We’re all consumers of one type or another.We buy food and beverages, electronic products, and an assortment of apparel and footwear products. So the questions come to mind…
What are you wearing? Is it fashionable? Stylish? And sustainable (as a product you want or need)? Sustainably and responsibly produced? In a global (mostly invisible) supply chain that you could say with certainty is “well supervised and responsibly managed”?
In celebration of bbcon 2019 this week, Pro Bono Perspectives is revisiting host and Common Impact CEO Danielle Holly's conversation with Blackbaud Vice President of Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy Rachel Hutchisson. Rachel is driven by the idea that "good is for everyone," a philosophy she brings to life through her work leading Blackbaud's global CSR efforts.
When young people take to the streets in significant number, there is usually a revolution of some type in store, history tells us. Revolutions belong to the young, we can say with some certainty if history is our guide. (Think: American Revolution, French Revolution, Civil Rights protests in the American South. Dramatic change followed these protests.)
For many years, our references to “generation” usually meant that we were speaking about the people living (and able to act) at the time. For example, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1936 on accepting his party’s nomination to a campaign for second term, ended his remarks with this: “There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny…” President Roosevelt was a progressive and liberal leader.
The importance of mapping the capacity of employee volunteering in your region or city to achieve meaningful impact (case studies).
Article
Corporate volunteering plays an increasingly significant role as a positive vehicle for business involvement in local and international sustainable development initiatives. It spurs innovation, increases the skills and engagement of employees, establishes mutually beneficial relationships with communities, promotes economic growth, leads to more stable societies, fosters the health and prosperity of communities, and makes it easier to do business.
A decade ago, two large institutional investors (PGGM Investments and APG Asset Management and Maastricht University (The Netherlands) launched “GRESB” to try to develop more efficient access to comparable and reliable data related to the ESG performance of their investments. (GRESB=Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark.) The initial research for the approach was done by Dr. Nils Kok and Sander Paul van Tongeren.
Since 2011, G&A Institute has tracked the percentage of companies in the S&P 500® Index that publish sustainability reports and has reported dramatic growth since 2011 when just 20% published reports, compared to 86% reporting in 2018.
Now that sustainability reporting has become common practice for the largest 500 companies in the US capital markets (typically included in the S&P 500® Index), the G&A Institute team has expanded its efforts to track the reporting trends of the next 500 largest companies by examining all of the companies in the Russell 1000® Index.
In this inaugural benchmark study, G&A found that 60% of the [total] Russell 1000® published sustainability reports in 2018. Of importance to consider is roughly the top half (by market cap) of companies in the Russell 1000® are the S&P 500®, which the Institute analyzes each year. When we now examine the bottom half in the Russell 1000®, beyond the S&P 500, we find that only 34% of these companies are publishing sustainability reports.
Press Release
G&A INSTITUTE RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Since 2011, G&A Institute has tracked the percentage of companies in the S&P 500® Index that publish sustainability reports and has reported dramatic growth since 2011 when just 20% published reports, compared to 86% reporting in 2018.
Now that sustainability reporting has become common practice for the largest 500 companies in the US capital markets (typically included in the S&P 500® Index), the G&A Institute team has expanded its efforts to track the reporting trends of the next 500 largest companies by examining all of the companies in the Russell 1000® Index.
In this inaugural benchmark study, G&A found that 60% of the [total] Russell 1000® published sustainability reports in 2018. Of importance to consider is roughly the top half (by market cap) of companies in the Russell 1000® are the S&P 500®, which the Institute analyzes each year. When we now examine the bottom half in the Russell 1000®, beyond the S&P 500, we find that only 34% of these companies are publishing sustainability reports.
The Business Roundtable is an organization of CEOs of the largest companies in the U.S.A. -- firms that generate a combined US$7 trillion in revenues, employ 15 million people, invest $ 147 billion annually in R&D, and provide healthcare and retirements benefits for tens of millions of Americans.
Member companies operate in every one of the 50 states and through the organization top business leaders work to influence major societal issues (tax policy, infrastructure needs, trade and other issues).
Those questions and more are often raised by managers trying to get the board room and C-suite attention – and support needed -- to launch or advance the company’s sustainability journey.
Here at G&A Institute our team has ongoing conversations with corporate managers about ESG / corporate sustainability and related topics. What often comes up: the “G” is challenging. The questions raised include...
