G&A’s New Sustainable Training HQ Platform Offers Free Sample CSR Overview Module

G&A’s new Sustainability Training HQ? platform is offering a free sample module from it’s introductory Certification in Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Strategies? Course led by Dr. Nitish Singh, Associate Professor, Saint Louis University & Brendan Keating, VP IntegTree?.

The free module:  ? Corporate Responsibility Overview? (What is sustainability, sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, governance, ethics, and business strategies related to CSR) is the first of the twelve included in the full course syllabus.

Click here for more information and how to register!

Top Story

Shareholder Activism on Sustainability Issues is Surging
(Monday – July 18, 2016)
Source: Triple Pundit – It was not long ago that shareholder activism most often focused on changing the trajectory of what investors saw as a rudderless or poorly-run company. Corporate governance directives, such as changing directors on a board…

Sustainability in Focus

How Investors Can Engage Companies on Sustainability
(Sunday – July 17, 2016) Associated Profiles : North Carolina Retirement Systems
Source: Institutional Investor – You don’t need to look any further than today’s California water crisis or the tragic factory collapse in Bangladesh two years ago to understand why investors are becoming increasingly…

What kind of job does a sustainability major get you?
(Monday – July 18, 2016)
Source: Press of Atlantic City – Once just a concentration within the environmental science program, sustainability has grown so much that it is now a degree program of its own that is sending graduates out to work at engineering and construction firms and…

Simple Sustainability Strategies Begin with Waste Management
(Monday – July 18, 2016)
Source: Triple Pundit – The role of energy in the sustainability field is a critical one. But for small- and medium-sized businesses, the prospect of heading up a sustainability strategy with improvements in energy management can be daunting…

How Long Term Investors are Prioritising Sustainability
(Tuesday – July 19, 2016)
Source: MorningStar – More and more investors are prioritising a company’s ethical and sustainability score – believing it will lead to long term positive returns…

Sustainability, identity preservation keys to rice future – text/audio
(Tuesday – July 19, 2016)
Source: Delta Farm Press – Sustainability is a phrase that seems to have come back into vogue with marketers trying to sell to millennials who seem to be more environmentally conscientious than members of previous generations…

Water sustainability: How do Asia’s cities fare?
(Wednesday – July 20, 2016)
Source: Asian Correspondent – In its Global Risks 2016 report, the World Economic Forum lists water crises among those of highest concern, while the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals put “access to water and sanitation for all” as its sixth goal…

Developed nations should take lead in addressing global sustainability: NITI Chairperson
(Wednesday – July 20, 2016)
Source: First Post India – United Nations: NITI Aayog Vice Chairperson Arvind Panagariya has asked the developed countries to take a “visible lead” in addressing the challenge of global sustainability in a bid to help poor nations that are impacted…

A Standard for Sustainable Manufacturing
(Wednesday – July 20, 2016)
Source: Automation World – Sustainability initiatives are alive and well, even if we don’t hear too much about them these days. It does seem that fewer manufacturers are talking publicly about their sustainability programs—as pointed out in the recent…

6 Steps to Becoming a Credible Sustainability/CSR Professional
(Thursday – July 21, 2016)
Source: Just Means – The urgent need to create a more socially and environmentally responsible world has led to a boom in innovative solutions in areas such as; facility management, supply chain, design, manufacturing, standards, reporting, employee…

Why Investments in Sustainability Pay Off in the Long Run
(Thursday – July 21, 2016)
Source: Commercial Property Executive – The discussion on the financial benefits of having green-certified buildings is not new. Neither is the debate as to the urgency to protect the environment…

Investors need higher quality sustainability data, research shows
(Thursday – July 21, 2016)
Source: The Actuary – the report tracks corporate disclosure from listed firms for 2014 on seven sustainability indicators: payroll, greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), energy, water, waste, injury rate and employee turnover…

ESG Issues & Players

These Clean Energy Projects Pollute More Than Coal Power Plants
(Thursday – July 21, 2016)
Source: Bloomberg – Geothermal wells usually provide a steady supply of clean energy flowing from the natural heat of the Earth. In Turkey, because of a quirk in the geology, some of those wells pollute as much as coal-fired power plants.

Angela Merkel backs Theresa May’s plan not to trigger Brexit this year
(Thursday – July 21, 2016)
Source: The Guardian – The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has backed Theresa May’s decision to wait until next year before starting the formal process of leaving the EU, despite pressure from others in Europe for a speedier exit.

GMO Labels: Win, Lose or Draw?
(Wednesday – July 20, 2016)
Source: Food Safety Magazine – A large number of Americans claim to want genetically modified organism (GMO) labeling on the food they buy. In the face of Congress’ years-long inability to put together any type of GMO legislation, states began taking matters…

First Half of 2016 Blows Away Temperature Records
(Wednesday – July 20, 2016)
Source: Scientific America – The first half of 2016 has blown away temperature records, capped off by a record hot June, once again bumping up the odds that 2016 will be the hottest year on record globally, according to data released Tuesday 

What Destroyed Venezuela’s Economy: Big Government And Anti-Americanism
(Tuesday – July 19, 2016)
Source: Forbes – “A vibrant business sector hollowed out by repeated government intervention, nationalization, and grand development schemes which cost the taxpayers a bundle,” writes Mark Mobius On Emerging Markets.

Asset Managers, US Pension Funds,
Sovereign Wealth Funds

Public Pension Funds Perform Better When They Keep Politics at Bay
(Wednesday – July 20, 2016)
Source: Harvard Business Review – The enormity of the challenges confronting pension funds — including substantial deficits, a tumultuous global economy, and a low-return environment — means that they need to be able to focus on maximizing investment returns…

U.S. Seeks to Seize $1 Billion Assets Tied to 1MDB, NYT Says
(Wednesday – July 20, 2016)
Source: Bloomberg – U.S. federal prosecutors plan to seek permission as early as Wednesday to seize more than $1 billion in assets purchased with money allegedly misappropriated from a Malaysian state investment company, the New York Times reported.

The Morning Risk Report: Proxy Season Tallies Show Stronger Shareholder Voice
(Wednesday – July 20, 2016)
Source: Wall Street Journal – The results for 2016 proxy season are still being tallied and full reports aren’t expected until late September, but so far results show that proxy access is here to stay. Also of note, governance experts said, is that board…

G&A Institute Sustainability Update™
Informative, insightful, thought provoking Governance & Accountability Institute’s blog focusing on the sustainable world evolving daily before our eyes.  Read it, absorb it, question it and challenge. Recent posts:

“Shareholder Activism on Sustainability Issues” — New Harvard B-School Paper Will Further Inform Us on ESG “Materiality” and its Impacts on Companies in the Capital Markets

Who Runs the World? Girls!

Corporate CEO Weighs In on Sustainability With Advice for His Peers, NGOs, Government

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Governance & Accountability Institute Service Highlight
GRI G4 Reporting
Project management, review / editing of content, GRI content indexes, ‘in accordance’ level examination letter, and more… 
Learn more about
G&A’s GRI G4 Reporting Services

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Governance & Accountability Institute Research

FLASH REPORT: Eighty One Percent (81%) of the S&P 500 Index Companies Published Corporate Sustainability Reports in 2015

Learn More About G&A Research

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Featured Events

GRI’S USA, UK & IRELAND
DATA PARTNER

G&A Institute is the exclusive Data Partner for the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) in the USA, UK and Ireland.  This means that we identify, receive, collect, analyze, database and then communicate on every report issued by an organization in any of these three countries. Over the past 5+ years, G&A has analyzed more than 5,000 sustainability reports in this role and databased more than 100 important data points for each of the five thousand reports.
F ind out more @ G&A’s What’s A Data Partner

Navigating the way to sustainability…
Contents © 2009 – 2016 | All Rights Reserved

Copyrights for other providers are noted where appropriate. Please credit the source if quoted.
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Maplecroft

Headquarters: Bath, England
Established: Registered in England and Wales, October 2001

ESG/Sustainability Focus: 
Yes. The organization is a UN Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI) signatory. Maplecroft 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
UN 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 mitigate extra-financial risks in their operations, supply chains and distribution networks.”

BACKGROUND
Early in its life as a company, in 2005, Maplecroft described itself as “a network of academics and practitioners operating as specialist consultants in the field of corporate responsibility.”

News Sweeps

• Rule of law at risk in Turkey, warn experts
  (Thursday – July 21, 2016 – Source:  Yahoo Finance)
• EIA: Bakken oil output to remain below 1 million b/d in August
  (Thursday – July 21, 2016 – Source: Oil & Gas Journal)
• Erdogan and Gulen: uneasy allies turned bitter foes
  (Tuesday – July 19, 2016 – Source:  Business Recorder)

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: Sustainability Reporting; Assistance with GRI Report Alignment Services; GRI G4 Reporting; Gap Analysis; Materiality Assessments & Strategies; Stakeholder Engagement; Peer Benchmarking; Critical Issues Management; Coaching / Training; Stakeholder Report Review; Sustainability / Responsibility Report Announcement Services; Sustainability Recognitions/Awards; Public Relations Programs; Communications & Marketing; Event / Speaking Opportunities; Writing & Editing Assistance; Investor Data Review & Enhancement; Third Party Investor Data Providers Assistance; ESG Investor Engagement; Shareholder List Profiling; Investor Roadshows; Investor Perception Surveys.

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