Environmental Governance - Leveraging existing corporate governance systems to respond to the growing market demand for sustainability information. Whether you have an existing sustainability program or are just beginning to contemplate one, Wallace Partners can help you focus your efforts in a manner that meets your business needs while addressing your most influential stakeholders' interests. Here are some questions we can help you answer:
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In August shareholders continued to build on the environmental activism we’ve seen over the summer, both in terms of resolutions and the tools in which they impact board and company behavior.
Response of Board of Directors In response to the activism of shareholders, company boards are now formally addressing environmental and corporate social responsibility issues. As recently reported in the Wall Street Journal, amid rising investor worries over global warming and shrinking natural resources, directors are keeping a closer watch on environmental issues. About 25% of Fortune 500 companies now have a board committee overseeing the environment, compared with fewer than 10% five years ago. In 2008 some 3,000 companies are expected to publish a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report to document their policies and performance on key issues, including environmental and social activities. Of these, around 750 will include a third-party assurance statement addressing the report’s credibility and completeness.
As boards address these issues and consider the potential environmental risks, more companies than ever are trying to measure their carbon footprint. Unfortunately, the current set of measurement tools are leading to inconsistent and potentially meaningless results. Despite growing efforts to measure their carbon emissions, almost 75 percent of firms' carbon footprints are typically going unrecorded, according to a new study from Carnegie Mellon University. Report authors are urging companies to embrace new methods for following the trail of dangerous carbon emissions that are responsible for much of the world's global warming threats. Even more concerning, a recent study by the University of Washington and Vanderbilt University found that nearly all current models used to measure a company’s carbon footprint yield drastically different results, even when controlling for the same input values. According to the study, results varied by as much as several metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per activity, and the majority of calculators make it difficult to compare the tools because they fail to disclose information about the different methods and estimates used.
What's Happening in Washington? As pending regulation becomes more and more likely, it becomes increasingly necessary to understand your own corporate footprint. Both presidential candidates promise to address greenhouse gas emissions and companies can expect to see some type of GHG reduction program implemented in 2009. John McCain proposes a Cap-and-Trade System that would set limits on greenhouse gas emissions with the following targets:
Barack Obama’s proposed energy policy will attempt to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. His policy will be to implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program, which will require all pollution credits to be auctioned, and proceeds will go to investments in a clean energy future and rebates and other transition relief for families. __________________________________________
Ratings, Ratings, and more Ratings As we’ve seen in previous months, more rating mechanisms are being created to help stakeholders assess companies along with their environmental policies and risks. In response the growing demand for sustainability investing tools, Dow Jones has partnered with SAM, a sustainability investment firm, to create four new sustainable, blue-chip indexes. The new indexes are designed to utilize sustainability both as a selection tool as well as weighting metric within investment portfolios, both in the U.S. and around the globe. The sustainability scores are derived from a comprehensive annual assessment of general, as well as industry specific criteria covering issues such as: corporate governance, risk management, emissions, water and energy consumption, human capital development and stakeholder relations. __________________________________________
Wallace Partners offers a unique approach to assessing current conditions and integrating sustainability into organizations. We apply a methodology that builds on existing management systems, identifies unforeseen assets, and enhances operational efficiency. Our strategic approach will help you identify the financial and reputational benefits of measuring and strategically disclosing sustainability performance data to priority stakeholders and the broader market. By identifying internal and external opportunities, we will help you lay the foundation for efficiently measuring and managing environmental, social, and economic performance, and disclosing sustainability information in a manner that:
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| Shareholder Trends |
| Response of Board of Directors |
| Carbon Emissions Reporting |
| What's Happening in Washington? |
| Ratings, Ratings, and more Ratings |
| How we can help |
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