PRESS RELEASE -
Visa today released its 2017 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report, the company’s summary of progress in its ongoing commitment to corporate responsibility, sustainability and ethical leadership. The report addresses the commitments and progress Visa has made across its most significant environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
More than 90 institutional investors, representing more than $6.7T in assets, have voiced their concerns over the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s relevance and effectiveness, and the current disconnect between its criteria and corporate policy commitments.
PRESS RELEASE -
SAP, Lyft, Danone and others confirmed to speak at New Metrics 2018 Conference
SAN FRANCISCO, August 9, 2018 – Sustainable Brands® recently unveiled full program details for New Metrics 2018: The ROI of Sustainable Business, running October 29-31 in Philadelphia, PA.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
For many, the sustainable choice is the alternative choice: alternative lightbulbs, alternative cars, alternative shopping bags, alternative business models. But there’s no longer a need for the sustainability community to present itself this way — especially in relation to business.
Every day, businesses face new and emerging risks related to environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related issues. In a world more connected than ever, these risks can be felt more directly and more immediately than they used to be.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Sustainable Brands recently talked to Wim Bartels, Program Lead at the Corporate Reporting Dialogue (CRD) about key issues and initiatives around the further development of corporate reporting.
LEADERSHIP -
Innovation in the capital goods sector is driving a low-carbon industrial revolution, according to a new report from CDP. Released today, Bridging low-carbon technologies finds that demand for transformative technologies such as electrification, digitization and automation are growing significantly.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Everyone’s heard of financial performance, asset performance and sustainability performance. Now comes purpose performance, a new measure of organizational performance that assesses impacts relative to the voluntary commitments organizations make to provide public benefits, contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or to generally pursue beneficial purposes of one kind or another. Let’s call performance accounting for purpose, "Purpose Accounting."
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
On Wednesday, 16 banks, the UN Environment Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and climate risk advisory firm Acclimatise published new methodologies that will help banks understand how the physical risks and opportunities of a changing climate might affect their loan portfolios. The methodologies are designed to enable banks to be more transparent about their exposure to climate-related risks and opportunities, in line with the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board's (FSB) Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Circulate Capital, a new impact-focused investment management company, launched today in partnership with Closed Loop Partners, a firm that invests in companies, technology and recycling infrastructure to advance the circular economy; and Ocean Conservancy, a leading nonprofit environmental advocacy organization working to protect the world’s oceans.
PRESS RELEASE -
Over the past year, Target’s been building our new corporate responsibility strategy and rethinking the role those efforts play throughout our business. Our focus is on putting the needs of people, communities and the planet at the heart of how we work today, to help create a better tomorrow.
“This work is a journey—and while we have a long way to go, I’m proud of our progress,” said Brian Cornell, chairman and CEO, Target. “Every action we take that strengthens the health and vitality of the communities where we live and work is a step forward in building a better, brighter future for Target, the people we serve and the planet we all share.”
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
S&P Dow Jones Indices, the world’s leading index provider, today announced the launch of the S&P Carbon Price Risk Adjusted Index Series, which will measure the performance of companies in each respective underlying index with a weighting scheme based on estimated company market valuation at risk from predicted 2030 carbon prices.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
A new interactive data visualization tool allows the general to see how the largest U.S. companies stack up when comparing their environmental impact. The Environmental Explorer, which is freely available, lets users explore rankings of the 1,000 largest public U.S.
CLEANTECH -
A new global challenge aims to find and scale new technologies capable of reducing a ship’s gross carbon dioxide emissions by ten percent. Businesses and entrepreneurs with a product in need of commercial assessment, testing, investment and scaling are invited to apply to participate in the “CO2 Challenge,” launched by Cargill in partnership with DNV GL and Rainmaking.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
When Dick’s Sporting Goods bans the sale of assault rifles, or McDonald’s makes a commitment to get 100 percent of its packaging from renewable, recycled or certified sources by 2025, how does their position in the marketplace change?
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Highlighting the importance of transparency in investing, impact investing platform Swell Investing has invited the public to vote on the final security in the Impact 400, a portfolio with the goal of offering investors 400 companies poised for impact and returns. Both Apple and Starbucks meet Swell's selective rules-based criteria, and the community will decide which will be included.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
For some, blockchain is the disruptive technology that promises to solve transparency problems by creating one version of the truth; for others, it is all hype with no great real-world application other than cryptocurrency. I attended an SB’18 Vancouver workshop on “How Blockchain Technology Can Power Superior Supply Chain Innovation and Understanding” to move closer to understanding blockchain and its applications.
PRESS RELEASE -
A self-proclaimed “complexity junkie,” Monique Oxender, Keurig Green Mountain’s Chief Sustainability Officer, doesn’t bat an eye at tackling big, complicated issues. From the future of coffee to the recyclability of Keurig’s pods, Oxender and her team have provided innovative solutions to complex issues across the value chain — all while embodying Keurig’s signature focus on collaboration.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
TD Bank Group recently launched its corporate citizenship strategy to center on a new multi-year program, The Ready Commitment. Guided by the bank’s purpose, focus on creating shared value and desire to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), TD is targeting CDN $1 billion (US $775 million) toward community giving by 2030 in The Ready Commitment’s four focus areas:
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Projects that reduce emissions, generate clean energy or aid sustainable development could benefit from more financial support this year thanks to recent announcements from financial firms in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. From Bank of America (BofA) issuing its fourth and largest green bond to date, to Lloyds Banking Group’s new £2 billion scheme to offer discounted financing and a partnership that will see more emissions reduction credits listed on CBL Markets (CBL)’s global exchange, it’s been a good month for green investments.
PRESS RELEASE -
Bank of America Corporation announced today the issuance of its fourth and largest green bond for $2.25 billion in aggregate principal amount, furthering the company’s commitment to deploying capital to advance sustainable projects. The bond’s proceeds will support increasing renewable energy generation.
With this offering, Bank of America becomes the first U.S. financial institution to issue four corporate green bonds, raising a total of $4.35 billion for renewable energy projects since 2013. The company has also been the leading underwriter of green bonds globally since 2007, underscoring its continued leadership in addressing climate change by financing the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy.