The closing date for applications is 10 April 2017.

 

Senior Programme Manager – Investment Leaders Group

Maternity cover: This post is fixed-term ending commencing at the latest 8 May 2017 and finishing 30 April 2018 or the return of the post holder, whichever is the earlier.Salary: £39,324–£49,772 (pro rata)

CDP, the founder and driver of global environmental disclosure is today announcing a strategic alliance with UL EHS Sustainability to develop its new sector based reporting platform as part of its ‘Reimagining disclosure’ strategy. The new platform will ensure more comprehensive reporting for companies, investors and cities for enhanced peer-to peer comparison and decision-making. With the global demand for better, more accurate and faster disclosure, the fully integrated PURE™ software system will enable disclosers to assess more clearly how they are transitioning to a low carbon economy.

Arabesque Asset Management is an investment management firm that offers a quantitative approach to sustainable investing. It is a mission-driven enterprise that puts sustainability at the heart of its investment process. As a central component of this process, Arabesque integrates environmental, social and governance (ESG) information with quantitative investment strategies.

 

The first Project Working Groups to review and update topic-specific GRI Standards have been formed. The revisions begin with GRI 303: Water and GRI 403: Occupational Health and Safety.

The Nordic and Baltic Exchanges in Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius issued a voluntary ESG Reporting Guide to support their companies address critical environmental, social and governance (ESG) related matters.

The UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, and GRI, the world’s leading organization for sustainability reporting, are partnering to create a clear and simple framework for the private sector to assess and report on their contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On 27 March, the Multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee (MAC) of the Action Platform Reporting on the SDGs convened for the first time in person in The Hague, bringing to the table expertise from all dimensions of the society.

Yesterday on Monday the 3rd of April, the European Council adopted the final text of the Shareholders’ Rights Directive (2007/36/EC).

 

The Action Plan on European Company Law and Corporate Governance adopted at the end of 2012 by the European Commission aimed to tackle long-term shareholder engagement. The text has since been revised with a view to ensuring that shareholders have timely access to the complete information relevant to general meetings and facilitate the exercise of voting rights by proxy, towards the enhancement of long-term financing commitment.

GreenBiz Group and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) will collaborate on the 2017 'GreenBiz 30 Under 30' recognition, honoring emerging leaders in sustainable business, the organizations announced today.

 

The alliance is conducting a global search, just launched, to identify and honor a diverse group of young men and women 'tackling some of the toughest sustainability challenges in business, from inside big companies, at the helm of startups or in the nonprofit sector,' according to the online submission page.

 

'This alliance brings the vast resources and networks of both organizations to shine a light on promising twentysomething professionals who stand to influence their organizations in adopting sustainability strategies, practices and business opportunities,' said GreenBiz Group Chairman and Executive Editor Joel Makower. 'They are setting the bar for what it means to be a sustainability leader in the 21st century.'

What do business leaders like Paul Polman and Jack Ma have in common with Her Majesty the Queen of Belgium? They both promote the global sustainability agenda of the United Nations (UN) as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocates.

 

Since Belgium is taking a leading role in advancing the SDGs worldwide, WBCSD’s Belgian Global Network partner, The Shift, is also doing its share in engaging the local business community and civil society on this 2030 sustainable development agenda.

 

Since the launch of the SDGs, The Shift have invited all its 350 member organizations to express a commitment towards one or more of the SDGs. A dozen of open workshops have been organized to this end, where member representatives can meet and learn about the Global Goals or SDGs. All commitments have been published online, and are continuously challenged by the young Belgian change makers of Generation T.

Today, Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) joins 200 forward-thinking companies as the newest member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). As one of the largest food processors in the world, ADM has an important role to play in helping to incorporate health and sustainability into global food systems.

The Business Council for Sustainable Development Argentina (CEADS) and EY Argentina have launched comprehensive SDG Platform that walks companies through the sustainability landscape in the country by showcasing corporate initiatives and strategies that are directly aligned with the SDGs agenda.

 

By featuring existing initiatives and strategies of local companies’ alignment with the SDGs, CEADS and EY Argentina hope that the Platform will broaden the understanding of the business case implied with the SDGs, and thereby encourage the establishment of this agenda within corporate operations and cultures.

Recognizing the benefits of mutual cooperation to their respective members and for business in general, The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) recently completed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at working together to help businesses identify and prioritize issues related to sustainability and enterprise risk management.

 

COSO will work with WBCSD to develop interpretive guidance on how to embed sustainable development issues into COSO’s Enterprise Risk Management Framework as a foundation to bridge the gap between the way companies consider sustainability issues in their risk management processes and how they disclose these risks to investors, facilitating effective decision making within and out with the company.

Global law firm Baker McKenzie today joined 200 global sustainability leaders as the newest member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Baker McKenzie enables 13,000 people to navigate local markets and jurisdictions worldwide. It is the first law firm to join WBCSD.

Financial institutions and environmental experts from across the globe have partnered in a project to develop a set of environmental risk stress tests that measure the credit worthiness of bank loans.

 

The ‘Drought Stress Testing Tool’ allows financial institutions to see how incorporating drought scenarios changes the perception of risk in their own loan portfolios. Based on the catastrophe modelling framework that the insurance industry has used for 25 years, it looks at five drought scenarios in four countries – Brazil, China, Mexico and the US – to model the impact on 19 different industry sectors, the companies in those sectors and the likelihood that they will default on their loans.

 

A new report, ‘Drought Stress Testing – Making Financial Institutions more Resilient to Environmental Risks’, showcases the tool in action by piloting the stress test on select, sample corporate lending portfolios of nine international financial institutions. These are: Caixa Econômica Federal, Itaú Unibanco, Santander Brazil, Banorte, Citibanamex, Trust Funds for Rural Development (FIRA), Citigroup, UBS and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), which combined represent more than USD 10 trillion in assets.

The 2017 GRESB Assessments, the industry standard that assesses sustainability practices in the real asset sector, including real estate and infrastructure, are now open for participation.

This year’s GRESB Assessments provide a more streamlined reporting process, from asset to portfolio. The online GRESB Portal now includes improved features to simplify reporting, including new “upload library” functionality, to ensure an accurate and complete submission.

The International Integrated Reporting Council has welcomed the publication of EY’s report ‘Is your nonfinancial performance revealing the true value of your business to investors?’ as yet another piece of compelling research which demonstrates unequivocally that investors are looking to businesses to communicate their broad story of value creation, beyond the purely financial.

Where we put our money matters — not only for our own financial security but to ensure the wellbeing of our planet. Following the financial crisis of 2009, more and more people have been turning to ethical banking services that value economic, social, and environmental impact.

 

In 2016, the lending level of banks that prioritized sustainability nearly doubled compared to traditional financial institutions, according to the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, a network of leaders committed to ethical banking practices. Similar figures were seen for deposits.

 

The total income of ethics-based banks grew by 7.6 percent from 2011 to 2015 versus the 0.5 percent increase of the latter. Values-based banking prioritizes people and the planet over profits.

 

1. What is banking on values?

2. What’s the origin of this movement?

3. Who is it for?

4. What are some examples?

 

The 10th International Summer School will be held in Kinsale, Ireland, jointly with Clann Credo from June 25 to June 30 2017.

 

The “International Summer School on Social Banking & Finance“ is the annual international conference on social banking and alternative finance. About 80 guests from social banks, alternative financial institutions, NGOs, conventional banks and other interested people such as students will discuss and gain valuable insights into the roots, characteristics, opportunities and challenges of this rapidly evolving field, from both practitioners and academics.

          

 

In a few months, the TCFD will release the final version of their recommendations. Here is what companies can do now to get ahead of the pack and prepare for the new reporting cycle.

Former Sustainable Investing Challenge winner, Blue Forest Conservation, is preparing to pilot a financing vehicle to fund forest restoration in California.

The World Economic Forum has, for the past 11 years, engaged leaders in travel and tourism to carry out an in-depth analysis of the Travel and Tourism competitiveness of 136 economies across the world.

 

The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index measures “the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the travel and tourism sector, which in turn, contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country”. The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index enables all stakeholders to work together to improve the industry’s competitiveness in their national economies. The theme of this edition Paving the Way for a More Sustainable and Inclusive Future, reflects the increasing focus on ensuring the industry’s sustained growth in an uncertain security environment while preserving the natural environment and local communities on which it so richly depends.

LuxFLAG participated in the FARAD Finance Forum at the Chamber of Commerce on 5 April 2017. Annemarie Arens, General Manager of LuxFLAG, took part in a panel discussion on Luxembourg's opportunities and initiatives in Climate Finance. Sachin Vankalas, Director of Operations and Sustainability, gave insights on current trends in Responsible Investing in the panel 'Sustainable and responsible liquid strategies: what is boiling in the pot?'.

 

In order to act upon the climate pledges of the Paris Agreement and live up to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, trillions of public and private investments are needed to address world’s most challenging problems and finance sustainable development. This year’s edition of the ALFI Impact Investing Conference, organized in close partnership with LuxFLAG, will address the critical role impact investing plays in contributing to global climate change action, social development and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

 

Luxembourg’s leading sustainable finance industry gathering of the year will take place at Chamber of Commerce on 26 April 2017, welcoming internationally renowned experts to Luxembourg.  

We are currently expanding our research on Business and the SDGs in partnership with GlobeScan.

 

For this purpose we would like to ask companies to participate in our short survey of European business experts to explore how European companies are engaging with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Founded in 1966 by Pierre Bellon in Marseilles, France, the Sodexo Group is now the worldwide leader in Quality of Life services. For over 50 years, Sodexo has developed unique expertise, backed by nearly 425,000 employees in 80 countries across the globe.

Since its founding, Sodexo’s commitment to Corporate Responsibility has been central to its fundamentals, underpinning its development as a responsible company.

These commitments are reflected in Sodexo’s mission: to improve the Quality of Life for employees and all those the company serves throughout the world and to contribute to the economic, social and environmental development of the communities, regions and countries where they operate.

Sodexo tracks the implementation and measures the impact of its actions through its Corporate Responsibility roadmap, the Better Tomorrow Plan.

Launched in 2009, the Better Tomorrow Plan, formalises its commitments and allows the company to track their results within the 80 countries in which Sodexo operates, taking efforts to a higher level of performance and transparency.  

 

For the first time, independent sustainability rating agency oekom research has identified a more than just slightly upwards trend in its latest annual report – the Corporate Responsibility Review 2017 – on sustainable business governance around the globe. One of the possible reasons for this trend, which is most noticeable in the midfield of rated businesses, is the pressure to change and pushes for increased sustainability which are impacting companies from many angles. These include international initiatives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), national regulations, increasing demands of sustainable capital markets, and a general rise in sustainability awareness. Businesses also need to respond increasingly to transformation processes in the economy, e.g. decarbonisation in the Energy sector, and e-mobility in the Automobiles industry. The study shows clearly that not all industries are equally well prepared to face these opportunities and challenges. Consequently, there is still considerable room for improvement, with industry having a long way to go before it can speak of holistic sustainability.

The Ethical Council of the Swedish AP Funds celebrates ten years 2017. During these ten years the Council has through engagement encouraged the AP Funds' global portfolio companies to improve their work on environmental issues, human rights and corruption. In 2016 dialogues have covered companies regarding the fishing industry in Thailand and the guest workers' situation in Qatar.

 

Based on the mandate of the AP Funds the Ethical Council works with both preventive and reactive work with global companies in the AP Funds' portfolios. The aim is to improve and have a positive impact regarding environmental and ethical issues in the operations of companies.

 

In 2016 the Ethical Council held dialogues in different sustainability areas totaling 316 companies worldwide. Biological diversity, anti-corruption and human rights continue to be examples of focus areas.

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), one of the largest investors in the UK stock market, today released its 2016 Corporate Governance Report revealing that it voted against at least one resolution at 23% of UK companies in 2016, up from 18% in 2015.

 

Globally LGIM voted against at least one resolution at 56% of companies in the main FTSE World Indices, compared to 52% in 2015.

 

In total, LGIM had 500 company meetings in 2016, 39% of which were held with companies based outside of the UK. The top five themes discussed were: board composition (e.g. diversity, board refreshment, quality and skills), remuneration, strategy, nomination and succession, and climate change.