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Newsletter

Source: Governance & Accountability Institute

Sustainability-Highlights-Header
June 23, 2011

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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

Water Management Must Be At The Core Of ESG Strategy
(Source: WaterOnline) Only a tiny fraction of the world's biggest companies are adequately managing the various risks they face from water shortages, drought and pollution, according to new research from independent environmental, social and governance (ESG) research provider EIRIS. Under a current business-as-usual scenario water demand is set to outstrip supply by 40% by 2030. This has the potential to put USD 63 trillion of global GDP at risk by 2050. Associated Profiles : Water Environment Federation, Water.org, Eiris

States, companies must ensure human rights, UN expert says  
(Source: Deutsche Welle)
  The United Nations called on American professor John Ruggie to develop a means of meshing human rights and business practices. After six years of work, his ideas met with approval by the UN's Human Rights Council.  John Ruggie: States and companies are responsible. But what we have lacked in the past is a clear understanding of exactly what it is that states should do and exactly what it is that companies should do. Companies typically say that they will abide by national law.  Associated Profiles : UN - Global Compact

Geo-manipulation may be scary and necessary
(Source: GuelphMercury) “We are getting into very risky territory,” said Christiana Figueres, head of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, last week. But she acknowledged that we may have to go there anyway. She was talking about geo-engineering, the manipulation of the world’s climate to avoid catastrophic warming. Nobody actually wants to do that.  Associated Profiles : Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC)

SEC could file civil charges against some raters: report
(Source: MSN) U.S. regulators could file civil fraud charges against some credit rating agencies, and settle with more Wall Street banks, for their role in developing mortgage-bond deals that helped trigger the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Associated Profiles : Standard & Poors

Commentary

The Carbon Ruling  
(Source: Editorial, NY Times)
The Supreme Court’s decision on greenhouse gases on Monday is a disappointment to the states and environmental groups that had hoped to use federal common law to curb carbon dioxide pollution from power plants. It would also appear to be a setback in the fight against global warming. But it is, in fact, a clarifying and positive decision — vindicating the Clean Air Act, which is under siege in the House, and increasing pressure on the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out its authority to regulate greenhouse gases under that act.

Sovereign Wealth Funds

SEC Investigates ExxonMobil, Conoco, and Occidental Over Libyan Connections  
(Source:  aiCIO)
  The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum Corp. over their connections to Libya, the Dow Jones Newswires has reported.  A spokesperson for ExxonMobil told the news service that the oil giant is cooperating with the US regulator's request over its dealings with the country's sovereign wealth fund. ConocoPhillips and Occidental also confirmed cooperation.  Associated Profiles : Libyan Investment Authority

Qatar on pole position as it plans swoop for stake in second major UK bank  
(Source: Scotsman)
One of the world's most acquisitive sovereign wealth funds is in early negotiations to pick up a cornerstone stake in a second leading British bank. Qatar Holdings, which already has a 7 per cent holding in Barclays, is believed to be seriously considering taking a stake in the UK arm of Santander, the Spanish banking major, when it floats before the end of 2011. Associated Profiles : Qatar Investment Authority

Norway $570 Billion Oil Fund May Target Private Equity as Adviser Switched  
(Source: Bloomberg)
  Norway’s $570 billion oil fund may get more leeway to expand into new asset classes such as roads, gas pipelines and unlisted shares as the government switches its top adviser for setting the investor’s .

 


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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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 - 2011
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are noted where appropriate.
Please credit the source if quoted.

United States Pension Funds

Pension funds mull ethics of commodity investments
(Source: Reuters) Some pension funds are beginning to question their investments in commodities after accusations that massive flows into the sector have distorted markets, fuelled food inflation and hurt poor nations.

Christie Wins on Pension, Health Benefits Reform  
(Source: Human Events
)  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie won another major victory for his agenda last week, announcing a deal with the Democratic leadership of the legislature on a sweeping reform of public employee pensions and benefits.  The deal, which was passed by the state senate on Monday and awaits a vote in the assembly, raises public employees’ pension contributions, mandates that the state make annual payments into the system, increases public employee contributions toward health insurance premiums, and ends collective bargaining for health benefits.  Associated Profiles : New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefit

Ohio public-pension review seen as useless, wasteful  
(Source: Dispatch
)  A plan for an independent review of Ohio's five public pension systems would cost taxpayers millions and duplicate work that's already been done, as well as delay change that is needed now, the heads of those five systems said in separate letters yesterday. Associated Profiles : Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS)

Watching the Watchers

Pesticide Action Network North America
Headquarters:  San Francisco, California
Established: 1982

OVERVIEW / MISSION
The Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA) writes that its work focuses on replacing traditional pesticide use with “ecologically sound and socially just alternatives.” Based in the USA, PANNA is one of five autonomous PAN Regional Centers worldwide that link "local and international consumer, labor, health, environment and agriculture groups into an international citizens' action network." 

Reason for being:  “This network challenges the global proliferation of pesticides, defends basic rights to health and environmental quality, and works to ensure the transition to a just and viable society."

News Sweeps

Alliance Calls for Stronger Measures to Protect Human Health, Wildlife From ...
(Thursday - June 16, 2011) Associated Profiles : Pesticide Action Network North America
- A bill currently under consideration in the Senate, however, would exempt pesticides from the Clean Water Act. In January, the Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North America filed the most ...

Groups call on EPA to protect endangered species from pesticides
(Thursday - June 16, 2011) Associated Profiles : Pesticide Action Network North America
- ... mounting evidence demonstrating that even low doses of pesticides in wildlife and humans can have dramatic and irreversible consequences," the groups, led by Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide ...  [more] 

EPA Settlement To Include Ag
(Wednesday - June 08, 2011) Associated Profiles : Pesticide Action Network North America
- ... be allowed to intervene in the settlement phase of a lawsuit filed against EPA by the Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North America (which works to reduce use of hazardous ...

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.