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 Sustainable cities will be growth centres of the global economy
(Source: Business and Leadership.com) Cities are the growth engines of the global economy, contributing up to 50pc of some nations’ GDP. Soon they will need to start competing on sustainability and their approach to the environment, Siemens' Willfried Wienholt told the 2nd annual Business & Leadership Briefing on The Green Economy in Dublin today. Wienholt isvice-president of Urban Development at Siemens and, In his role, supports decision-makers in cities to connect the sustainable development of urban infrastructure with green and efficient technologies. He is also a key member of the Urban Infrastructure Initiative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Associated Profiles : World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Corporate Governance Expert Paul Hodgson Appointed GMI Spokesperson
(Source: GMI) GovernanceMetrics International (GMI), the independent leader in global corporate governance and ESG, today announced that it has appointed renowned governance and executive compensation expert Paul Hodgson to the role of Managing Director and Chief Communications Officer. Mr. Hodgson assumed his new responsibilities, which include serving as company spokesperson, immediately. Associated Profiles : Governance Metrics International (GMI) Wal-Mart Is Being Pressed to Disclose How Global Suppliers Treat Workers
(Source: NY Times) At its annual shareholder meeting on Friday, the New York City pension funds, which own a small percentage of shares in Wal-Mart, plan to ask the company to require vendors to publish annual reports detailing working conditions in their factories. “No matter how much Wal-Mart and other companies are doing, or claim they are doing, to monitor their suppliers, they just don’t have the capacity to do it in a comprehensive way,” Mr. Garland said. “They put tremendous pressure on their suppliers to cut money out of the system,” which can lead to long hours, low pay or other problems. Associated Profiles : New York City Comptroller’s Office: Bureau of Asset Management Investors Blast 43 Firms for ‘Contradictory’ Climate Stance
(Source: Environmental Leader) AT&T, GE, GM and Ford are among the who’s who of corporate America that has been accused of taking contradictory positions on climate change, in letters by almost two dozen investors and investment groups managing $202 billion in assets. Investors led by Calvert Investment Management and Walden Asset Management sent a letter (pdf) to 43 companies on the board of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), urging them to explain how they reconcile their own greenhouse gas-reduction policies with NAM’s intention to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its powers to regulate GHGs. Associated Profiles : ICCR Commentary Wal-Mart's green hat
(Source: Edward Humes, LA Times) If you care about green, it's hard not to view these as the worst of times, marked by looming climate, water and energy crises, vanishing fisheries, mile-a-minute deforestation — the list is numbingly endless. In response, we have a largely apathetic public, an environmental lobby rendered toothless by said apathy, a political left and center paralyzed by fear that protecting the planet might hurt the economy, and a political right that's never been more virulently opposed to all things green as job-killing, business-bashing burdens and boondoggles. Sovereign Wealth Funds More and more brokerage firms are saying bye-bye to Dubai
(Source: eFinancial Careers) Working for a brokerage firm in the Gulf has been something of a perilous affair for a couple of years now, but depressed trading volumes in the first quarter of 2011 have seen more firms shut up shop. There are now just 65 brokerages operating in the UAE, compared with 103 at the beginning of 2010. Last week, regional investment bank Rasmala revealed that it was closing its retail brokerage operation along with a senior management shake-up with co-chief executive David Woods and Khaled Masri, its head of brokerage, departing. Associated Profiles : Abu Dhabi Investment Authority |
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!
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HK banks asked to do stress tests on $90 bln in outflows
(Source: Reuters) The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has asked banks in the territory to conduct stress tests on themselves to gauge their ability to withstand a $700 billion ($90.1 billion) outflow of deposits, it said on Friday. Hong Kong's de facto central bank has asked local lenders to assume that half of the HK$1.38 trillion in customer deposits they added since 2008 will flow out within a year, it said in a statement. Associated Profiles : Hong Kong Monetary Authority -- Investment Portfolio Qaddafi Reportedly Stashes Billions in Western Institutions
(Source: NY Times) Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi has stashed billions of dollars of Libyan oil revenues with financial institutions on Wall Street and in Europe, according to a document made public Thursday by an international advocacy group. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, HSBC Holdings and Société Générale are among the major banks that have helped the strongman to invest some of the Libyan sovereign wealth fund’s $53 billion, according o the document, which was published on the Web by Global Witness. Associated Profiles : Libyan Investment Authority Future Fund sees no conflict in tobacco investment
(Source: Adelaide Now) The Future Fund sees nothing wrong with investing in tobacco companies despite the plain packaging stoush. It was responding to a Senate estimates hearing query on whether the Government's plan to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes would influence the fund's decision to invest in tobacco stocks. Associated Profiles : Future Fund (Australia) United States Pension Funds DiNapoli: Pension fund fracking investments pose no conflict
(Source: Politics on the Hudson) Earlier today, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli dismissed the notion that the state pension fund’s investment in natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations poses a conflict of interest. DiNapoli said there is a “total disconnect” between decision makers with the pension fund and the Department of Environmental Conservation, which is developing permitting guidelines for high-volume hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale and other gas-rich formations. Associated Profiles : New York State Common Retirement Fund CalPERS 'strongly endorses' AIMA hedge fund relationship guide
(Source: Opalesque) Opalesque Industry Update - The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has strongly endorsed a new guide by the Investor Steering Committee of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the global hedge fund association, to promote better alignment of interests between institutional investors and hedge fund managers. “Public pension funds and other institutional investors account for most of the capital within the hedge fund industry,” said Joseph Dear, CalPERS Chief Investment Officer. “This guide by AIMA’s Investor Steering Committee contains recommendations that will enhance our partnerships with fund managers. It’s a good benchmark for this maturing industry.” Associated Profiles : California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Pension reform: DOA
(Source: Chicago Tribune) This is the way it usually goes, isn't it? The Illinois Legislature chokes on the decisions that would mean sound, disciplined spending and looks for easy money. It happened again on Memorial Day. House Speaker Michael Madigan and Minority Leader Tom Cross announced that they have given up trying to pass legislation that would curb the out-of-control costs of state employee pensions. They will hold hearings over the summer on pension reform. See you in the fall for a vote, maybe. Associated Profiles State Employee’s Retirement System of Illinois (SERS) 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.” News Sweeps Carbon emissions cut, melting glaciers and other green stories of the week
(Saturday - May 21, 2011) Associated Profiles : MapleCroft - Bahrain, Qatar - Those states along with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were named as the world's most 'water stressed' communities in a May 18 report by the Maplecroft group. (Maplecroft / Huffington ... Water shortages most extreme in Middle East, African regions, report says
(Friday - May 20, 2011) Associated Profiles : MapleCroft - "Water shortages are worst in Africa and the Middle East, and the hardest hit are nations in the Gulf, including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to a study released Wednesday by risk analysis firm ... Water shortages lead to land grab in Africa
(Friday - May 20, 2011) Associated Profiles : MapleCroft - Maplecroft, a research firm, identifies Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as world's most water-stressed countries, defined as those with the least available water per capita. It calculated the ratio of ... [more] |
