SustainabilityHQ.com Weekly Highlights August 16, 2012

Sustainability Reporting & GRI Focal Point USA: One Year Later
(Tuesday - August 14, 2012)
Source: Hank Boerner, Chairman Governance & Accountability Institute - Focusing on the huge market we usually refer to as "Corporate America," the folks who run nonprofit Global Reporting Initiative [GRI] in Amsterdam organized a concentrated effort to encourage more U.S. companies to adopt the GRI...

If Sustainability Costs You More, You're Doing it Wrong
(Tuesday - August 14, 2012)
Source: Forbes - There is a lot of anecdotal information on what makes a value chain sustainable, but very little data. To change that, we partnered with ASQ, the Institute for Supply Management, and Deloitte, on a multi-year research study to... 

ESG / Sustainability

Mind the gap between corporate behaviour and sustainability
(Wednesday - August 15, 2012)
Source: The Guardian.co.uk - Jo Confino raised the lid on a fundamental issue when he questioned whether Barclays had brought corporate responsibility (CR) into disrepute. As he points out, there is a vast gap between the company's behaviour and its...

A Closer Look at Extreme Drought in a Warming Climate
(Tuesday - August 14, 2012)
Source: NY Times - The extraordinarily hot, dry summer in the American heartland has seen higher temperatures, so far, than any single year during the devastating 1930s dry spell described in the Son House tune in the video above [performed by my...

UN chief announces new sustainable development initiative
(Monday - August 13, 2012) Associated Profiles : United Nations - All Programs
Source: Business Mirror - UNITED NATIONS—UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday announced the launch of a new independent global network of research centers, universities and technical institutions to help find solutions for some of the world’s most...

Mercer clients to receive ESG ratings in key reports
(Thursday - August 09, 2012) Associated Profiles : Mercer
Source: Mercer - Mercer announced today that its proprietary environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings will be included in client reports related to manager searches and performance. This inclusion reflects Mercer’s view as to the...

Commentary

Wall Street Cares If Companies Are Sustainable
(Monday - August 13, 2012)
Source: Environmental Leader - As sustainability professionals, a significant part of our job is convincing upper management that embracing sustainability will create value that far exceeds its costs. Some one-off solutions show easy economic paybacks, such as...

Sovereign Wealth Funds

Issuing a yellow card to Manchester United public offering
(Monday - August 13, 2012) Associated Profiles : Qatar Investment Authority
Source: Royal Gazette - Or the Qatar Investment Authority which bought Paris St Germain, loaded it with talent and subsequently finished second in the top French league last season. 2. MANU is taking advantage of the US Jumpstart Our Business Startups...

HKMA: Reviewing New York Regulator's Accusations Against Standard Chartered
(Thursday - August 09, 2012) Associated Profiles : Hong Kong (China) Monetary Authority -- Investment Portfolio
Source: Wall Street Journal - HONG KONG--The ?Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Tuesday it is reviewing accusations by New York's top financial regulator that Standard Chartered PLC's (STAN.LN) U.S.-based subsidiary had concealed $250 billion in illegal...

This 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 August 16, 2012