Issue 20 - April 2006

News

• Sogeposte joins Enhanced Analytics Initiative
• Sogeposte the asset management subsidiary of La Banque Postale with assets under management approaching €25.7 billion, has today announced that it is joining the Enhanced Analytics Initiative (EAI) as a full member.
• Environmental key performance indicators - reporting guidelines for UK business published
• These guidelines will help businesses address their most significant environmental impacts and report on these in a way that meets the needs of their shareholders and other stakeholders.
• Automobile sector briefing
• Eurosif has produced a briefing paper on the Automobile sector to raise awareness on the nature and understanding of social and environmental issues and business opportunities potentially affecting long-term returns and productivity within the sector.
• Translation of CSR website work into English
• Due to high volume of international visitors, www.4sustainability.org has translated all its pages into English, covering research on CSR, sustainability reporting and management instruments.

New publications

• Just do it - but responsibly
• Bank Sarasin & Co. Ltd. has published a sustainability report in which it assesses how companies in the apparel, textile and luxury goods industries are addressing ethical and environmental issues.
• 2006 corporate governance and climate change - making the connection
• Ceres has published a report that analyzes how 100 leading companies are addressing the growing financial risks and opportunities from climate change.
• Governance and sustainability - New challenges for states, companies and civil society
• This is the latest publication from Greenleaf pubishing, edited by Ulrich Petschow, James Rosenau and Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker
• Less stress, more value
• This report from Henderson’s focuses on the business impacts of workplace stress.
• Just how is business done?
• The Centre for Australian Ethical Research has researched the extent to which Australian companies have explicit policies on bribery and corruption.
• Active Share Ownership in Europe
• Eurosif's handbook "Active Share Ownership in Europe", targets investors who seek a means to better manage environmental, social and governance risks across their investment portfolios, especially with regards to their rights as shareholders.
• Taking stock
• The Association of Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA) has released guidance on adding critical new areas for value creation and risk into analysis of Asian businesses.
• Obesity concerns in the food and beverage industry
• Ethical Investment Research Services (EIRIS), the socially responsible investment specialists, has released a report on food and beverage industry’s response to the challenges presented by the growing obesity problem.
• Taxing issues - responsible business and tax
• The central finding of SustainAbility’s new report is that corporate tax planning must come out of the shadows and be subject to the same standards of transparency and accountability as corporate environmental and social performance.
• Responsible Competitiveness - Reshaping Global Markets Through Responsible Business Practices
• This report from international think tank AccountAbility argues that responsible business practice is becoming an increasingly important driver of national and regional competitiveness.
• Responsible lending
• In March 2005, Henderson began to investigate the issue and how UK banks were approaching responsible lending: their findings have now been summarised.
• Sustainable Horizons
• The UK’s Environment Council has produced a summary report from their 2006 Sustainable Horizons event, held in partnership with Earthwatch, with expertise in bigger-picture future scanning provided by the Institute for the Future.

GRI update

• GRI update