Focal Point USA holds first event at NYSE

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) January 28, 2011 - Sustainability leaders from Avon, NYSE Euronext and Bloomberg are among the speakers at the official launch of GRI’s Focal Point USA at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday January 31st,  2011.

‘Movers, shakers and report makers’ will gather at the New York Stock Exchange for a breakfast event and panel discussion to answer the question “Why is America letting the world lead in sustainability reporting?”

NYSE Euronext will webcast the event live, from 9-11am Eastern Time (3-4pm CET) at http://mfile.akamai.com/7096/live/reflector:55769.asx?prop=n.

The event will begin with talks by NYSE Euronext Head of Corporate Responsibility Michelle Greene and GRI Chief Executive Ernst Ligteringen. A panel discussion chaired by David Vidal, Director, The Conference Board Center for Corporate Citizenship & Sustainability, will follow. Panelists Mindy Lubber (President, Ceres), Curtis Ravenel (Director Sustainability Initiatives, Bloomberg), Susan Arnot Heaney (Director, Corporate Responsibility, Avon Products), Mari L. Snyder (Vice President, Social Responsibility & Community Engagement, Marriott) and Steve Leffin (Director Global Sustainability, UPS) will share their views on sustainability reporting in the US.

Focal Point USA Director Mike Wallace will close the event with a look to the future of reporting in the US, and how GRI hopes to engage with the American market to promote reporting and develop the GRI Guidelines.

“NYSE Euronext welcomes GRI to the NYSE for its first public meeting in the United States,” said NYSE Euronext Head of Corporate Responsibility Michelle Green.  “NYSE Euronext utilized GRI’s standards for reporting its sustainability performance in 2010, and we are thrilled to partner with GRI to bring together thought leaders to address the importance of sustainability reporting.”

“This is a dynamic time for the Global Reporting Initiative, with sustainability reporting becoming a vital part of the business strategies of an increasing number of companies, including in the US,” said Mike Wallace, Director of the Global Reporting Initiative’s Focal Point USA. “We’re very excited to be launching the new Focal Point USA at the NYSE and aim to engage more directly with financial and business leaders about reporting activity in the US. We hope our presence will help the US take the lead in sustainability reporting.”

Following this inaugural event, Focal Point USA will hold a breakfast meeting hosted by The World Bank in Washington, DC on 3 February, and a roundtable event hosted by Ceres in Boston on 4 February.

About NYSE Euronext
NYSE Euronext (NYX) is a leading global operator of financial markets and provider of innovative trading technologies. The company's exchanges in Europe and the United States trade equities, futures, options, fixed-income and exchange-traded products.  With approximately 8,000 listed issues (excluding European Structured Products), NYSE Euronext's equities markets – the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext, NYSE Amex, NYSE Alternext and NYSE Arca – represent one-third of the world's equities trading, the most liquidity of any global exchange group. NYSE Euronext also operates NYSE Liffe, one of the leading European derivatives businesses and the world's second-largest derivatives business by value of trading. The company offers comprehensive commercial technology, connectivity and market data products and services through NYSE Technologies. NYSE Euronext is in the S&P 500 index, and is the only exchange operator in the S&P 100 index and Fortune 500.  For more information, please visit: http://www.nyx.com.

 
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