How organizations are addressing the 'G' in ESG – striking the balance of maximizing long-term growth and value while safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders
I’ve been having some great conversations recently on the theme of transformational leadership with some very amazing people, and these conversations have triggered a few thoughts I would like to share.I’d like to start by turning if I may to this metaphorical model of the four qualities of knowing — earth, water, air and fire.
Caesars Entertainment’s fifth annual Corporate Citizenship Report, "Serious Play," highlights the gaming resort chain’s progress in areas including Responsible Gaming, Employee Development, Environmental Stewardship and Community Investment Performance. The report details the company's societal and environmental impacts in 2013, highlights its corporate citizenship efforts in action, and elaborates on how Caesars is fulfilling its mission of inspiring grown-ups to play responsibly.
H&M, Unilever, Nestlé and several other leading companies and investors have committed to reporting climate change through the Climate Change Reporting Framework or other comparable frameworks as a matter of fiduciary duty, whether or not required by current regulation.This represents an unprecedented collective commitment and a practical step capable of enabling positive change in economic and financial market activity at scale.
My first big CSR/sustainability event was the 2010 Net Impact Conference - I had been invited there to speak on a panel on intrapreneurship, which gave me the opportunity to sit in on a number inspiring and insightful talks. One of the sessions I attended was an interview with BSR CEO Aron Cramer. As I recall, much of that hopeful, engaging discussion centered on transparency — a topic that’s close to my heart.
In the spirit of this week, which has seen global leaders convening in New York City for the UN Climate Summit and more than 400,000 citizens filling the City’s streets for the People’s Climate March, NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio has committed to reducing the City’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by a whopping 80 percent by 2050 from 2005 levels with plans to renovate its public and private buildings.
As part of ongoing efforts to lower its carbon footprint across all phases of its business, HP has announced a goal to reduce the emissions intensity of its product portfolio(1) by 40 percent by 2020 compared to 2010 levels.(2)With this announcement, HP becomes the only global IT company to have set carbon reduction goals for all three parts of its value chain — operations, supply chain and product portfolio.
Thousands of workers took to the streets of Phnom Penh, in Cambodia, last week to protest for a near-doubling of the minimum wage for retailer workers there to US$177 (£110) a month. It seems their calls for fairer pay have sparked a response from the fashion industry, as eight leading retailers have now pledged to pay more for clothes produced there, according to the Guardian.
Kellogg Company has joined the Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP), committing to expand its global sustainability efforts by working with businesses and policymakers to enact meaningful energy and climate policies.BICEP, a project of Ceres, was launched in 2008 with a core group of five companies, including Starbucks, Nike, and Timberland. It has since expanded to 32 leading companies, such as eBay, Symantec and Jones Lang LaSalle, which represent a broad spectrum of business sectors. BICEP members have been vocal proponents of renewable energy, sustainable transportation and stricter pollution controls on power plants.
All businesses value consumer and employee loyalty and the opportunity to shape the playing field in which they operate. Mission-driven businesses such as B Corps Seventh Generation and Ben & Jerry’s are finding that having an authentic purpose that resonates with their customers opens the door to exciting approaches to activism that engage their base in powerful ways. The union of company and employee passions not only boosts loyalty but also can lead to successful advocacy for shared causes. Conventional companies seeking to emulate their successes should follow three key steps:1. Build a mission that is relevant for your consumers
The University of California has announced it will allocate $1 billion over five years for direct investments in solutions to climate change.In addition, as part of UC President Janet Napolitano’s goal of bringing university operations to carbon neutrality by 2025, the 10-campus university system has signed agreements to secure substantial solar energy for the next 25 years.
On Sept. 30, supply chain education will take a major step into the digital age with the start of SCx, an online educational program developed by the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) for thousands of professionals across the globe.The SCx curriculum is part of the MITx initiative, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s selection of massive open online courses (MOOCs). SCx is one of the first “XSeries” offerings that award certificates for successful completion of an entire sequence of courses.MIT says more than 9,000 individuals have already signed up for the first course of the three-course program — CTL.SC1x Supply Chain and Logistics Fundamentals.
Demonstrating a lead in corporate sustainability has become increasingly important to both businesses and their customers in recent years, as has receiving plaudits for their efforts. This week, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) released their 15th annual choices for the world’s leading companies, what many consider an important acknowledgment of their progress in this area.
On Thursday, the annual rankings of the 2014 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) will be publicly announced. Based on research by the Swiss-based investment group RobecoSAM, the Index assesses the sustainability performance of close to 90 publicly traded multinationals operating in the chemicals and coatings industries.Each company is ranked based on a detailed analysis of a range of criteria related to standard management practices and performance measures, with the top nine designated as finalists in the DJSI.
In 2013, governments and companies invested $9.6 billion in initiatives implementing nature-based solutions to sustain the world’s clean water supplies, according to a new report from Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace.
In conjunction with the release of its 2013-2014 Corporate Responsibility Report and hot on the heels of a new commitment to sustainable seafood, Hyatt Hotels has unveiled a set of the ever-popular 2020 environmental goals — the hotel chain says the goals are “designed to strengthen Hyatt’s collective ability to collaborate, inspire and further its commitment to environmental stewardship.”Hyatt says it is significantly expanding the scope of its existing sustainability initiatives and will continue to focus strongly on measuring and reporting progress.
How can we create a better future for everyone, together?On Sept. 9, leaders in government, business, academia and civil society will join me and other HP colleagues in an online forum to address this question at the first global HP Living Progress Exchange.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies collectively devoted more than $363 million to support community health initiatives in 2013, according to a new report by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.The sixth annual Investing in America’s Health report demonstrates the 37 BCBS companies’ efforts to promote healthier communities nationwide. One in three Americans rely on these companies for access to healthcare which, according to the report, puts them in a good position to create and maintain lasting partnerships with doctors, hospitals, schools and other organizations to help create stronger, healthier communities.
Microsoft has announced that it is ending its relationship with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative public-policy lobbying group. The decision was apparently made in response to ALEC's anti-renewables lobbying efforts, including measures to repeal renewable energy standards and block the disclosure of chemicals in fracking.
Today, EnerNOC, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based energy intelligence software (EIS), announced that it has made a strategic investment in Boston-based WeSpire, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that enables businesses to measure and track the positive business impacts of engaging employees in sustainability through technology. Under the terms of the agreement, EnerNOC has exclusive rights in the EIS space to market a white-labeled version of WeSpire’s employee-engagement application, customized for enterprise and utility customers. By offering the WeSpire application, EnerNOC further enhances its ability to help businesses take a holistic approach to energy management.
General Motors’ Global Headquarters, a multi-office tower complex that the automaker announced in December had achieved zero-waste status, now composts food scraps from its various Renaissance Center restaurant kitchens for use in urban farming initiatives throughout the city.Local composting startup Detroit Dirt collects coffee grounds and fruit and vegetable pieces and mixes them with herbivore manure, some of which ends up in a rooftop garden at the complex.