S&P 500® INDEX COMPANIES' ESG/SUSTAINABILITY, RESPONSIBILITY REPORTING HITS 86% FOR YEAR 2018 - LATEST G&A INSTITUTE RESEARCH RESULTS... For the eighth year, the G&A Institute research team has examined the ESG, Sustainability, Responsibility & Citizenship disclosure and reporting practices of the S&P 500® Index companies and determined for year 2018 that 86 percent of the almost 500 public companies were publishing reports in various formats for public viewing. This is a one percent increase over the 85% reporting trend determined by G&A researchers for year 2017. When the research effort began eight years ago (for 2010 reporting, in the 2011 examination) the number of companies among the 500 was just below 20%. In the beginning of January each year, the current team of G&A analysts begin their examination of the prior year’s reporting trends. The S&P 500 companies (not always an exact number) are closely examined to determine public disclosure and reporting practices for activities that may be branded “corporate sustainability, or responsibility or citizenship, or even environmental” that appear in print, web or hybrid versions. The initial results are double checked by other analysts and by EVP Louis Coppola, the architect of G&A’s research efforts since 2011. G&A Institute Senior ESG Analyst Elizabeth Peterson assists as team leader in the coordination of the analysts’ research (she has been involved in the effort for several years now). G&A’s team report analysts who contributed to the research this year are: Minalee Busi, Jessica Caron, Emilie Ho, Jess Peete. The S&P 500 Index research results are widely cited by investors, analysts, company managers and other stakeholders in their own work and have become a standard reference for those citing the dramatic increase in corporate sustainability reporting. Institutional investors cite the results in urging non-reporting companies to begin reporting to shareholders on their sustainability journey. You can see the full report in the news release that is linked as the Top Story this week. This Week's Top Stories  FLASH REPORT: 86% of S&P 500 Index® Companies Publish Sustainability / Responsibility Reports in 2018
(Thursday - May 16, 2019) Source: Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. - Highlights from Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. Research: “Sustainability reporting” rose dramatically from 2011, when roughly 20% of companies published reports, to 72% just three years later in 2013. From 2013 to...
Global Sustainability: Continuing Forward Momentum! Starting at the Source: Achieving a Sustainable Supply Chain
(Tuesday - May 14, 2019) Source: Environmental Leader - With the impact of our consumer society increasingly influencing purchasing behavior, it is clear that there has been a shift in the need for a sustainable supply chain. But this is not a simple task – as political negotiations... Sustainability is Simple: Do Just One Thing
(Tuesday - May 14, 2019) Source: Forbes - The last thing any business owner wants is another thing jotted onto their to-do list, so it’s understandable why establishing a sustainable workplace often ends up on the scrap pile. 5 Ways For Boosting Sustainable Productivity In Your Workplace
(Wednesday - May 15, 2019) Source: Forbes - What is sustainable productivity? In short, it's what every company under the sun is striving for: continual growth and process improvements, a regular flow of new ideas and innovations, and an indefatigable optimism about the... Finding sustainable solutions for compelling issues
(Wednesday - May 15, 2019) Source: All About Feed - From fundamental research with renowned universities to direct testing with customers. As a Project Manager Innovation for Perstorp Animal Nutrition, Dr Stefan Vaessen is involved in the ‘inspiring process’ of creating innovative... Innovations for Sustainable Building
(Thursday - May 16, 2019) Source: Interesting Engineering - According to the World Green Building Trends 2018 there are more sustainable features going into the building now, though the extent of that improvement does vary by country. Do Consumers Care? We Ask the Question More Often Now The Missing Sustainability Link Is The Customer. How Are H&M, Uniqlo and Walmart Getting It Right?
(Monday - May 13, 2019) Source: Forbes - f you believe the headlines, the Age of Sustainability is dawning. In the retail industry, sustainability has become a top priority. Plastic straws are out, solar power is in. Destroying unsold stock is out, ethical treatment of... Bad news: The fashion industry is actually slowing down on sustainability
(Tuesday - May 14, 2019) Source: Fast Company - By 2030, at its current pace of growth, the fashion industry is expected to be worth $3.3 trillion. It will manufacture 102 million tons of clothes and shoes. For comparison, that is the weight equivalent to a half million blue... Paper or plastic? 6 sustainable foodservice packaging options for both
(Wednesday - May 15, 2019) Source: Packaging Digest - In offering heat resistance, preventing the growth of microorganisms and helping extend the shelf-life of the food products, the packaging is designed to maintaining the hygiene, quality, and safety of food products at an... The Best Sustainable Brands, According To You
(Wednesday - May 15, 2019) Source: manrepeller.com - Below is a consolidated list of the best and most interesting sustainable brands* out there, according to you. Making Brands More Sustainable Makes Life More Sustainable
(Thursday - May 16, 2019) Source: Detroit Is It! - Sustainable Brands, the Conference Focused on “Living the Good Life” Comes Back to Detroit, and Looks Business Straight In the Eye... How A Sustainable Food System Is Built
(Thursday - May 16, 2019) Source: Resilience - Sustainability is a multi-faceted condition. It requires sustainable development across environmental, economic and social-cultural concerns in order to “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future... France to Lead Global Fashion Sustainability Effort
(Thursday - May 16, 2019) Source: Yahoo Finance - France, where luxury fashion is a lucrative sector, wants brands from around the world to commit to progress on issues including ocean health, biodiversity and climate change during this summer’s Group of Seven summit in Biarritz. The Rising Tide of Sustainable Seafood
(Friday - May 17, 2019) Source: Project Syndicate - Despite its swift rise, the sustainable seafood movement’s work is far from done. To safeguard the future of fish, more seafood businesses must commit to sustainability, and consumers must be even more resolute in demanding... The business of the future is ethical, sustainable, and employee-owned
(Friday - May 17, 2019) Source: Fast Company - Eileen Fisher was one of the first clothing companies to offset 100% of its carbon footprint, and it’s become a pioneer in advancing localized, sustainable production, setting itself on a path to use 100% organic cotton and linen...
Quick Scan of the Headlines:
ESG Topics & Front-of-Mind Issues
CO2 in the atmosphere just exceeded 415 parts per million for the first time in human history
(Monday - May 13, 2019) Source: Tech Crunch The relationship between corporations and climate change
(Wednesday - May 15, 2019) Source: World Finance FCC Wants Phone Companies To Start Blocking Robocalls By Default
(Thursday - May 16, 2019) Source: NPR Sponsored Message |  | |
Headlines From the Corporate Sector
U.S. States Sue Teva, 19 Other Drug Companies in Price-Fixing Complaint
(Monday - May 13, 2019) Source: Yahoo! Backseats of Uber and Lyft cars 'have 35,000 Times More Germs than the Average Toilet Seat and 219 Times as Many as the Average Taxi'
(Monday - May 13, 2019) Source: Daily Mail UK) Another Montana and Wyoming Coal Operator Ddeclares Bankruptcy
(Monday - May 13, 2019) Source: KBZK TV Lawyers Argue that Ford Knowingly Built Focus, Fiesta Cars with Faulty Transmissions
(Tuesday - May 14, 2019) Source: The Car Connection Exclusive: Impossible Foods raises $300 Million with Investors Eager for Bite of Meatless Burgers
(Tuesday - May 14, 2019) Source: Reuters Amazon Offers to Pay Employees $10,000 to Quit Their Jobs and Deliver Packages Instead
(Tuesday - May 14, 2019) Source: Yahoo Bayer Has Now Lost Over 44% of Its Value Since Its Monsanto Merger
(Wednesday - May 15, 2019) Source: Fortune Hershey Highlights Progress in Key Areas of Deforestation, Sustainable Cocoa and Human Rights in 2018 Sustainability Report
(Wednesday - May 15, 2019) Source: Globe Newswire CSR in Annual Reports: 7 Conflicting Trends
(Wednesday - May 15, 2019) Source: Forbes Blockchain Project CEO to Pay $150K Fine, Teach Business Ethics Following Settlement
(Thursday - May 16, 2019) Source: Coin Telegraph U.S. sanctions on Huawei send stocks reeling; yields fall
(Thursday - May 16, 2019) Source: Yahoo Finance Nike is Launching a Guide to Sustainability for Brands–get it here
(Friday - May 17, 2019) Source: Fast Company From Bob Iger to Warren Buffett & Jack Dorsey: These are the highest and lowest paid CEOs of 2018
(Friday - May 17, 2019) Source: CNBC | | NEW G&A INSTITUTE
RESEARCHAVAILABLE:
FLASH REPORT: 86% of S&P 500 Index� Companies Publish Sustainability / Responsibility Reports in 2018
Click here to view the full report!
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G&A INSTITUTE'S SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH ANALYST INTERNSHIP
 FOR 2019/2020
G&A’s unpaid internship opportunity is for qualified students interested in learning more about corporate sustainability and corporate ESG performance (“Environmental, Social, Governance”) issues. G&A Institute Interns learn important elements about the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards for sustainability reporting as well as other common frameworks such as CDP, RobecoSAM CSA (DJSI), SASB, IIRC, SDGs, and concepts in sustainability such as materiality, stakeholder engagement, external assurance, balance, comparability, and many others that can be used in their future careers. Click here for more information and full description of requirements. Interested parties should submit their resume with required accompanying documentation by June 15th! ________________________________________ 
G&A Institute Sustainability Update™
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Governance & Accountability Institute's blog focusing on the sustainable world evolving daily before our eyes. Read it, absorb it, question it and challenge. Today, We Have Corporate Comparisons Galore – The Institutional Investor Has Access to Volumes of ESG Data Sets & Information – Where Can Others Find Scores, Rankings and Ratings of Public Companies? Trump Administration Continues Attempts to Unravel U.S. Environmental Protections Put in Place Over Many Years – Now, Shareholder Proxy Resolution Actions on Climate Issues Also In Focus For Investors… _________________________________________
G&A RESEARCH Sector Study on Sustainability Materiality of the SDG Targets & GRI Indicators 
FLASH REPORT: 85% of S&P 500 Index® Companies Publish Sustainability Reports in 2017 
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https://ga-institute.com/to-the-point/a-big-year-2018-for-developments-in-corporate-sustainability-sustainable-investingthe-two-halves-of-the-great-whole-of-the-new-norms-of-capitalism/ The G&A team develops timely insights and perspectives on Corporate Sustainability, Responsibility and Citizenship and we share with you on G&A's To The Point! platform – access is complementary with your registration.
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