SustainabilityHQ.com Weekly Highlights August 28, 2013

Top Story of the Week

So where would you rank your country if asked who you thought were the most sustainable countries in the world? First, of course -- what is the criteria?  In this case, RobecoSam (Switzerland) looked at public environmental policies, emissions, energy sources, risk mitigation, and biodiversity.  The top most sustainable?  Sweden (#1) followed by Australia, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway.  So why do the Viking nations of yore rank so high?  And what about other developed nations?  Look in the report for answers.

The United Kingdom came in at  #6, followed by Canada, Finland, the United States of America, and the Netherlands.  Do you agree with these rankings?  What "matters" most in terms of a nation's sustainability profile? 
Sweden's increasing use of renewable energy sources and lowering of CO2 emissions were major factors.  All of this is in the report prepared by RobecoSam, which is a unit of Rabobank (based in the Netherlands).  RobecoSam is the manager of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) and advisor to asset managers.  The considerations for the nation ranking were "risks and opportunities" evaluated against the familiar ESG key performance indicators (KPIs).   (21 developed and 38 emerging economies were examined in the research effort.)

After you read the details - where would you rank your country? 

Sustainability Reporting: What Does ‘Good’ Look Like?(Wednesday - August 21, 2013)
Source: Triple Pundit - Sustainability reporting has become commonplace for businesses that want to communicate with and engage their stakeholders. However, amidst the deluge of information available, it can be difficult to determine what makes a report...

Sustainability in Focus

Encouraging investors to play bigger role in sustainability: what you said
(Friday - August 23, 2013)
Source: Guardian.co.uk - This year, the study set out to understand the relationship between investors and sustainability. While the results suggest the investment community is beginning to pay more attention to sustainability, the pace of change appears...

Are bottom-up sustainability initiatives filling gap left by Rio+20?
(Thursday - August 22, 2013)
Source: Guardian.co.uk - In the absence of a meaningful global agreement at the Rio+20 Earth summit last summer, expectations collapsed – but didn't disappear. They shifted from big to small, from global to local. In response, sustainability leaders...

If boards don't see the real case for sustainability, we'll get nowhere
(Wednesday - August 21, 2013)
Source: Guardian.co.uk - Sustainability is either desired or tolerated, based on how it may support the conventional aims of the business – enhancing reputation, supporting growth, or improving the bottom line. Mostly, this means a focus on...

Rio 2016 launches sustainability plan with support from UNEP
(Wednesday - August 21, 2013)
Source: Rio 2016 - The Organising Committee for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games has launched its Sustainability Management Plan, as part of its commitment to achieving its sustainability goals.

6 Ways To Make Brand Sustainability Resonate With Consumers
(Tuesday - August 20, 2013)
Source: Fast Coexist - According to a recent report from The World Economic Forum and Accenture, sustainability is in desperate need of a makeover. Despite millions of dollars spent marketing the concept over the past decade, only 28% of people know...

Sweden ‘Most Sustainable Country in the World’      
(Tuesday - August 20, 2013)
Source: Environmental Leader - Sweden is the most sustainable country in the world, a ranking it earned for its use of renewable energy sources and low carbon dioxide emissions, as well as social and governance practices such as labor participation, education...

Levi's sews sustainability into brand from ground up
(Monday - August 19, 2013)
Source: San Francisco Chronicle - Levi Strauss founded his dry goods company in 1853, after moving to San Francisco from Bavaria. His business became as much a part of San Francisco's hagiography as sourdough bread, cable cars and the 49ers - miners and team.

ESG Issues & Players

Shareholder support for environmental resolutions hits 10-year high
(Friday - August 23, 2013)
Source: GreenBiz - It wasn't too many years ago when sustainable investors would be happy with just enough support for a shareowner resolution addressing environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) for it to qualify for the following...

Are Activist Investors Really as Evil as CEOs Claim They Are?
(Friday - August 23, 2013)
Source: Fox Business - Major splashes by activist investors tend to provoke dramatic and divergent reactions: shareholders cheer wildly, the media gets whipped into a frenzy and target CEOs quietly cringe. But by throwing down wads of cash to acquire...

Leaked UN climate report warns of dangerous global warming. Will the world listen?
(Wednesday - August 21, 2013)
Source: Treehugger - The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was expected to delivery its fifth Assessment Report (AR5) next month, but over the past weekend, a draft of that report was leaked to Reuters, which reported...

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 August 28,2013