In the Dark Days of White House / EPA Action on Climate Change, Here are 7 Encouraging Trends for You from Amy Augustine at Ceres

Horrible headlines now coming out on the developments at the White House regarding climate change, global warming, and related issues as campaign rhetoric is fitted, however clumsily or mean-spirited, to public governance to attempt to match ill-advised campaign promises.

The reality is that there are a number of very encouraging developments, trends that hold great promise for those of us who are not climate change deniers and think that global warming is a hoax coming from China to disadvantage American companies!

The Ceres staff members have long been engaging with, monitoring and advising (the rest of us) on critical issues in the areas of Corporate Sustainability - Responsibility - Citizenship - Environmental Management -- and of course, the paths to more sustainable investing.

Amy Augustine, the senior director of corporate programs at Ceres, shares with us in our Top Story the seven trends she sees continuing to drive corporate sustainability in 2017. Our view is that this could be a "hinge year" for the United States in terms of focus on climate change, global warming, societal issues, environmental management and host of related issues therein. (As in. "the hinge of history" with things going this way or that, the before and after.)

Amy observes: "Bold leadership, as well as individual collective action from influential companies and investors, is critical to ensure continued progress in achieving the ambitions of the historic Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)."

The seven trends are encouraging: (1) U.S. corporate sector support for U.S. clean energy policy is accelerating; (2) investor expectations continue to rise that public companies will disclose information on more climate change risks and opportunities. (Remember, the US SEC in 2010 reminded boards of companies that they have the responsibility to oversee risk, and that climate change is clearly a risk. But that was yesterday, under the former Administration...today is the era of climate denial in the White House.)

Trend 4 is the focus on Water Risk -- large-cap companies operating in water-stressed areas are not waiting for government action to conserve protect water sources. Amy Augustine cites the efforts of such responsible enterprises as General Mills, Gap and Pepsico engaging with policymakers in California to urge on stronger water management measures.

What about Trend 3 - and 5, 6 and 7? The details are waiting for you in the Top Story (link below). Amy's concluding comment is..."No doubt, company actions on all of these (7 trends fronts) will continue to evolve and hopefully accelerate; such leadership is more essential than ever."

At G&A Institute, we're doing our part to report on both sides of the hinge -- the great things that have been accomplished in the "good days" of the past decade, and the threatening things that are proposed or (positions) adopted in these not-so-good-days at US EPA, the White House or in the Congress. Do check out the second in the newsletter, our comments in G&A's Sustainability-Update Blog on the latest moves by the President and EPA Administrator to attempt to roll back the rich legacy of the prior administration. (You can sign up to receive updates as these are posted.) Let us have your thoughts as well!

And, we invite you to download "Trends Converging," the book prepared in 2016 by G&A Chair Hank Boerner, which sets out important information about where are as the climate change deniers/destroyers go to work in Washington DC to undo the progress made. 

This is just a sample of some of the articles from this weeks SustainabilityHQ Highlights.  You can view the full Highlights by using the following links. Sustainability | ESG, Highlights for the Week of April 5, 2017.