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ESG Performance Factors are important to a growing number of asset owners and managers. The ESG framework – considering environmental and energy issues and impacts, the company positioning and actions on social/societal issues, and effective corporate governance (or not) – is a style…an approach…an expanding set of guidelines….a framework…depending on the analyst and investor and their embrace of ESG factors in investment decision-making. ESG is not about intangibles or the non-financials – these factors are very tangible to investors and stakeholders. Yes, the financials are critical for all investors – but corporate performance on ESG factors is now a proxy for the quality of corporate management for many investors. And quality of management (and board) directly impacts the financials – determining access to capital markets, cost of capital, attractiveness to investors, buy-sell-hold decisions, and more. In these Highlights we offer the results of our continuous global scanning for news, commentary and research on ESG issues – for investors, and for the information of corporate boards, senior executives and managers. These are selections from the hundreds of public reports and original content contained in our Sustainability HQ™ platforms. We invite your comments, questions and inquiries. The Team at G&A Institute – your Sustainability Headquarters. ESG / Sustainability Australian property funds top ESG rankings (Source: Citywire) Australian real estate funds are world leaders in environmental and social governance (ESG) measures across the property sector, according to the latest survey from ING. New portal launched on “Business and Children” (Source: Business and Human Rights Research Centre) Geneva, Switzerland – The non-profit Business & Human Rights Resource Centre has launched an online portal on “Business & Children,” which is designed to provide up-to-date information on the ways that companies impact children’s rights. The portal was launched during the 2011 United Nations Human Rights Council – which was entitled “Children’s Rights & Business.” The event was co-organized by UNICEF and the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. Climate Expert Issues Warning (Source:Manawatu Standard ) A climate change specialist says climate change is happening faster than many scientists predicted and it is more than 90 per cent likely to be caused by human activity. Victoria University's director of climate change in its School of Government, Martin Manning, spoke to about 80 people at a recent seminar on "Carbon – the science and the sense" at Massey University. Associated Profiles : Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) Leading companies sponsor new Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (Source: Global Reporting Initiative) Ten world-leading companies are the global sponsors of the next generation of sustainability reporting guidelines, announces the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) today (Wednesday 29 June 2011). Alcoa, Enel, GE, Goldman Sachs, Natura and Shell are supporting GRI during the two year development of the Guidelines. GRI will also count on the expertise and support of Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PwC. Associated Profiles : UN - Global Reporting Initiative GRI Research SAP study suggests sustainability is now part of 'core business' for retailers (Source: Computer Weekly) A recent study conducted by SAP says sustainability is no longer a back-of-mind topic for retail companies. The study, "Sustainability in Retail: Challenges - Strategies - Implementation," was carried out with the Chair of Logistics Management at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland and reveals that sustainability has become an indispensable part of retailers' core business and competitive positioning. Associated Profiles : Dow Jones Sustainability Index 10 Companies Putting Real Dollars Behind Their Sustainability Rhetoric (Source: Sustainable Business Forum) Kohl’s, Whole Foods Market, TD Bank, Swiss Re, Nordea Bank, Adobe Systems, Vestas Wind, News Corp., CLP Holdings and Deutsche Bank. They’re leaders in buying renewable energy, according to a new report from Vestas and Bloomberg New Energy Finance called the Corporate Renewable Energy Index (CREX) 2011. Associated Profiles : Bloomberg New Energy Finance Sovereign Wealth Funds China's central bank vows to enhance reform of financial system (Source: Xinhaunet.com) The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, vowed on Sunday to improve financial regulation and boost the reformation of the country's financial system. The central bank will "seize an important strategic growth opportunity for the Chinese economy to push forward the reform of key financial sectors, reform the country's financial system and improve the management of foreign exchanges," the PBOC said in a statement posted on its website. Associated Profiles : China Investment Corporation | 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! _______________________________ In-depth profiling and analysis of leaders in Corporate Sustainability. Learn from the Leaders to develop Your Winning Corporate Strategies _______________________________
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Norway Oil Fund Plans to Make More Property Acquisitions in Paris, London (Source: Bloomberg) Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which today announced its second real-estate purchase, will add to its investments in Paris and London and has started to look for targets in Germany’s largest cities. “We’re not done with London and Paris,” Karsten Kallevig, head of real estate at Norges Bank Investment Management, which oversees the fund, said in an interview in the French capital. Associated Profiles : Norwegian Government Pension Fund (SPF) Cabinet approves 30 per cent women as decision-makers in corporate sector – Najib (Source: My Sinchew.com) KUALA LUMPUR -- The Cabinet has approved the policy of ensuring that 30 per cent of women are at the decision-making level in the private sector, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. He said the corporate sector had been given a five-year transition period to raise the number of women as members of the board of directors of companies and hold top positions in their respective companies. United States Pension Funds NYC pension funds rise over 20 percent to $119 billion: Liu (Source: Reuters) New York City's pension funds earned more than 20 percent in the last fiscal year, Comptroller John Liu said on Thursday. The funds were valued at $119 billion on June 30, the end of the city's fiscal year, up 21.7 percent from $97.8 billion in fiscal 2010. The latest total also exceeds the 2008 peak of $115 billion, which was reached before the financial crisis. How to Make States’ Public Pension Funds Solvent: Edward Glaeser (Source: Bloomberg) Last week, Atlanta’s City Council voted unanimously to address a $1.5 billion public-pension liability by increasing worker contributions and reducing benefits. Florida also increased public-worker contributions. These are steps toward solvency, but the structural forces that create our public-pension problem remain in place. Associated Profiles : Florida Retirement System Pension Plan Public Pension Debt: How Big is It? (Source: PublicCEO.com) While not complying with an apparently flawed state law, CalPERS is opposing a similar federal bill calling for a report showing how pension debt could soar if long-term investment earnings are well below average. How public pension funds report their long-term debt, and its impact on future payments needed from government employers, has become an issue in the politically charged debate. Associated Profiles : California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Research API: Study finds oil, gas assets strong public pension performers (Source: Oil & Gas Financial Journal) Oil and gas stocks in 17 US states’ public pension funds had returns which were 3.4 times their share of total assets from 2005 through 2009, a study commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute showed. The Sonecon LLC study looked at the 2 largest pension funds in each state and found $51 billion of oil and gas assets represented 4.6% of the average $1,115.6 billion average total in the 2005-09 period. Returns from those oil and gas investments represented 15.7% of total returns during the same period, it indicated. Associated Profiles : Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) Watching the Watchers
KEY PARTNERS: OVERVIEW / MISSION News Sweeps N.H. gov has bill to repeal greenhouse gas law | ||
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. | ||
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