PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Frustrated by the amount of disposable packaging discarded at events and the amount of time it takes for disposable cups (including biobased plastics) to degrade, Chelsea Briganti and Leigh Ann Tucker created a “biodegredible” – biodegradable and edible – cup. Last week, the women pitched their startup, Loliware, on the ABC show “Shark Tank” and secured a $600,000 deal for 25 percent of their company.
NEW METRICS -
Think talking about investment is always boring? Think again: This had to have been the most highly charged workshop at New Metrics ’15.
NEW METRICS -
The divestment/investment movement calls on institutional, family, and individual investors to hold themselves accountable for the impacts of financial investments. By moving their money, individuals and institutions can revoke the license of fossil-fuel firms to operate, and doing so accelerates the transition of our global economy away from coal, oil, and gas to sun, wind, and water.
NEW METRICS -
“No country can get ahead if it leaves what amounts to half the population behind.”
This quote from the McKinsey report, Economic Benefit of Gender Equality, provided a soft opening to a session focused on the data and facts pointing to the benefits of gender diversity in business.
NEW METRICS -
The main-stage program of New Metrics ’15 kicked off Wednesday with a simple, yet powerful reminder: This set of conversations is all about upside potential, smarter risk management and long-term resilience. Our focus this week — New Metrics — are metrics that allow business leaders to quantify previously ignored ESG impacts, or capture entirely new forms of business value based on new opportunities along those dimensions.
CLEANTECH -
Ninety-one percent of companies in the S&P Global 100 Index see extreme weather and climate change impacts as current or future risks to their business, but many struggle to translate long-term, global climate data into short-term and local risks, according to a new report by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES).Despite growing access to climate-related data and tools, companies say they need “actionable science” that helps them to understand locally-specific risks or risk scenarios.
LEADERSHIP -
Climate risks currently aren’t top-of-mind for most mainstream investors, but the potential value at risk for investment portfolios is significant, according to a new report by Preventable Surprises, a business risk think tank.
WASTE NOT -
Today, the Closed Loop Fund, an impact investment fund that makes below-market loans to recycling companies and municipalities for recycling infrastructure, announced its first three investments to bolster said infrastructure and reduce the over $5 billion dollars spent by cities annually on landfills.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
On Tuesday, Divest-Invest proudly announced that “Fossil fuel divestment pledges surpass $2.6 trillion.” However, as Tim McDonnell reported on Mother Jones, that “flashy number” might be a little misleading.
PRESS RELEASE -
Novozymes ranks among the top in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. But why does the ranking matter to investors and what do we learn from it? We asked two investment specialists from RobecoSAM to explain.
For more than ten years, Novozymes has been recognized as one of the most sustainable companies in the world by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), which evaluates and ranks leading companies based on their sustainability performance. Once again, on Sep. 10, the DJSI announced that Novozymes scored 90 points out of 100 in the highly competitive Chemical Industry sector of the Index, placing the company among the top 3 percentile of sustainability leaders in their sector.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
The need for reputable corporate leadership has never been more acute. We are grappling with large-scale global challenges - climate change, social dislocation, economic inequality, financial uncertainty - that require a new type of leadership from global entities.
CLEANTECH -
Investors are becoming warier of the valuation risk in their portfolios as a result of climate change. This week, there are three new indices and a new free web tool to help them navigate their way to fossil fuel-free investments.
NEW METRICS -
After meeting its initial goal a year ahead of schedule, Carnival Corporation has renewed its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from its 2005 baseline by 2020, according to a recent announcement of the travel and leisure company’s 2020 sustainability goals.As part of the effort, the company and its 10 global brands have developed strategic energy reduction and conservation initiatives, many of which exceed current laws and regulations.
LEADERSHIP -
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: S&P Dow Jones Indices, one of the world’s leading providers of financial market indices, and RobecoSAM, the investment specialist focused exclusively on Sustainability Investing, today announced the results of the annual Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (“DJSI”) review.The components list for the DJSI will be published on the Sustainability Indices website on Monday, September 14, 2015. All changes are effective on Monday, September 21, 2015.
NEW METRICS -
Investing in public and low emission transport, building efficiency, and waste management in cities could generate savings with a current value of $17 trillion by 2050, according to new research from the New Climate Economy, the flagship project of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate.The report, Accelerating Low-Carbon Development in the World’s Cities, found that these low-carbon investments could also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3.7 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (Gt CO2e) per year by 2030, more than the current annual emissions of India.
NEW METRICS -
Those of us in the field may share a deep-seated belief that sustainability efforts across the product value chain pay clear dividends — but it’s nice to have proof.
NEW METRICS -
Taking action to mitigate climate change by investing in a low-carbon energy mix will save more money in the long run than inaction, even before accounting for savings from avoided climate damage costs, according to a new report by Citi Global Perspectives & Solutions (GPS), a division within Citibank.
NEW METRICS -
Way back in 1962, Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman famously proclaimed, “… there is one and only one social responsibility of business — to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits …” And while most of us in the CSR and sustainability worlds have tended to recoil in horror at those words, some of us have no less earnestly longed for a way to live up to them. Isn’t it possible, we’ve asked, for sustainability to be good for society, the environment and shareholder value, all at the same time? What better way to achieve sustainability in commerce, that is, than to disarm its most formidable foe - the presumed lack of a business case?
CLEANTECH -
President Obama made several announcements on Monday at the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas, mainly related to executive actions under the Clean Power Plan. New financial commitments include $1 billion in loan guarantees for “innovative” energy projects, $220 million in energy-saving activities for veterans and low-income households, and $24 million for 11 solar panel technology development projects.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Amid growing concerns over escalating water scarcity and pollution risks, more than 60 leading North American and European institutional investors, collectively managing $2.6 trillion in assets, sent joint letters to 15 food and beverage companies last week calling for increased water risk management and disclosure practices.