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Showing posts with label sustainability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sustainability. Show all posts
Wednesday, 14 January 2015
Malaysia Sustainable Business TV Series Broadcast Premiere on BLOOMBERG TV
Thursday, 17 July 2014
Land Bank awarded most sustainable company in the Philippines
The Sustainable Business Awards held for the first time in the Philippines recognised companies that excelled in energy management, waste and material productivity, environmental disclosure, and other responsible practices.
The Land Bank of the Philippines has clinched the top gong at the Sustainable Business Awards (SBA) held on Monday for the first time in the country.
Organised by Singapore-based events firm Global Initiatives and Price Waterhouse Cooper Philippines (PWC), the SBA selected Land Bank as the Best Overall Winner out of 22 companies that won awards at a ceremony held at Dusit Thani Manila, which was attended by over 100 guests.
Land Bank – a government-owned company that has a social mandate to boost rural development through credit assistance to farmers and fisher folk, among other services – also won for the climate change category for their progressive environmental policies and strong support for mitigation and adaptation projects. In 2013, they also extended over four billion pesos of loans to environmental and renewable energy projects, said the organisers.
They also stood out for their inclusive business models, innovative programmes, and for improving the livelihood of local communities, added the organisers.
“At Land Bank, sustainability is a shared responsibility. It is embedded in our programs, work processes, products and services, and it also extends to our clients and partners,” Gilda Pico, Land Bank president and CEO, told Eco-Business.
Land Bank, which began operating sustainably in 2010, has several CSR initiatives, such as the ‘Adopt a Watershed’ programme and Manila Bay clean-up efforts, and has also produced a sustainability report for 2012 and 2013, following the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative, said Pico.
Along with Land Bank, other winners included Honda Philippines for the supply chain management category and Nestlé Philippines for water management and waste and materials productivity.
The awards, which is also held in Indonesia and will launch in Singapore later this year, covers 10 categories across a comprehensive framework of environmental measures: strategy and vision; workforce; CSR in the community; energy management; water management; waste and materials productivity; climate change; supply chain management; land use, biodiversity and the environment; and, business responsibility and ethics.
Organised by Singapore-based events firm Global Initiatives and Price Waterhouse Cooper Philippines (PWC), the SBA selected Land Bank as the Best Overall Winner out of 22 companies that won awards at a ceremony held at Dusit Thani Manila, which was attended by over 100 guests.
Land Bank – a government-owned company that has a social mandate to boost rural development through credit assistance to farmers and fisher folk, among other services – also won for the climate change category for their progressive environmental policies and strong support for mitigation and adaptation projects. In 2013, they also extended over four billion pesos of loans to environmental and renewable energy projects, said the organisers.
They also stood out for their inclusive business models, innovative programmes, and for improving the livelihood of local communities, added the organisers.
“At Land Bank, sustainability is a shared responsibility. It is embedded in our programs, work processes, products and services, and it also extends to our clients and partners,” Gilda Pico, Land Bank president and CEO, told Eco-Business.
Land Bank, which began operating sustainably in 2010, has several CSR initiatives, such as the ‘Adopt a Watershed’ programme and Manila Bay clean-up efforts, and has also produced a sustainability report for 2012 and 2013, following the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative, said Pico.
Along with Land Bank, other winners included Honda Philippines for the supply chain management category and Nestlé Philippines for water management and waste and materials productivity.
The awards, which is also held in Indonesia and will launch in Singapore later this year, covers 10 categories across a comprehensive framework of environmental measures: strategy and vision; workforce; CSR in the community; energy management; water management; waste and materials productivity; climate change; supply chain management; land use, biodiversity and the environment; and, business responsibility and ethics.
“At Land Bank, sustainability is a shared responsibility. It is embedded in our programs, work processes, products and services, and it also extends to our clients and partners"
Gilda Pico, Land Bank of the Philippines president and CEO
This framework was developed in collaboration with various stakeholders and global experts, said the organisers, adding that a quantitative review of companies’ environmental impacts, such as its carbon footprint or amount of waste generated, is important because what is measured is managed.
Gene Morales, PWC consulting director, explained that PwC worked with Global Initiatives to narrow down the prospective award participants by checking the 24-page questionnaire they each answered and by conducting a 30- to 60-minute phone interview with each participant to determine the existence of documents, procedures, and projects.
“Using the scoring framework provided by Global Initiatives and the results from the phone interviews, PWC rated the survey respondents. We then submitted an initial score that determined a short list,” Morales noted.
This list was provided to a National Advisory Panel, which is composed of eight members such as Hans Sicat, president and chief executive of the Philippines Stock Exchange and Philippine Senator Loren Legarda, who chairs the senate committees on environment and natural resources and climate change. The members of the panel, who gave insights and knowledge on the companies’ performance and reputation, finalised the list of winners with Global Initiatives.
Trucost, a London-headquartered natural capital accounting consultancy, also supported the organisers in the assessment of quantitative data and environmental measures.
According to the organisers, this allows companies to demonstrate that they are both aware of the scale of their environmental risks and are taking steps to manage them in a way that is data driven and systematic.
Chaoni Huang, Trucost head of business development in Asia, handed out the additional category award on environmental disclosure to Henkel, a multinational company in the home, beauty and adhesive industries that has been releasing sustainability reports globally since 1992.
The Sustainable Business Awards held on Monday in Manila took place on the first day of the co-located Responsible Business Forum on Food and Agriculture, which drew over 150 local and international participants from the government, business, academe and civil society sectors.
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
Energy Development Corporation, BenCab team up for the environment
L-R:
Lopez Group Foundation Inc. president Cedie Lopez Vargas, artist
BenCab, LGFI Operations head Angela Lopez Guingona and EDC CSR manager
Rei MedranoEnergy Development Corporation (EDC) and National Artist BenCab (Benedicto Cabrera) have joined hands in saving and propagating endangered premium native trees.
With the
University of the Philippines-Baguio and the Philippine Society for the
Study of Nature, EDC and BenCab Art Foundation Inc. (BAFI) planted 100
seedlings of 18 endangered tree species at BenCab’s farm in Tuba,
Benguet recently.
The tree-planting activity is part of EDC’s BINHI: A
Greening Legacy project, a nationwide reforestation and biodiversity
preservation project to arrest forest degradation, contribute to climate
change mitigation and provide sustainable livelihood for forest
communities.
BAFI, EDC’s
97th partner for the project’s Tree for the Future module, will host the
permanent planting area within the eco-trail of BenCab Museum and share
in the responsibility of implementing the long-term protection,
monitoring and maintenance of the planted trees until these have grown
into mother trees.
Launched in 2008, BINHI is focused on bringing back highvalue but fast-dwindling native
trees such as yakal, tindalo, kamagong, mangkono and ipil.
Rei Medrano,
EDC manager for CSR, said: “We source the few remaining seedlings of
endangered premium native trees and grow them into mother trees in
planting sites where they can
be best
protected and nurtured…. These mother trees will be used to propagate
more seedlings for transplant all over the country.”
EDC has already rescued 85 premium endangered tree species out of the 96 target priority species with the help of its BINHI partners nationwide, Medrano added. (By Toni Nieva)
Thursday, 12 June 2014
Four in five investors consider sustainability issues – PwC survey
Four in five investors have looked at sustainability issues in one or more investment contexts in the last year, according to research from PwC. However, investors also cited dissatisfaction with current reporting standards.
PwC asked investors representing over $7.6 trillion (£4.5tn) in assets under management, including asset managers and pension funds, about a range of sustainability issues, including climate change, resource scarcity and corporate social responsibility.
The study found that investors are most likely to care about sustainability issues during shareholder-corporate engagement, proxy voting and when looking at their investment strategy, with over half those questioned having incorporated some areas of sustainability into their strategy. The interest in sustainability issues was particularly evident when investors were looking at issues involving corporate social responsibility and good citizenship.
The biggest driver behind considering sustainability issues was to mitigate risk, with 73% highlighting this as a reason. Failing to consider sustainability can have a negative impact on investors in the long term. For example, investing in a carbon intensive business at a time when the world is trying to cut emissions and bringing in regulation to do so, could result in lower returns and higher risk in the future.
Encouragingly, over half actively wanted to avoid firms with unethical practices and acknowledged that doing so could enhance performance. Some have argued that sustainable investment means performance sacrifice but in recent years this myth has been withering away, as more evidence against it has emerged.
Despite the growing interest in sustainable investment, investors are finding a lack of common standards frustrating and this is putting some of them off. Globally there is a high level of dissatisfaction around the sustainability-related information being provided by companies, with Europe being the only region were more investors were satisfied than dissatisfied.
The report states, “The lack of common standards to assess the materiality of environmental or social issues may be affecting investors’ ability to consider these issues as they want. Two-thirds of investors responding to our survey say that they would be more likely to consider this type of information when making investment decisions if common standards were used.”
This dissatisfaction is demonstrated in investors strongly supporting that companies should periodically assess multiple types of risk. Over 90% of respondents backed labour rights, human health and climate change in regards to regulatory risk being regularly assessed.
Even for the issue that received the lowest support – other social issues, such as increasing income inequality – periodical assessment was supported by 74% of participants.
Looking to the future, investors believe an increasing importance will be placed on sustainability issues and this is reflected in the fact that more and more investors want to engage directly with the companies on the challenges.
Over the next 12 months, 89% of investors that identified sustainability issues as relevant indicated they would request information from a company. Additionally, two-thirds are likely to seek a meeting with the companies’ boards or management, suggesting that investors are taking the issues around sustainability more seriously and want their portfolio to reflect this.
original article
PwC asked investors representing over $7.6 trillion (£4.5tn) in assets under management, including asset managers and pension funds, about a range of sustainability issues, including climate change, resource scarcity and corporate social responsibility.
The study found that investors are most likely to care about sustainability issues during shareholder-corporate engagement, proxy voting and when looking at their investment strategy, with over half those questioned having incorporated some areas of sustainability into their strategy. The interest in sustainability issues was particularly evident when investors were looking at issues involving corporate social responsibility and good citizenship.
The biggest driver behind considering sustainability issues was to mitigate risk, with 73% highlighting this as a reason. Failing to consider sustainability can have a negative impact on investors in the long term. For example, investing in a carbon intensive business at a time when the world is trying to cut emissions and bringing in regulation to do so, could result in lower returns and higher risk in the future.
Encouragingly, over half actively wanted to avoid firms with unethical practices and acknowledged that doing so could enhance performance. Some have argued that sustainable investment means performance sacrifice but in recent years this myth has been withering away, as more evidence against it has emerged.
Despite the growing interest in sustainable investment, investors are finding a lack of common standards frustrating and this is putting some of them off. Globally there is a high level of dissatisfaction around the sustainability-related information being provided by companies, with Europe being the only region were more investors were satisfied than dissatisfied.
The report states, “The lack of common standards to assess the materiality of environmental or social issues may be affecting investors’ ability to consider these issues as they want. Two-thirds of investors responding to our survey say that they would be more likely to consider this type of information when making investment decisions if common standards were used.”
This dissatisfaction is demonstrated in investors strongly supporting that companies should periodically assess multiple types of risk. Over 90% of respondents backed labour rights, human health and climate change in regards to regulatory risk being regularly assessed.
Even for the issue that received the lowest support – other social issues, such as increasing income inequality – periodical assessment was supported by 74% of participants.
Looking to the future, investors believe an increasing importance will be placed on sustainability issues and this is reflected in the fact that more and more investors want to engage directly with the companies on the challenges.
Over the next 12 months, 89% of investors that identified sustainability issues as relevant indicated they would request information from a company. Additionally, two-thirds are likely to seek a meeting with the companies’ boards or management, suggesting that investors are taking the issues around sustainability more seriously and want their portfolio to reflect this.
original article
Sunday, 8 June 2014
Invest Malaysia - PM Najib announces liberalisations
Source link
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has announced new liberalisation measures to further promote investments in a broader spectrum of assets.
The Prime Minister said one of the measures was the removal of the mandatory requirement for credit ratings effective Jan 1, 2017.
He said a gradual approach was being adopted to provide industry players sufficient time to further refine mechanisms necessary to operate under the new regime.
"From Jan 1 next year, flexibilities will be accorded with regards to credit ratings and the tradability of unrated bonds and sukuk," he said in his keynote address at Invest Malaysia 2014 on Monday.
The Prime Minister also announced that the equity shareholding for credit rating agencies would be liberalised.
International Credit rating agencies with full foreign ownership will be allowed in the Malaysian market from Jan 1, 2017, he added.
"The entry of international agencies will further enhance the quality and standard of rating services, introduce a more competitive fee structure and widen both expertise and the range of credit rating services on offer," Najib said.
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Thursday, 28 March 2013
Sustainable Competitiveness
Economic development over the years has lead to an increased look into environmental and social concerns as part and parcel of productivity and economic growth. Data has shown that increasing productivity and economic growth went hand in hand with better and improving living conditions.
More recent data suggests that trends in
economic growth no longer tell the whole story. The need to better
understand the relationship between economic competitiveness and social
and environmental sustainability has been revealed by events such as the
“Arab Spring”, the rise of unemployment in many advanced economies –
particularly among the young and less skilled population –, increasing
income inequalities and social unrest in rapidly-growing economies as
well as by increasing pressure on natural resources or the high levels
of pollution.
The World Economic Forum’s annual
Global Competitiveness has embarked on a major effort to deepen
understanding of how sustainability relates to competitiveness and what
this means for the development path of economies. Since 2011 the Forum presents the Sustainability-Adjusted Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). This new measure aims to assess the “the
set of institutions, policies and factors that make a nation remain
productive over the longer term while ensuring social and environmental
sustainability”. measures not only the propensity to prosper and
grow, but also integrates the notion of “quality growth”, taking into
account environmental stewardship and social sustainability.
This innovative approach builds on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), highlighting the
importance of competitiveness as the key indicator of prosperity. The
GCI is then adjusted by two new pillars: The social sustainability pillar, which measures the “set
of institutions, policies and factors that enable all members of
society to experience the best possible health, participation and
security; and to maximize their potential to contribute to and benefit
from the economic prosperity of the country in which they live” and the environmental sustainability pillar which measures
“the institutions, policies and factors that ensure an efficient
management of resources to enable prosperity for present and future
generations”.
One
of the most important findings of this analysis suggests that there do
not seem to be any necessary trade-offs between being competitive as
well as socially and environmentally sustainable.
The results
presented in this edition are preliminary and tentative as the work
continues. The lack of high-quality available data and a more
evidence-based understanding of the complex relationship between
competitiveness and environmental and social sustainability prevent us
from presenting more conclusive results.
Friday, 15 March 2013
Sustainability Reporting Increasing in China
One-third of companies surveyed in China share their sustainability initiatives with the outside world, illustrating some progress in the country to promote non-financial reporting, according to a report released by The Conference Board.
Potential regulatory changes requiring the presentation of certain sustainability metrics and a movement among companies towards greater transparency will likely drive disclosures rates upward, The Conference Board said.
The Conference Board’s Sustainability Matters 2013 report is a collection of previously published director notes centered around sustainability communication. The report, which summarizes findings from the Conference Board’s benchmarking report, also features new content, including an emerging trend among shareholders during proxy season and data on sustainability reporting in China.
While there has been a rise in sustainability reports in China, a general lack of experience and awareness of reporting standards still lingers, The Conference Board said. For example, only 5 percent of the sustainability or CSR reports issued in China in 2011 and filed in consulting company SynTao’s database had been audited by an independent third party.
The Conference Board report also found increasing shareholder requests over the past several proxy seasons for companies to publish sustainability reports. In 2008, there were nine proposals asking companies to develop a sustainability report, accounting for 5,1 percent of shareholder proposals on environmental and social issues. By 2012, the number of proposals had jumped to 14, representing 8.8 percent of resolutions on environmental and social issues.
The Proxy Preview 2013 report released last week found investors have filed 365 shareholder resolutions this year on environmental and social issues, with 38 percent of the proposals focusing on climate change, energy and corporate sustainability strategies. While political spending resolutions continue to dominate the agenda, totaling one-third of all proposals filed so far, climate and energy, other environmental issues and sustainable governance combined make up the next biggest chunk of the total. Original Report
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
AMEA's Sustainable Business TV series
AMEA is developing a series of SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS TV SERIES of documentaries, our second in the series is themed “Indonesia: A New Era of
Sustainability and Economic Growth.”
This interactive and informative
documentary will give insight and holistic view of leading land-based
industries driving the country forward. It will outline the need for change in business as usual
to sustainable business solutions in
Land Based Industries in Forestry and
Palm Oil.
It will showcase leading corporations that are developing business driven solutions to some of
the greatest challenges of these industries including, poverty, climate change,
education, healthcare among others.
Land based industries are a significant
contributor to Indonesia's GDP and major contributor to regional and rural development.
We will explore the multiplier effects which these industries have on the country
and explore the challenges and solutions to critical issues.
Stay tuned as we are aiming for this June for the broadcast airdates!
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
Energy Sustainability
“We must accept that
we have to make hard choices in this generation to bring about real changes for
future generations and the planet. Politicians and the industry must get real.”
This is quoted from the report released by the World Energy Council (WEC) in partnership with the global consulting firm Oliver Wyman. The report titled,
World Energy Trilemma: Time to get real – the case for sustainable
energy policy gives a overview of energy sustainability and methodology to achieve this.
The three noted dimensions of
energy sustainability
The World Energy
Council’s definition of energy sustainability is based on three core dimensions
- energy security, social equity, and
environmental impact mitigation.
The development of stable, affordable, and
environmentally-sensitive energy systems defies simple solutions. These three
goals constitute a ‘trilemma’, entailing complex interwoven links between
public and private actors, governments and regulators, economic and social
factors, national resources, environmental concerns, and individual behaviors.
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Corporate Sustainability Leaders
In the world of corporate responsibility, CSR has become a “buzzword” and is becoming part of many
industries, mining and exploration included. CSR, is
alternatively known as being a “good corporate citizen” or paying
attention to the triple-bottom line of “people, planet, profit.”
This year DNV Two Tomorrows conducted its 9th annual global research of corporate responsibility best practices using the Tomorrow's Value criteria, a research tool designed to answer "Who are the CSR leaders?' question. It looked at best practices in the 25 largest companies by revenue in the Americas, Europe and Asia and 19 Dow Jones Sustainability Index supersector leaders from 2011.
Who are the leaders in CSR? Typically consumer brands and technology companies gain much of our attention and create a lot of hype surrounding their marketing campaigns. They are creating important approaches that will revolutionize the way we do business.
Outside of these limelight sectors is another category, industries with historically risky, messy and challenging operations - petroleum, mining, heavy manufacturing. Although rarely seen as models of sustainability, many have pioneered leadership in some of the most important areas of corporate responsibility. These systems are not perfect, and when they fail, consequences can be disastrous and fatal. But it is this risk that has driven such leading edge practices.
Overall, companies are learning that there are some practical and profitable applications by focusing on protecting the environment, being proactive regarding health and safety of employees, or working with indigenous and local populations beyond what is required by government regulations.
What do you see as the future trends for CSR?
This year DNV Two Tomorrows conducted its 9th annual global research of corporate responsibility best practices using the Tomorrow's Value criteria, a research tool designed to answer "Who are the CSR leaders?' question. It looked at best practices in the 25 largest companies by revenue in the Americas, Europe and Asia and 19 Dow Jones Sustainability Index supersector leaders from 2011.
Who are the leaders in CSR? Typically consumer brands and technology companies gain much of our attention and create a lot of hype surrounding their marketing campaigns. They are creating important approaches that will revolutionize the way we do business.
Outside of these limelight sectors is another category, industries with historically risky, messy and challenging operations - petroleum, mining, heavy manufacturing. Although rarely seen as models of sustainability, many have pioneered leadership in some of the most important areas of corporate responsibility. These systems are not perfect, and when they fail, consequences can be disastrous and fatal. But it is this risk that has driven such leading edge practices.
Overall, companies are learning that there are some practical and profitable applications by focusing on protecting the environment, being proactive regarding health and safety of employees, or working with indigenous and local populations beyond what is required by government regulations.
What do you see as the future trends for CSR?
Friday, 21 September 2012
Tell your sustainability story!
Pictures tell a thousand words and creative visuals are the best
way to engage audiences worldwide
on serious concerns. In the highly active world of sustainability
communications, presentations, film documentaries, as well as case
study success stories are all commonplace—and often very strong tools to highlight the numerous environmental, social, and economic
challenges and opportunities facing global business today. Then the question becomes, in the mid of all
this creative dissonance for the greater good, how will your company’s own
sustainability story stand out from the crowd?
Today Major
Corporations focus on the following:
In the universe of communications and creative marketing strategy often poses the question of: What will my company’s sustainability story
stand out in comparison to my competitors?
I laughed while reading the
blog article How
highly Networked Non-Profits Are
Using Social Media to Power Change written by social media specialists Beth Kanter. In a recent post, Kanter describes the “living case study,” as a constantly evolving picture that paints a beautiful image on issues or causes by piggy backing, not simply celebrating the
arrival. As Kanter writes, “While the traditional case study is tidy, packaged,
and finished—the living case study is open to feedback, questions, thoughts, and most of all, empowerment of
peers.”
This idea of sharing a complex work-in-progress to audiences
engaged in sustainable business
is not new one. This is the
case with retail giant Wal-mart, that has been telling the story of its
intense and highly complex journey towards sustainability that has been in progress for many
years. Which as a result of has opened
Wal-Mart up to everything from extreme criticism to praise from analysts,
environmentalists, media, corporate leaders, consumers, and key player. One can argue that Wal mart’s approach to opening itself up to multiple stakeholders on how
to minimize its global environmental footprint has been a large part of its
sustainability success to date.
And while airing ones dirty laundry isn’t every corporation’s
cup of tea, here are some reasons to consider sharing your
sustainability struggles as you go:
- Do thing others have not done. Learn from others who have faced. If you ask for help to solve a particular challenge that’s keeping you up at night, you just might get it.
- Social media loves social inquiry. Show your challenges publicly through social media channels. Start a blog tracking your sustainability efforts. See who responds and engages. They might just become your next biggest advocate—or most loyal consumer.
- True leaders have the guts to reach out and engage.; Leadership today is no longer equated with top-down, informative messaging and communications. Include multiple voices into your policy for impact and change. The more you share, the more you stand to gain from the perspective of others.
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