| Keen Observations: Opportunity / Competitive Advantage Through Efforts for Greater Sustainability Disclosure
One of the most influential voices in sustainable investing and corporate sustainability is Jean Rogers, founder and CEO of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). This is a non-profit effort by some of the thought leaders in the field who have joined forces to bring rigor, transparency, order, discipline, comparability, and common sense to corporate sustainability reporting. The metrics used by both capital market players and corporate managers are in focus and SASB’s work is aimed at making corporate disclosure more meaningful sector-by-sector, industry-by-industry. You can find out more at: www.sasb.org
Jean Rogers offers advice in our Top Story as published in Entrepreneur --- "things are different today for the entrepreneur looking to build his/her business today." "Focusing on sustainability matters!" says Dr. Rogers. Entrepreneurs launch businesses in a changed environment – dealing with climate change, rapid population growth and resource scarcity. Large enterprises are adapting to these challenges; savvy entrepreneurs are finding opportunity.
B Corporations are an example – there are now more than 1,000 of these critters, including Patagonia, Etsy and Seventh Generation – all successful companies considered to be sustainability leaders. These companies and their peers are creating a new code of conduct for Corporate America. How? We invite you to read our Top Story below.
Top Story of the Week
How Sustainability Disclosure Creates Competitive Advantage
(Thursday - February 19, 2015)
Source: Entrepreneur - Every entrepreneur dreams of an IPO and the day the world recognizes the company’s worth. But do markets have the information needed to assess a company’s true value?
Sustainability in Focus
Sustainability: From the Back Room to the Board Room
(Friday - February 20, 2015)
Source: Knowledgeinsead.edu - While environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are becoming mainstream for corporations and the wider public, much more has still to be achieved. It is fairly well accepted that promoting sustainable practices can affect...
Big sustainability could mean big business
(Friday - February 20, 2015)
Source: The Guardian - Experts say that the developed countries needs to reduce carbon by 3% per year. Fortune 500 President Bill Shireman believes that’s a big opportunity for companies and the economy.
Citigroup Launches $100 Billion Sustainability Drive
(Friday - February 20, 2015)
Source: Triple Pundit - America’s largest banking groups are increasingly incorporating environmental and social considerations into lending and investment practices. They are also bringing sustainability in-house, launching initiatives to make greater...
How sustainability plans build love for brands
(Thursday - February 19, 2015) Associated Profiles : UN - Global Compact
Source: Business Daily Africa - Bob Collymore, chief executive of Safaricom and board member of UN Global Compact, stresses the need for sustainability to become a standard practice in the business...
Clear Link Between Sustainability, Tenant Satisfaction
(Wednesday - February 18, 2015)
Source: GlobeSt.com—There are a number of studies showing the link between sustainability in buildings, both their construction and operations, and the performance of said buildings. Little research has been done, however, to...
Income Inequality Is a Sustainability Issue
(Wednesday - February 18, 2015)
Source: Huff Post - In January, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini announced to employees that the company was raising its minimum wage from $12 to $16 per hour, and announced an improved health benefit for lower-income employees.
Enhancing sustainability in smaller ports
(Tuesday - February 17, 2015)
Source: PHYS.org - Researchers have created an 11-point checklist which they believe could become the vital tool which enables the UK's smaller ports to ensure they are working sustainably...
Educating Sustainability Professionals: Learning By Doing
(Tuesday - February 17, 2015)
Source: Huff Post - For many years, law schools, medical schools, social work schools and public policy schools have performed pro bono services as an integral part of their teaching and learning processes. As Columbia University's Earth Institute...
Harnessing Disruption for Sustainability
(Monday - February 16, 2015)
Source: Jewish Business News - After decades of reluctance on the part of world leaders, a rapid, smooth, and purposeful transition toward sustainable development seems unlikely. Indeed, throughout human history, such major changes have more often been forced...
ESG Issues & Players
8 Expert Tips To Having A Healthy Company Environment
(Thursday - February 19, 2015)
Source: Forbes - Arguably one of the most important elements in motivating and engaging employees is by having a healthy company environment. But, how exactly can you make an environment where team members are productive, happy, encouraged and...
Oil falls sharply as U.S. crude inventories rise
(Thursday - February 19, 2015)
Source: Reuters - Oil prices tumbled on Thursday after another big weekly build in U.S. crude inventories and a possible rise in Saudi output stoked worries about oversupply. U.S. crude stocks rose by 14.3 million barrels last week, data from...
New York City Could See Up To Six Feet Of Sea Level Rise This Century: Report
(Wednesday - February 18, 2015)
Source: Huff Post - Climate change is already impacting New York City with rising temperatures and sea levels, which will only worsen as the century continues, according to a report released Tuesday from a panel of scientific experts...
ESG makes infrastructure more defensive
(Wednesday - February 18, 2015)
Source: Investor Daily - ESG issues impact on infrastructure stock performance and should be fully integrated into an investment process, writes CFSGAM's Peter Meany. Infrastructure can offer investors inflation-protected income and...
Asset Managers, US Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds
New public pension accounting rules raise red flags -Fitch
(Tuesday - February 17, 2015)
Source: Reuters - New accounting rules for public pensions are exposing the damage done by U.S. states, including New Jersey, that have failed to adequately fund their retirement systems, according to a report to be released by Fitch Ratings on...
N.Y. Common Retirement Fund returns 1.91% for quarter
(Tuesday - February 17, 2015) Associated Profiles : New York State Common Retirement Fund
Source: Pensions & Investments - The New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, recorded a 1.91% return on investment for the quarter ended Dec. 31, Comptroller Thomas DiNapol announced Thursday in a news release...
Federal Reserve cautious of raising interest rates against backdrop of economic growth
(Thursday - February 19, 2015)
Source: City AM - The Federal Reserve’s policy committee reaffirmed its cautious approach to raising interest rates after voting in unison against the measure in January. Minutes from the January meeting reveal that the majority of the committee...
New Zealand government fund to sue Portuguese central bank over lost loan
(Thursday - February 19, 2015) Associated Profiles : New Zealand Superannuation Fund
Source: China - The New Zealand Superannuation Fund confirmed it was one of a number of investors taking legal action against the Bank of Portugal in relation to a complex loan arrangement through Goldman Sachs-organized...
Watching the Watchers
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Established: 1982
OVERVIEW / MISSION
The Pesticide Action Network North America (PAN) writes that its work focuses on replacing traditional pesticide use with “ecologically sound and socially just alternatives.” Based in the USA, PAN 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."
BACKGROUND
PAN is one of five independent regional centers of PAN International, a worldwide network of more than 600 organizations in 90 countries. Established in 1982, PAN comments that it “has fought for environmental justice, sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty.” PAN's four other networks are located in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia and the Pacific.
Today’s Operations -- description from the PAN Summer 2008 Magazine:
“A remarkable consensus is growing that diverse, stable and incredibly productive landscapes are essential to ensuring the survival of our planet. A mounting global food crisis and the instability that climate change poses to life on earth have galvanized support for farming alternatives that offer the resilience necessary to sustain both people and ecosystems. This year, we stand atop a watershed of planetary dimensions. Industrial, chemically dependent farming has sown a 'perfect storm' of hunger, social and environmental calamity. Oligopoly control of food, farming and marketing by a handful of global companies subverts our freedoms, undermines our farmers and robs us of the ability to protect our health and environment.”
With that statement as their lead philosophy, PAN usually takes an aggressive stand against the excessive use of chemicals and pesticides, publicizing “dangers” and organizing actions through news releases, newsletters, magazines, and partnering with other advocates who possess similar “green” positions.
NEWS SWEEPS
Enlist Duo: Chemical Herbicide Violates Endangered Species Act, EPA Lawsuit Claims
(Tuesday - February 10, 2015) Associated Profiles : Pesticide Action Network North America
- The Inquisitr - and Pesticide Action Network North America. "The Endangered Species Act mandates that all federal agencies determine if its actions 'may affect' any endangered species or...
S.A.F.E. joins lawsuit challenging pesticide spraying plan
(Thursday - January 29, 2015) Associated Profiles : Pesticide Action Network North America
- The Trinity Journal - The suit was brought by Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Working Group, California Environmental Health Initiative, MOMS Advocating Sustainability, Center for Food Safety, city of Berkeley,...
EPA Responds to Petition for Writ of Mandamus Relating to Chlorpyrifos
(Wednesday - January 28, 2015) Associated Profiles : Pesticide Action Network North America
- jdsupra.com - filed a Response to the Petition for a Writ of Mandamus that the Pesticide Action Network North America and the Natural Resources Defense Council, among others, filed in September 2014 in the US... |
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 G&A Institute Sustainability Update™
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The Governance & Accountability Instituteblog focusing on the sustainable world evolving daily before our eyes. Read it, absorb it, question it and challenge.G&A's Sustainability Update™
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Attention Boards & CEOs: The Conference Board Has Important Insights to Share To Help Your Company…Survive and Succeed!
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Corporate ESG Performance Factors are important to financial analysts, asset owners and managers, and many stakeholders. The ESG framework or approach considers environmental issues and impacts, the company’s positioning and actions on social/societal issues, and important aspects of corporate governance.
ESG key performance indicators are considered by investors as proxies for effective governance and management. Increasing numbers of of independent research and financial analysis firms monitor and measure these and advisie investors. The Sustainability HQ™ platform is an important profiling and monitoring resource for the G&A team, and for our clients and subscribers.
ESG market players and corporate reputation influencers are profiled and monitored by G&A Institute. In these Highlights we provide some results of our continuous global scanning for ESG, sustainability and corporate responsibility news. The Associated Profiles indicated are in our Sustainability HQ™ platforms. For more information, please email us at info@sustainabilityhq.com
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