Weekly Highlights December 10, 2014

Recent Research Conducted by the Governance & Accountability Institute Attempts to Answer Important Questions for Company Management

In the months of October, November and December each week we will be releasing the top 10 GRI sustainability aspects from three different sectors. The results are based on G&A’s “Sustainability – What Matters?” analysis of 1,246 sustainability reports, across 35 sectors, for their level of disclosure around 84 GRI Performance Indicators, and 37 GRI Aspects.

The next three Top 10 GRI Sustainability Aspects released are for the Media, Real Estate Logistics and Retailers sectors. We list them here for your ease of access.

Top 10 GRI Sustainability Aspects for the Media Sector
Sustainability – What Matters in the Media Sector? 

Top 10 GRI Sustainability Aspects for the Real Estate Sector
Sustainability – What Matters in the Real Estate Sector?

Top 10 GRI Sustainability Aspects for the Retailers Sector
Sustainability – What Matters in the Retailers Sector? 

Philanthropy Over Policy Equals Plutocracy

Corporate Human Rights Performance — Benchmarking and Ranking of Global Companies

The Holy Land Principles for US Companies — Campaign for Fair Employment in Israel and Palestine

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Governance & Accountability Institute Research Reports

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Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility Reporting

G&A Institute is the Global Reporting
Initiative’s (GRI) sole data partner for the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. As the data partner we monitor, analyze and database information on all Sustainability reports issued in these territories. For a list of recently issued Sustainability reports please follow the links below:

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Governance & Accountability Institute Service Highlight

Many Reasons to Contact
Governance & Accountability Institute. Is this one yours?
G&A’s Sustainability Coaching, Team Building & Training
Getting everyone up-to-speed on ESG and Sustainability; understanding the complexity of ESG issues and frameworks; assembling the Corporate Sustainability team and preparing them for strategy-setting and program implementation.  Learn more About G&A’s Sustainability Coaching, Team Building & Training

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Corporate ESG Performance Factors & SustainabilityHQ

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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Navigating the way to sustainability…
Contents © 2009 – 2014 | All Rights Reserved
Copyrights for other providers are noted where appropriate. Please credit the source if quoted.
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How Sustainability Is Inextricably Linked To The Bottom Line
(Tuesday – December 02, 2014)
Source: PSFK – In recent memory, the origins of a company’s products were a murky subject for consumers. Function was king, with a product’s supply chain a mere secondary consideration for consumers, if it was present at all. But this has been…

So, How Do We Make Sustainability… Sustainable?
(Tuesday – December 02, 2014)
Source: Forbes – Last week the New York Times reported that, for the first time in history, clean energy resources like solar and wind are becoming cost competitive with conventional coal in some markets. This paradigm shift, where clean energy…

Sustainability in Focus

Was It Too Soon to Be Sustainable?
(Friday – December 05, 2014)
Source: New York Times – They were environmental and community advocates, so they wanted it to be as sustainable as possible — ideally net-zero, producing as much energy as it used. And because they would be living on a modest fixed income, they needed…

Sustainability: How CPAs Can Benefit
(Thursday – December 04, 2014)
Source: Accounting Today – Sustainability, eco-friendly business models, and the continuing integration of environmental matters into business operations is a hot topic of conversation and debate in business media. One high-profile example of…

Australian companies fail to identify sustainability risks and opportunities
(Thursday – December 04, 2014)
Source: The Guardian – In an interview earlier this year with a corporate sustainability director of a leading Australian corporation, I had hoped to discuss the value of sustainability reporting. What was said I’ve heard on several occasions, but it…

Companies need good change managers, not sustainability experts
(Thursday – December 04, 2014)
Source: Devex Impact – The chief sustainability officer at cosmetics giant L’Oréal, one of France’s largest companies, wants the firm to integrate sustainability into its global business strategy — and along its entire value chain.

Mayor to name city’s (NYC) first sustainability director
(Thursday – December 04, 2014)
Source: Crains New York – Mayor Bill de Blasio is poised to take another step toward achieving his lofty goal of making the nation’s largest city its greenest one. Mr. de Blasio on Wednesday will create a new agency, the Office of Sustainability, and name…

Business leaders must prioritise sustainability to gain society’s trust
(Wednesday – December 03, 2014)
Source: The Guardian – It’s disturbing how little trust society has in business leaders. According to the 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer, just one in five of us trust business leaders to solve social or societal issues, tell us the truth, or make ethical…

Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility
(Wednesday – December 03, 2014)
Source: Advance Web – Most public companies dedicate some resources to good corporate citizenship. They choose to spend these resources – time, money or both — on endeavors aligned with the company’s mission and goals in win-win situations. It’s all…

The Benefits of Sustainable Manufacturing
(Tuesday – December 02, 2014)
Source: Huff Post – If there is one salient feature of U.S. manufacturing today even more dramatic and promising than the growing re-shoring trend, it is surely the shift to sustainable manufacturing which is transforming the manufacturing landscape…

New coalition launched to push sustainability in Asean
(Monday – December 01, 2014)
Source: Eco-Business.com – Six partner organizations of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development have launched ‘Action 2020 in Southeast Asia’ which sets out a timeline and steps businesses can take to address sustainability in wide-ranging…

ESG Issues & Players

Special Report – Researching ESG Risks and Green Bonds
(Friday – December 05, 2014)
Source: CSRWire Talkback – When Calvert looks at an entire credit universe, they place the companies across a wide spectrum. On one end are companies who exhibit improving fundamentals and ESG characteristics that represent the largest EBITDA-generating…

Poll: 83% of Americans say climate is changing
(Thursday – December 04, 2014)
Source: USA Today – Eight out of 10 Americans now believe the climate is changing, according to a new survey conducted for Munich Re America, the world’s largest reinsurance firm.

4 Ways You Can Give (And Get) Through Socially Responsible Investing
(Thursday – December 04, 2014)
Source: Forbes – At its core, it’s when you weigh both social impact and financial return while choosing investments for your portfolio—and it’s become an increasingly popular way for people to invest in causes they believe in…

Which Countries Are The Most Corrupt?
(Wednesday – December 03, 2014)
Source: NPR – Four Scandinavian nations and New Zealand are the world’s least corrupt countries while North Korea and Somalia are the most corrupt, according to the Corruption Perception Index released today by Transparency International.

UN climate talks begin as global temperatures break records
(Monday – December 01, 2014)
Source: BBC News – UN climate negotiators are meeting in Peru to try to advance talks on a new global agreement. One hundred and ninety-five nations have committed to finalizing a new climate pact in Paris by 2015’s end. The process has been…

Asset Managers, US Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds

Opinion: Sorry, but America is still No. 1
(Friday – December 05, 2014)
Source: MarketWatch – — Headlines around the world trumpeted a watershed moment for the global economy. As the Financial Times put it, “China poised to pass U.S. as world’s leading economic power this year.” This is a startling development…

New York pension fund enters $2 billion investment venture with Goldman Sachs
(Wednesday – December 03, 2014) Associated Profiles : South Carolina Retirement Systems
Source:  Economic Times – In 2008, South Carolina Retirement Systems entered a $1.5 billion partnership with the bank’s investment management unit and in 2010, the Alaska Permanent Fund awarded it over $500 million. AIMS,..

Norway Wealth Fund Targets $3 Billion in Green Technology Stakes
(Tuesday – December 02, 2014)
Source: Bloomberg – Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, will invest almost $3 billion into green technology stocks next year, Chief Executive Officer Yngve Slyngstad signaled…

Watching the Watchers

Headquarters: Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Established:  1962

OVERVIEW / MISSION
EFFAS describes its communication platform, by writing that the organization “provides a pan-European platform for the individual member societies aimed at promoting communication and building a network for investment professionals across Europe. The Federation represents the interests of the profession in Europe and is an authoritative counterpart for politicians and EU representatives/ legislative bodies in the fields of professional ethics as well as standards and qualification in investment research, asset and portfolio management, investment advice, etc. EFFAS is a strong partner in the achievement of an integrated European financial market.”

BACKGROUND
The European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies was established in 1962 and has grown into a professional membership association that encompasses 24 organizations that represent over 14,000 “investment professionals.”

STRUCTURE
EFFAS’s structure includes two executive bodies: the general meeting of members and the executive management committee. The executive management committee (EMC) handles the organization’s everyday management, and the chairman is a member of the EMC. The organization also supports a series of commissions, such as the Commission on Intellectual Capital and the Commission on Environmental, Social and Governance Issues. (See below for a full list.) EFFAS is a founding member of the Association of Certified International Investment Analysts.

News Sweeps
Brent Sinks to Four-Year Low as S&P 500 Slips From Record
(Wednesday – December 03, 2014) Associated Profiles : European Federation of Financial Analyst Societies
Bloomberg – It’s the best return among 144 bond indexes around the world tracked by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen…

Treasuries fall as production drop seen leaving Fed undeterred
(Monday – December 01, 2014) Associated Profiles : European Federation of Financial Analyst Societies
Chicago Tribune – NEW YORK â Treasuries fell for the first time in three days as a report showing U.S. industrial production unexpectedly declined last month failed to derail investor expectations for higher interest rates…

Treasuries show inflation outlook at 3-year low as oil declines
(Friday – November 21, 2014) Associated Profiles : European Federation of Financial Analyst Societies
Reading Eagle – 30. U.S. government securities due in a decade and more have returned 19 percent this year, the best performance in dollar terms among 144 bond indexes tracked by Bloomberg and the European Federation of…

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:
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