2013: What happened? A summary on corporate sustainability

1. 2013: What happened? A
YOUR HEADING
Summary on Corporate
HERE
Sustainability
10.05.2011

2. ‘Tone from the top’ is key for Sustainability
culture★
• Companies where top management takes the
lead are more aware and prepared to address
sustainability risks
• Sustainability becomes more embedded in
corporate strategy and governance where
CEO’s report to the board on these issues
• Involvement of the C-suite underlines growth
of corporate sustainability as a strategic
differentiator

3. Customers are pushing the agenda
• Pushing the agenda – for example on
environmental and working conditions
• Growing interest on product sourcing
• Demand for transparency and engagement

4. Governments
• Failure by governments to take the lead- from
annual UN-led climate summits (COPs) ; 2012
Rio Summit
• Pessimism over governments failure to take
action on planets biggest challenges
• Risk of sovereign bonds being further
impacted by threatened or depleted natural
resources

5. Increasing role of NGOs to press for
change
• NGO’s increasingly have stepped into the void
created by government failure to take action
• Greater push by NGOs for transparency and
accountability. For example, the Carbon
Disclosure Project pushing companies to
disclose carbon footprints and water risks
• Greater campaigning on human rights issues

6. Stock exchanges awaken to
sustainability
• NASDAQ OMX founding member of
Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative
• Johannesburg Stock Exchange requires more
than 450 companies to produce integrated
report
• Brazilian exchange BM&FBOVESPA adopted a
comply and explain policy in 2012

7. Shareholders beginning to have their
say
• Growth of shareholder proposals on social and
environmental risks- E&Y report they now
account for 40% of shareholder proposals
• Focusing on energy consumption and how
companies are addressing greenhouse gas
emissions reductions
• Other inquiries cover publishing a
sustainability report and working conditions/
human rights issues

8. Mandatory reporting increases
• Major changes to reporting in the UK.
• All companies (except small ones) to produce a
strategic report
• Listed companies to include human rights in their
non-financial KPIs
• Green house gas emissions reporting now
mandatory for listed companies
• EU proposal on Mandatory disclosure of nonfinancial risks Directive

9. More rigorous reporting standards
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) new G4 standard
published: geared towards materiality
• Integrated Reporting-new framework published
with focus on information for investors
• Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
(SASB)- US-non-profit aims to develop
comprehensive set of disclosure standards for US
companies filing their SEC Reports
• Climate Disclosure Standards
Board(CDSB)guidance on GHG reporting

10. Natural resource shortages a growing
concern
• Extreme weather
(floods, droughts, hurricanes, wildfires)
• Environmental realities(
overfishing, clearcutting)
• Social and political issues (conflict
minerals, waste)
• Underground water sources at risk- demand
for water expected to increase an d world to
fact 40% shortfall by 2030★

11. Supply chains still key
• Growing interest in supply chain and product
sourcing from consumers
• Sustainable procurement increasingly setting
scorecards for suppliers
• Critical to long term reputation of companies

12. Corporate risk management framework
not paired with sustainability risk
• Companies are still failing to incorporate
sustainability into risk management
• Translates into lack of preparedness
• Failure to anticipate key tipping points as
growing interconnectedness of issues
• Lack of disclosure in shareholder or regulatory
disclosure

13. Drive for energy innovation
continues
• Overall global investment in renewable energy
was down in 2013
• Tech giants like Apple, Facebook, Google and
Microsoft continues to make huge
commitments this year
• Clean Energy IPOs made a comeback
• Greening the existing power infrastructure
continued

14. Employee leverage
• Large scale change driven by driving
sustainability throughout an organisation
• Linking sustainability to performance
management and working with key groups,
such as human resources

15. Company claims v external verification
• Majority of consumers and customers want
third party verification of green claims
• Increasing ISO standards for eco-labels and
management systems

16. ISO standards becoming more
‘strategic’
• ISO20121- focus on internal and external risks
of a company
• ISO14001 –being revised to include
understanding the organisation’s strategic
context and engagement with interested
parties
• BS8900 –focus on sustainability at a strategic
level

17. And lastly…

18. www.clt-envirolaw.com