As the world grows ever more connected, access to financial tools has expanded dramatically. Today, 79% of adults worldwide have a bank account, an increase from 51% in 2011. This is a remarkable gain.
Since Homewise founding in 1986, we’ve helped over 14,000 households become more financially educated, 3,600 become homeowners, 2,100 make energy-efficient home improvements and emergency repairs, 600 refinance to more affordable mortgages, and we have built over 600 high-quality affordable homes. These results are made possible through the support of our investors and donors, who serve as our partners in helping families build financial resilience and stability through successful homeownership.
Community impact investments focus on positive criteria for inclusion in a portfolio and can include a wide range of intentions such as affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, and small business development. These types of investments provide capital to help finance affordable homeownership, loans to start or improve small businesses, loans to rehabilitate affordable rental housing properties and healthcare facilities, and improvements to communities nationwide such as green technology, revitalization activities, rural community development, and more.
Large scale disasters, design thinking, and more will affect corporate social responsibility professionals in 2018. Warren Buffet has stated that natural disasters have a greater economic impact than terrorism. As an example, Puerto Rico’s economy is expected to shrink by 8% because of Hurricane Maria, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
2017 was a transformative year for the environment, with numerous national and regional policies introduced or implemented, such as Canada's federal cap-and-trade policy; a shift in the direction of U.S. climate-action policy with the federal government sharing its intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement; extreme weather events such as Hurricane Harvey and Irma, and wildfires in the west.
As the legislature gears up for the 2018 session, over 50 New Hampshire businesses united in calling for the Legislature to support economic growth and business development through advancing clean energy policies. Dartmouth Hitchcock, Hannaford Supermarkets, Hypertherm, Velcro Companies, Timberland and Worthen Industries are among the businesses that signed on to a series of “Clean Energy Principles.”
This year has been challenging for sustainability in many respects, but there have also been exciting developments in the sustainability reporting landscape. In part 2 of this short series, GRI looks back at efforts with the Sustainable Development Goals and developments with the investor community.
Survey responses from the 2017 Strategic Directions: Natural Gas Industry Report suggest that a root cause of inadequate preparedness for risks may be insufficient funding for physical and cybersecurity initiatives. In fact, results reveal that approximately 65 percent of respondents either don’t know how much money is being earmarked or are allocating less than $1 million annually to fund security programs.
Working together with policymakers, regulators and enterprises, GRI raises awareness and enhances reporting capacity on key sustainability issues in the Indo-Pacific region. GRI’s programs with the Australian government contribute to building a more inclusive economy that ultimately creates a higher quality of life.
Nearly all climate scientists and every government on earth (except for one) agree that society faces profound risks from human-induced climate change. Does your mutual fund company, investment manager, or 401(k) manager agree that the risks are serious and extend to companies in their portfolios?
For an overview of risks to businesses from climate change and what they should disclose, see reports and recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), Chaired by Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City. Examples of these risks already translating into impacts include the record-breaking string of Atlantic hurricanes and wildfires in North America.
The SCS Kingfisher certification mark is showing up on an increasing number of products around the world. It differentiates companies that are making...
Antea Group's health and safety consultants understand what it takes to help make a positive impact on safety culture. Read blogs, insights, and more...
