SustainabilityHQ.com Weekly Highlights February 28 ,2013

You don't have to tell residents in the northeast USA, where Hurricane Sandy combined its tropical moisture with a deep, cold upper air flow last fall and formed "the perfect storm." Nor do you need to remind people in the American Midwest, where back-to-back snowstorms over the past several weeks followed a warmer-than-normal January. Indeed, our climate is becoming more and more “unusual.”

Does this impact investors as we approach the 2013 proxy season? Yes, big time. Shareholders are filing resolutions asking companies to disclose physical risks posed by climate change. Although these resolutions (based on sustainability issues) may not always be approved by shareowners, they can still prompt companies to take action to avoid risk to their operations, finances and reputations -- while addressing the growing climate change concerns of their investors.

SustainabilityHQ's lead story of the week outlines the dramatic impact climate change is having on the 2013 proxy season.

Top Stories of the Week

Investors Demand Climate-Risk Disclosure in 2013 Proxies     
(Tuesday - February 26, 2013)
Source: Bloomberg - Shareholders are filing resolutions asking companies to disclose physical risks posed by climate change for the first time this proxy season, according to representatives of sustainable investor groups.

Ensure that your Sustainability Report is Included in the GRI Global Database      
(Wednesday - February 27, 2013)
Source: Governance & Accountability Institute - Governance & Accountability Institute is issuing a final call for organizations headquartered in the U.S.A., U.K. and The Republic Ireland to submit their sustainability reports published during calendar year 2012. Organizations...

Sustainability in Focus

CSR Europe: Driving Corporate Sustainability through Social Innovation      
(Wednesday - February 27, 2013)
Source: CSR Wire - Undoubtedly, the ongoing financial instability in the Eurozone remains a serious issue for most European countries. However, the real long-term burning problems are in two areas, which are ultimately more interlinked than what...

The Three Economic Principles of Sustainability      
(Tuesday - February 26, 2013)
Source: CSRWire - The recent global financial crisis has raised widespread concern for the sustainability of the global economy and much has been written concerning the negative impacts of economic development on natural ecosystems and civil...

UN Sustainable Energy Initiative Could Put World On a Path to Climate Targets      
(Monday - February 25, 2013)
Source: Science Daily - The UN's Sustainable Energy for All initiative, if successful, could make a significant contribution to the efforts to limit climate change to target levels, according to a new analysis from IIASA and ETH Zurich.

Corporations Can No Longer Sleepwalk Towards Sustainability     
(Monday - February 25, 2013)
Source: CleanTechnica.com - The forces of sustainable consciousness and resource scarcity are making environmental responsibility a necessity, not just a strategy, for major corporations. It is becoming increasingly difficult to simply re-brand products to..