona State Retirement System, whose members include teachers and government employees, had the highest funding level at nearly 76 percent as of June 30, 2011. That system is the healthiest because its...

State retirement system denies Pew report - theadvocate.com
(Thursday - June 21, 2012) Associated Profiles : Louisiana State Employees Retirement System (LASERS)
Source: The advocate - The Louisiana State Employees Retirement System disputed findings of a new national state-by-state pension system review. LASERS issued a statement to correct the inaccuracies in the Pew Center on the States report, which pointed...

Watching the Watchers

MapleCroft
Headquarters: Bath, England
Established:in England and Wales, October 2001

ESG/Sustainability Focus: 
Yes. The organization is a UN Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI) signatory, and states:
 “ESG issues are at the core of our value proposition and are an integral part of our global, country and company risk analysis and rating.”

KEY PARTNERS
PRI. Bloomberg for the Climate Innovation Indexes. Has partnered with UN agencies.

OVERVIEW/MISSION
Maplecroft looks at social, environmental, and political factors that contribute to risks that may affect companies, countries, and investors. Maplecroft describes its services this way: “Our tailored services empower organisations to identify, manage and mitigate global risks in their operations, supply chains and distribution networks. They support investors to pick winners and develop successful investment strategies.

Maplecroft News Sweeps
What the Lady Could Learn From the First Lady - Huffington Post
(Friday - June 22, 2012) Associated Profiles : MapleCroft
- Huffington Post - "The reform process remains heavily dependent on two individuals -- Suu Kyi and Thein Sein,"writes Maplecroft senior Asia analyst Giulia Zino. It "has the potential to implode at any time."...
[more] 

Zim constitution process drags on - Beeld
(Friday - June 22, 2012) Associated Profiles : MapleCroft
- Beeld - "Disputes over the drafting of the new constitution are likely to intensify, stalling the referendum and the likelihood of progressive legal and security reforms," said London-based risk analysis agency...
[more] 

China blasts Vietnam's South China Sea claim - Upstream Online
(Thursday - June 21, 2012) Associated Profiles : MapleCroft
- Upstream Online - UK-based risk analysts Maplecroft have said they see â??no peaceful resolution in the foreseeable futureâ?? to the complex dispute, and warn the row risked causing disruption to offshore ... 
[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 Instiute is the “Sustainability Headquarters™” for clients in the corporate, investment, public and social sectors.  The G&A team provides research, monitoring, advisory and strategic information resources to clients in the corporate, investment, public and social sectors.The G&A services portfolio includes:
ESG Counseling, Strategies & Benchmarking | Sustainability Coaching, Team Building & Training | Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility Reporting | ESG & CR Issues Monitoring & Research | Stakeholder Identification, Monitoring & Engagement | Strategic Risk Management

SustainabilityHQ™ is managed and published by Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc.
For more information, contact us at:
215 Park Avenue South, 10th Floor | New York, New York 10003 at Union Square
Tel 646.430.8230 | Web www.ga-institute.com | Email info@ga-institute.com