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82% of the S&P 500® Published a Sustainability Report in 2016 – Analysis Just Released on the Index Universe of Leading Companies Everyone in the investing world and the corporate suite knows of the importance of the S&P 500 Index®; it’s the intellectual property of the S&P Dow Jones Indices unit of S&P Global and is the widely used benchmark by which asset managers track their performance (against the index performance). Many investments are benchmarked to the index – almost a total of US$8 trillion, in fact. The index is made up of 500 leading (large-cap) public companies and represents roughly 80% of the total market capitalization of these enterprises. The index was launched 60 years ago (in March 1957). Investopedia explains that the index covers the majority of the US economy and is considered by experts to be a highly reliable indicator of overall stock market performance. The index managers select corporate stocks to be in the index by a number of factors, according to liquidity, market size and industry category; and, the company included represents a proportion of the portfolio. There are small changes year-to-year in the index as companies are selected in and dropped from inclusion. The G&A Institute team in carefully tracking the increasing embrace of sustainability by US companies, and the reporting on the “sustainability journey” by these large-cap public companies began analyzing the S&P 500 companies’ disclosure and structured reporting on sustainability (and related terms, such as corporate responsibility, environmental update, corporate citizenship, and others). Our first analysis was shared publicly in 2011, for the results of year 2010 company reporting. We found that just about 20% or one-in-five of the S&P 500 universe was publishing a sustainability report in some form. That became our baseline. The 2012 reporting analysis revealed a dramatic increase — more than half of the companies were then reporting (the tally was 53%). The number increased considerably in 2013 to 73% and then 75% the following year. By 2015 the tally was 81% (eight of 10 companies in the index) and now we have year 2016 results — holding steady at 82%. We share the news broadly in our Flash Report at the conclusion of the analysis — that’s our Top Story for you this week.
Our analysis includes identifying GICS sector reporting (financials, health care, energy, etc.), and the increase year-to-year where that occurs within a sector.
G&A’s EVP Louis Coppola has been the architect of the S&P 500 analysis, with the careful analytical work done by successive teams of outstanding intern-analysts over the years. This year’s team includes Alvis Yuen, team leader who has worked on the annual analysis for several years now; and team members Amanda Hoster, Elizabeth Peterson, Juliet Russell, Alan Stautz, Yangshengjing “UB” Qiu, and Olivia (Sihui) Wang. We thank these outstanding professionals for their dedication and hard work completing the analysis. The investment community takes a close look at the G&A Institute research and each year reaches out to the non-reporters (a shrinking base, we’re happy to say) for engagement, and often, targets for filing shareholder resolutions to encourage the start of reporting on the corporate sustainability efforts. (In many cases for the holdouts, there are no such efforts underway — and so, no reports!) You’ll find more details about the 2017 work (examining 2016 reporting results) in our Flash Report. Do send us an email if you have questions about the exercise if you would like to have more information. Top Stories This Week… FLASH REPORT: 82% of the S&P 500 Companies Published Corporate Sustainability Reports in 2016 The S&P Index is one of the most widely-followed barometers of the US economy, and conditions for large-cap public companies in the capital markets. To put this in context, in charting prior years reporting, G&A found that:
And also this week…the sad news about the United States abandoning the Paris COP 21 Accord…from the Washington Post’s Team of Skilled Reporters… Trump announces US will exit Paris climate deal, sparking criticism at home and abroad Important Items for Your Attention: Editors’ Sustainability Scans – Progress! Sustainability grows as a priority in sport The New Age of Corporate Social Responsibility The Food Sustainability Index: Fostering the Global Shift Towards a More Sustainable Food System Strengthening the Voice for Sustainability Pasta sales rise thanks to health, sustainability issues But There is Still Much Work For Us To Do! 5 Sustainability Threats Facing Fashion Source: Sustainable Brands – Recent research clearly indicates that today’s stakeholders expect more from companies — they want to purchase from and work for companies that champion sustainability. This shift in attitude is dramatically altering the way that.. Sustainable business at a crossroads, again Stock Price Synchronicity and Material Sustainability Information The 9 (or 10) keys to successful sustainability leadership Our Focus This Week on A Range of ESG Topics & Issues — Things to Think About.. 100 Practical Ways to Reverse Climate Change OPEC Can Cut Production But Fracking Controls The Oil Price Now Who’s Taking Responsibility for Your Supply Chain? Should ESG Investments Be the Core of a Portfolio? Crude Oil Begins To Flow Through Controversial Dakota Access Pipeline News & Opinion: Asset Managers, US Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds Fed Survey Shows Modest Growth With Tight Labor and Tame Prices CalPERS: Is It Melting Down'”>CalPERS: Is It Melting Down’ Source: efe.com – for breaching anti-money laundering rules for transactions linked to Malaysia’s scandal-ridden state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Dow races to new record News for You From the Corporate Sector Coors Brewing launches EveryOneCan to support sustainability Most Chipotle restaurants hacked with credit card stealing malware Source: Food Ingredients – Sustainability Leader at DuPont Nutrition & Health (N&H), Dr Mikkel Thrane has a PhD in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of seafood products and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Management. How science-based targets guide Walmart’s sustainability course Union Pacific’s Sustainability Progress Spotlighted in 2016 Building America Report Trump Administration News… Affecting Directions on Governance, Sustainability & Climate Change A Budget in Search of a Soul US companies no longer know rules of game under Trump, Hasbro director says |
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G&A Institute Sustainability Update™ _________________________________________
_________________________________________ Governance & Accountability Institute Featured Service _________________________________________ Governance & Accountability Institute Research
_________________________________________ GRI’S USA, UK & IRELAND
G&A Institute is the exclusive Data Partner for the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) in the USA, UK and Republic of Ireland. We identify, receive, collect, analyze, database, and communicate about every report issued in any of the 3 countries. Over the past 6+ years, G&A analyzed 6,000-plus sustainability reports in this pro bono role and databased 100+ important data points for each report.
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Navigating the way to sustainability… Copyrights for other providers are noted where appropriate. Please credit the source if quoted. |
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The Sustainability Highlights eNewsletter is prepared by Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. based on continuous monitoring of trends and developments in Sustainability and ESG. 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. For G&A’s full range of services, click on each of the links below: For more information, contact Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. |
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82% of the S&P 500(r) Published a Sustainability Report in 2016 – Analysis Just Released on the Index Universe of Leading Companies
June 8, 2017
GRI G4 Reporting
