SustainabilityHQ.com Weekly Highlights April 17, 2012

Non-Financial Data is Material: The Sustainability Paradox
(Monday - April 16, 2012) Associated Profiles : Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc
Source: Eric Roston, BusinessWeek – The main delivery mechanism is the corporate sustainability report, or the corporate responsibility report, or the citizenship report, environment report, corporate social responsibility report "or some title that fits," as Hank Boerner put it. Boerner is chairman of Governance and  Accountability Institute, Inc. The group collects and analyzes companies' disclosures, and is the U.S. data partner for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a widely used framework for producing sustainability reports.

Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility Reporting
G&A Institute is the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) sole data partner for the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. As the data partner we monitor, analyze and database information on all Sustainability reports issued in these territories. Recent Sustainability and CR Reports issued in the USA, UK and Ireland are:

USA

• Just How Far Along is Walmart on its Sustainability Journey? - Sustainability Report
  (April 17, 2012) Source: Walmart

United Kingdom

• BG Group Releases Sustainability Report 2011
  (Tuesday - April 17, 2012)  Source: BG Group
• G4S plc : Corporate Social Responsibility Report
  (Friday - April 13, 2012) Source: 4-traders.com
• GSK Provides Update on Corporate Responsibility Commitments in 2011 Report
  (Thursday - April 12, 2012) Source: CSRWire / GlaxoSmithKline PLC

ESG / Sustainability

A Billion Acts of Green
(Monday - April 16, 2012) Source: Examiner.com - The Earth Day Network is hosting "A Billion Acts of Green" in 2012. The goal is to register one billion environmentally friendly actions in advance of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development happening in Rio...

Buffett Rule or Not, Most Rich People Already Pay
(Friday - April 13, 2012) Source: Bloomberg - President Obama’s sales pitch for the so-called Buffett Rule is simple: It’s only fair that those who make more than $1 million a year should pay a higher tax rate than middle-class workers. Here’s what he tends not to mention...

U.S. Earthquake Outbreak Tied to Fracking
(Friday - April 13, 2012) Source: Bloomberg - A spate of earthquakes across the middle of the U.S. is “almost certainly” man-made, and may be caused by wastewater from oil or gas drilling injected into the ground, U.S. government scientists said in a study.

Renewable-Energy Investment Plunges in Quarter to Three-Year Low
(Thursday - April 12, 2012)Source: BusinessWeek - Global investment in clean energy dropped to its lowest since the depths of the financial crisis three years ago as the U.S. and European nations cut support for wind and solar projects, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said.

Commentary

Ethical Investing is All a Matter of Opinion – and I'll Put Money on That
(Friday - April 13, 2012) Associated Profiles : Eiris
Source: Indepedent - There is no doubting the popularity of "ethical" investing, and why not' As Eiris, the ethical investment screening service (not for profit, naturally), points out, ethical products - fair trade, etc - have become ...

Sovereign Wealth Funds

Sovereign Wealth Fund Assets Touch $4.62 trillion
(Monday - April 16, 2012) Source: Economic Times - NEW YORK: The sovereign wealth funds have been getting richer with their assets under management rising to $ 4.62 trillion so far in 2012 worldwide, an increase of 16 per cent from last year.

We’re Now Ready to Invest in Europe: China’s CIC
(Monday - April 16, 2012) Associated Profiles : China Investment Corporation Source: CNBC - Investments in Europe could come to total more than 20 percent of China's sovereign wealth fund’s total portfolio, according to Jin Liqun, chairman of the Board of Supervisors at the fund. Jin told CNBC that recent months had...

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala reports USD1.14b loss in 2011
(Friday - April 13, 2012) Associated Profiles : Abu Dhabi Investment Authority Source: MENAFN - Mubadala, the investment arm of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, reported deeper losses in 2011 due to a drop in the value of its investments, Arabian Business reported.

his is just a sample of some of the articles from this weeks SustainabilityHQ Highlights.  You can view the full Highlights by using the following links.  Sustainability | ESG, Highlights for the Week of April 17, 2012