New Metrics

The new and evolving metrics that are helping expand the way businesses create, quantify, manage and report their impacts – and the value they deliver

Article
New Metrics
How Superficial Interpretations of Sustainable Business Metrics Can Be Totally Off-Base: Part 13
How Superficial Interpretations of Sustainable Business Metrics Can Be Totally Off-Base: Part 13
Published on April 13, 2015
About a 7 minute read

In 12 earlier parts of this series, Claire Sommer and I developed 22 pitfalls in the sustainable business metrics field, based on the experiences of many mostly non-business fields. (Find them here.) ... View More

Article
New Metrics
H&M's 2014 Sustainability Report Shows Progress With Garment Collection Program
H&M's 2014 Sustainability Report Shows Progress With Garment Collection Program
Published on April 10, 2015
About a 2 minute read

H&M more than doubled the amount of collected garments with its garment collective initiative in 2014, according to its new sustainability report. In total, more than 13,000 tons of textiles have been collected — as much fabric as in 65 million... View More

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New Metrics
General Mills Makes ‘Significant Progress’ Toward Sustainable Palm Oil Goals
General Mills Makes ‘Significant Progress’ Toward Sustainable Palm Oil Goals
Published on April 8, 2015
About a 3 minute read

General Mills made “significant progress” in 2014 toward its commitment to sustainably source 100 percent of its 10 priority ingredients by 2020, according to the company’s annual Global Responsibility Report.It is furthest along towards the go... View More

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New Metrics
GISR Launches Platform to Help Cure Sustainability ‘Survey Fatigue’
GISR Launches Platform to Help Cure Sustainability ‘Survey Fatigue’
Published on April 6, 2015
About a 2 minute read

The Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings (GISR) has announced the launch of its Center for Ratings Excellence (CORE) Program — designed to accelerate the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into the global fina... View More

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New Metrics
Context, Business Risk & Stampeding Black Elephants
Context, Business Risk & Stampeding Black Elephants
Published on April 3, 2015
About a 6 minute read

Would you invest in a business that gave you only one figure — number of customers — by which to assess both its current state and future prospects? Of course, not; you would inquire about total sales, costs, revenues, margins, market share, and ... View More

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New Metrics
Volvo Bests Carbon Reduction Goal by 10M Tons
Volvo Bests Carbon Reduction Goal by 10M Tons
Published on March 30, 2015
About a 1 minute read

Volvo last year reduced the total lifetime carbon dioxide emissions of its products by 40 million tons against a 2008 baseline, besting its goal by 10 million tons, according to the company’s 2014 sustainability report.The automaker also surpassed ... View More

Article
New Metrics
Advanced Data Visualisation Reveals How Companies View Climate Risk
Advanced Data Visualisation Reveals How Companies View Climate Risk
Published on March 27, 2015
About a 7 minute read

Much of the valuable information that companies communicate to their shareholders about their ESG performance and the social and environmental risks facing the business lie not in the tagged financials nor even in the structured tables and graphs emb... View More

Article
New Metrics
Avaya Exceeds CO2 Reduction Goal 2 Years Early
Avaya Exceeds CO2 Reduction Goal 2 Years Early
Published on March 27, 2015
About a 2 minute read

Avaya, provider of customer and employee engagement communications technologies, has exceeded its carbon reduction goal two years early by adopting desktop and mobile videoconferencing systems, according to the company’s 2014 Corporate Social Respo... View More

Article
New Metrics
Seventh Generation and 3,000 Business Partners Call on Congress to Reform Chemical Safety Laws
Seventh Generation and 3,000 Business Partners Call on Congress to Reform Chemical Safety Laws
Published on March 24, 2015
About a 4 minute read

Seventh Generation, the nation's leading brand of non-toxic and renewable bio-based household, baby and personal care solutions, called on Congress last week to strengthen the country's outdated chemical policy. ... View More

Article
New MetricsOrganizational Governance
SAP: Increased Employee Engagement Helping Bottom Line
SAP: Increased Employee Engagement Helping Bottom Line
Published on March 23, 2015
About a 2 minute read

German software company SAP’s operating profit improves EUR35 million ($38 million) to EUR45 million ($49 million) when its employee engagement index rises one percentage point, according to the company’s 2014 integrated report.The financial impa... View More

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New Metrics
GRI Unveils ‘Fast Track’ For Sustainability Reports
GRI Unveils ‘Fast Track’ For Sustainability Reports
Published on March 9, 2015
About a 2 minute read

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is introducing a new feature called ‘fast track’, which will give reporting organizations the option to accelerate the review of their draft reports.GRI is fast approaching the busiest time of year, with repo... View More

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New Metrics
What Makes a Board Fit for the Future?
What Makes a Board Fit for the Future?
Published on March 9, 2015
About a 4 minute read

Any regular follower of SB knows that most companies must transform their business models if they are to start helping - rather than hindering - society's transition to a sustainable future; and this year will only see expectations grow, with the lau... View More

Slides
New Metrics
22 Research Studies Proving the ROI of Sustainability
22 Research Studies Proving the ROI of Sustainability
Published on March 4, 2015

This compilation of 22 research studies collectively demonstrates the positive ROI of sustainability from a variety of angles, including company revenue, stock performance, product-level profitability, brand reputation, employee and consumer engageme... View More

Article
New Metrics
Multicapitalism and the Two Faces of Integrated Reporting
Multicapitalism and the Two Faces of Integrated Reporting
Published on February 27, 2015
About a 8 minute read

If ever there was an auspicious moment in performance measurement and reporting, this is surely it. Multicapitalism has arrived! Listen to how author Jane Gleeson-White puts it in her terrific new book, Six Capitals, or Can Accountants Save the Pla... View More

Article
New Metrics
Putting the Cart Before the Horse? Five Anecdotes About Sustainable Business Metrics
Putting the Cart Before the Horse? Five Anecdotes About Sustainable Business Metrics
Published on February 13, 2015
About a 6 minute read

In 11 earlier parts of this series, Claire Sommer and I developed 22 pitfalls in the field of sustainable business metrics, based on the experiences of many mostly non-business fields. (Find them here.)What to make of five anecdotes from the author�... View More

Article
New Metrics
The Leaders and Laggards of Sustainability Goals
The Leaders and Laggards of Sustainability Goals
Published on February 13, 2015
About a 4 minute read

Imagine that you arrive to take your first flying lesson. The instructing pilot asks, “How much fuel do you guess we should put in the tank?” You think: “Guess? Come again? Shouldn’t we calculate the distance between where we are and where we... View More

Article
New Metrics
Industry Partners Publish First Sustainability Standard for Household Cooking Appliances
Industry Partners Publish First Sustainability Standard for Household Cooking Appliances
Published on February 12, 2015
About a 2 minute read

Whirlpool has announced that nine of its cooking appliances are among the industry’s first certified under the Association for Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) Sustainability Standard for Cooking Products — the first voluntary sustainability s... View More

Article
New Metrics
Industry Leaders Weigh In on Methodology for Measuring Products' Social Impacts
Industry Leaders Weigh In on Methodology for Measuring Products' Social Impacts
Published on February 4, 2015
About a 6 minute read

In September, a Roundtable of companies comprised of Ahold, AkzoNobel, BASF, BMW Group, Goodyear, L’Oréal, Marks & Spencer, Philips, RB, Steelcase, DSM and PRé Sustainability published a handbook on how to conduct a Product Social Impact Asse... View More

Article
New Metrics
All Capitals Are Unequal, But Some Are More Unequal Than Others
All Capitals Are Unequal, But Some Are More Unequal Than Others
Published on January 16, 2015
About a 12 minute read

“Price is what you pay, value is what you get”Warren BuffettMoving beyond one-dimensional capitalism“All capitals are unequal, but some are more unequal than others.”This was a thought that popped into my mind after a number of real-life and ... View More

Article
New Metrics
Backcasting: A Roadmap to Transformational Change
Backcasting: A Roadmap to Transformational Change
Published on January 16, 2015
About a 6 minute read

As we have entered a new year, I’d like to take a closer look at the concept of backcasting for coming up with strategies that marry ‘transformational change’ (as sustainability practitioners like to call those meaningful sustainability outcome... View More

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