GRI Update december 2000

An update from GRI, the Global Reporting Initiative, guidelines for sustainability reporting. Subjects: * Priorities for GRI Identified at Washington Symposium * Investors Urge CEOs to Publish Sustainability Reports * More Companies Following Sustainability Reporting Guidelines * Recent GRI Presentations * Guidelines Available in Multiple Languages ... lees meer

Voluntary Guidelines published on Environmental Management and Reporting for Financial Institutions

Pressure is building on business, not least the financial sector, to respond to the various challenges posed by the increasing growth of interest in environmental issues. A consortium of banks and insurers (the FORGE group) have been working together with the support of the DTI and DETR, to produce guidance on environmental management and reporting for the financial services sector. The BBA, and the ABI, have also been involved, and environmental consultants from PricewaterhouseCoopers are advising the Group ... lees meer

Investors Prod CEO’s to Adopt New Sustainability Reporting Standards

Letter to corporate heads urges adoption of standardized sustainability reporting measures for Year 2000. A group of 39 leading financial investors, managing combined assets in excess of $140 billion, sent a letter to CEO’s of the 500 largest U.S. companies urging them to begin using sustainability reporting guidelines this year. The letter was timed with the opening of the Global Reporting Initiative’s 2nd International Symposium, which was held from November 13-15 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. ... lees meer

Multinationals are becoming more transparent but fail to address major environmental and social impacts

Report spotlights the top fifty corporate sustainability reports worldwide. The Global Reporters, SustainAbility’s latest research, benchmarks the top 50 corporate sustainability reports from around the world. Given recent anti-globalization protests and the increasing spotlight on corporate responsibility, such reporting will be crucial to public acceptance and corporate profitability. ... lees meer

Credit Suisse loses credits

Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland’s second-largest banking corporation, has taken a tumble from its top position in the banking sector of the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index (DJSGI). Managers of the international index, which was launched in September 1999, said an in-depth monitoring procedure showed a “systematic weakness” in Credit Suisse’s dealings with money transfers in the mid-1990s from the entourage of Nigeria’s late dictator General Sani Abacha. The money transfers were disclosed last month in a report by Switzerland’s Federal Banking Commission. In light of this development, DJSGI has downgraded the 146-year-old company to second place among its banking industry components. Top spot has been taken by another Swiss giant, UBS, the world’s largest asset management company. ... lees meer

Corporate Social Responsibility a Priority in Europe

As a result of consumer activism and socially responsible investing, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a growing facet of public relations for businesses in the United States. A recent report based on a survey of key business opinion formers and decision makers in France, Germany, and the UK suggests that the level of CSR awareness in Europe is also developing rapidly. ... lees meer

CITIZENS CHALLENGE CORPORATE POWER IN U.S.

Business Week’s September 11, 2000 cover story discusses how the American public is increasingly willing to challenge what it views as corporate misbehavior – from inflated CEO pay to political contributions to advertising in schools. Companies should take note, the article asserts, because it’s not just young people taking them to task: “Today, those Americans angry at corporations cut across generations, geography, and even income groups.” And with the Internet making it possible to share information more quickly and widely than ever before, discontented citizens have a powerful tool in their fight against corporate power. Lees verder op http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_37/b3698001.htm ... lees meer