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Newsletter

Source: Governance & Accountability Institute

Sustainability-Highlights-Header
August 1, 2014

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G&A Institute Sustainability Update
Informative, insightful, thought provoking
The Governance & Accountability Instituteblog focusing on the sustainable world evolving daily before our eyes.  Read it, absorb it, question it and challenge.
G&A's Sustainability Update
Insights & perspectives for your sustainable journey...

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Governance & Accountability Institute Research Reports


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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. For a list of recently issued Sustainability reports please follow the links below:

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Governance & Accountability Institute. Is this one yours?

G&A's Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility Reporting
177d4dd738.jpgMeasuring, managing and reporting on the progress of the organization's Sustainability Journey – ensuring that ESG market players, corporate reputation influencers, shareholders and stakeholders understand the strategies, goals, program elements of the journey and accomplishments and recognitions earned.  Learn more About G&A's Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility Reporting

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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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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 - 2014 | All Rights Reserved
Copyrights for other providers are noted where appropriate. Please credit the source if quoted.
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Top Story of the Week

Missed targets: when companies fail to keep their key sustainability promises      
(Tuesday - July 22, 2014)
Source: The Guardian - When the Walt Disney Company reached out to Rainforest Action Network for help in crafting a new sustainable paper sourcing policy in 2012, the nonprofit was all ears. As the world's largest publisher of children's books and...

Sustainability in Focus

Will 2015 be the year the world agrees how to live sustainably?  
(Friday - July 25, 2014)
Source: The Conversation - Next year will be critical in environmental diplomacy. World governments will be negotiating important global agreements in two areas that will have a major impact on our well-being in coming decades, including the legal...

Sustainable Purchasing 101: Tools for Buying Greener Products
(Friday - July 25, 2014)
Source: Triple Pundit - Sustainable purchasing is an effort to buy greener, healthier, and more sustainable products from greener, more sustainable companies. It is based on the simple concept that every single purchase has hidden human health...

Corporates can lead on sustainability but there are no "good companies" yet
(Thursday - July 24, 2014)
Source: The Guardian - At the launch of Tom Levitt's new book, Welcome to GoodCo - Using the Tools of Business to Create Public Good, the nibbles were laid on by the John Lewis Partnership and ice cream came courtesy of Ben & Jerry's. So far, so...

9 key trends in corporate sustainability reporting
(Wednesday - July 23, 2014)
Source: GreenBiz.com - Nearly three-quarters of sustainability professionals ranked CSR above seven out of 10 in relation to their business objectives (with one being low and 10 being high.) Meanwhile, most organizations dedicate between $34,000 and...

Why targeting 4 human emotions is key to marketing sustainability
(Tuesday - July 22, 2014)
Source: The Guardian - While brands have been remarkably successful at feeding universal human drives, such as the desire for adventure, power or status, sustainability has not been seeing the same success in its messaging. What sustainability needs to...

UPS Among First US Companies to Adopt New Comprehensive Level of Sustainability Reporting
(Monday - July 21, 2014) Associated Profiles : UN - Global Reporting Initiative GRI
Source: StreetInsider - UPSÂ (NYSE: UPS) will release its 2013 sustainability report based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)'s new G4 reporting guidelines at the...

Managing wealth for sustainability
(Monday - July 21, 2014)
Source: Business Day - The biggest challenge of money is managing your income for sustainability. Many people have been described as wealthy but after some time they become poor again. How did that happen? Many reasons can be identified for this and...

Take sustainability seriously if you want to attract 'Generation Y'
(Monday - July 21, 2014)
Source: TTG Digital - This is the generation that was brought up to be the “Green Generation”; they choose the products they buy and the companies they buy from very carefully. These potential employees were taught about sustainability at school. ...

ESG Issues & Players

Turning To Ethics When Trust In Business Is At An All-Time Low (What About Pay?)
(Friday - July 25, 2014)
Source: Forbes - After years of feeling they might be fighting lone battles, all the ‘good guys’ with an interest in better business, leadership and corporate governance could be forgiven for giving a little cheer. Not only is ‘sustainability’...

German Coal Power Plants Are Europe’s Most Climate-Damaging  
(Thursday - July 24, 2014)
Source: Bloomberg - Germany has some of Europe’s most ambitious climate targets. It also has four of the region’s five dirtiest power plants. While PGE SA’s Belchatow lignite unit in Poland was Europe’s dirtiest last year, with 37.2 million metric...

New Poll Reveals The U.S. Is Number One In Climate Change Denial
(Tuesday - July 22, 2014)
Source: i09 - The British survey company Ipsos Mori has released its first ever Global Trends Survey, summarizing views from 20 countries on issues ranging from privacy and technology to health and the environment. On the subject of climate...

The World Just Had Its Hottest June On Record
(Tuesday - July 22, 2014)
Source: Huff Post - The globe is on a hot streak, setting a heat record in June. That's after the world broke a record in May. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Monday that last month's average global temperature was 61.2...

Asset Managers, US Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds

WSJ: Public Pension Funds Dumping Hedge Fund Investments
(Friday - July 25, 2014) Associated Profiles : California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
- Money News - Some of them are reducing their hedge-fund exposure, The Wall Street Journal reports. That includes the California Public Employees' Retirement System (îCalpersî), the country's largest public pension...

World’s Biggest Wealth Fund Reviews $8 Billion Russian Stake  
(Thursday - July 24, 2014)
Source: Bloomberg - Norway’s $890 billion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, is reassessing its holdings in Russia as the European Union considers expanding sanctions against the country.

Obama urges Congress to tackle tax loopholes
(Friday - July 25, 2014)
Source: CBS News - Most of President Obama's West Coast fundraising trip has been spent raising money behind closed doors, but appeared publicly to the Los Angeles Technical College Thursday to push Congress to close loopholes for U.S. businesses...

Watching the Watchers

 

The Climate Group

Headquarters: London, England, with presences in the U.S., Australia, Greater China, and India.
Established: 2003-2004

KEY PARTNERS
The Climate Group's network includes Procter & Gamble, The World Bank, and The United Nations Global Compact, as well as numerous governmental entities. The HSBC Climate Partnership joins the Climate Group with Earthwatch Institute, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and WWF in a partnership that addresses climate change threats.

OVERVIEW / MISSION
The Climate Group describes its work by writing:
“The Climate Group is an independent, not-for-profit organization working to inspire and catalyze leadership for a Clean Revolution: a low carbon future that is smarter, better and more prosperous. For all."

BACKGROUND
The Climate Group is an international, non-profit organization with over 120 corporate and government members. All members sign the Climate Group Principles, which cover topics including beliefs about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the dangers of climate change, plus pledges to strive to reduce GHG emissions and educate the public.

The Climate Group’s focus on collaborations enables it to work with other nonprofit organizations, as well as businesses and government, on projects. Steve Howard, Jim Walker, and Alison Lucas founded the organization in 2003-2004. As of August 28, Walker was serving as director of international programmes and strategy, but Howard, formerly CEO, left TCG to serve as IKEA's chief sustainability officer, and Lucas joined Fenton as London office director in 2011.

News Sweep
US and China set for latest climate change discussions
(Thursday - July 17, 2014) Associated Profiles : The Climate Group
- Responding To Climate Change - director of The Climate Group in China. âI donât think there will be anything dramatic in terms of decisions made at this moment but this is a very important time where two...

Residents, Climate Activists Mourn Victims of Lac-Mégantic Tragedy
(Thursday - July 17, 2014) Associated Profiles : The Climate Group
- Common Dreams - And David Stember, a regional organizer with the climate group 350.org, said: Lac-MÃ gantic is a prime example of a much deeper problem, which is that the rail industry seems to be...

Highlights of climate-energy conference on Reunion Island
(Thursday - July 17, 2014) Associated Profiles : The Climate Group
- forimmediaterelease.net - It was organized by the Regional Council of La Reunion, in collaboration with The Climate Group and R20 (20 Regions). The conference was placed under the theme, Islands and Climate...

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. Based in New York, G&A is a for-profit consulting organization providing a range of value-added strategies, services and resources related to ESG & sustainability to clients in the corporate and capital markets communities.The G&A services portfolio includes:
ESG Counseling, Strategies & Benchmarking | Competitive Benchmarking | Sustainability Coaching, Team Building & Training | Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility Reporting | ESG & CR Issues Monitoring & Research | Stakeholder Identification, Monitoring & Engagement | Awards & Recognitions Program | External Assurance

SustainabilityHQ™ is managed and published by Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc.
For more information, contact us at:
845 Third Avenue, Suite 644, 6th Floor | New York, New York 10022
Tel 646.430.8230 | Web www.ga-institute.com | Email info@ga-institute.com