SustainabilityHQ.com Weekly Highlights

A 2018 survey by Morgan Stanley took the pulse of U.S. asset managers (with in-depth telephone interviews) to determine the level of adoption of sustainable investing approaches by asset managers in the United States.

Here we are in the new millennium, since 2000 or 2001 (the clear delineation has been debated) and the generation that straddles the 20th and 21st centuries has characteristics that may be quite different for employers (and as customers, investors, voters).

The Millennial Generation has been defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as those men and women born between 1981 and 1996, who are 23-to-38 years of age in 2019. (For sure, the exact definition of generations is not always in general agreement.) This cohort succeeded the smaller-sized “Generation Xers” and the large Baby Boom generation (born 1946-1964, originally 77 million strong and two-thirds larger than the “Silents” before them). The long-dominant Boomer population has been decreasing in size since 2012…so what comes next for the

Strategy – the familiar word comes down to us over the eons from the language of ancient Greece. The roots of the original word (translated to “stratagem”) mean “the work of the generals, or generalship” which is to clearly say: to lead from the front..or the top!

“Ethical sourcing” – we see that a lot of companies are systematically addressing issues in their sourcing and supply chain management to better understand and address (and better manage!) the various issues that their investors, customers, employees, business partners, and other stakeholders care about. What is “ethical” behavior in the layers upon layers of suppliers in the usual globalized sourcing effort?

The world leadership gathering in Switzerland in winter every year – we see this in the “Davos meetings” in the many news report datelines – are part of the World Economic Forum (WEF) broad activities -- this is the WEF’s annual meeting. Heads of state, CEOs, invited thought leaders, leading academics and journalists, politicians of all persuasions, NGOs, heads of multilateral heads (Christina Lagarde, International Monetary Fund)…they were all gathered there this year.

Is 2019 going to be “The Year of Sustainability”? Greatly empowered by technology? With exciting innovation on the business front? One European-based writer (Carmen Ene, CEO of 3 STEP IT in Helsinki, Finland) thinks so. Writing for Sustainable Brands® SB/The Bridge to Better Brands, she outlines what she sees as the top sustainability issues for corporate leaders in 2019 -- and offers advice on how to address them.

The nation’s leading think tanks, home to numerous scholars and policy wonks, including former officeholders (with many centers headquartered in Washington DC) focus on a variety of political, economic, cultural, environmental, science, and global issues and topics -- typically reflecting the points-of-view of their constituent base.

There were many positive developments and trendlines in 2018 that we believe were encouraging for corporate sustainability & responsibility managers, sustainable investing champions, NGO managers and members, and other stakeholders.

In these last days of the year 2018, of course, we’ll be seeing shared expert perspectives on the year now ending and a look into the new year, 2019. Sustainable Brands shared one person’s perspectives on three sustainability trends that are gaining momentum heading into 2019.

Nearing the end of the 20th Century, the United Nations assembled experts to develop the eight Millennium Goals (MDGs), to serve as blueprints and guides for public, private and social sector actions during the period 2000-2015 (the “new millennium”).