When UN Secretary General Kofi Annan rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to mark the launch of global Principles for Responsible Investment, ethical investing shifted into mainstream investment terrain.
Supported by pension funds worth more than $2,000bn in assets-owned, including the US’s largest pension fund, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CALPERS), and the BT Pension Scheme in the UK, the initiative commits investors to bringing economic, social and governance considerations into their investment activities.
Meanwhile Wal-Mart’s new commitments to sustainability are reverberating throughout the business and its extensive supply chain – raising both standards and expectations of corporate engagement on social and environmental issues. Wal-Mart’s public commitments on climate change, regeneration, diversity and healthcare have been well documented by the mainstream press and indicate the seismic shift taking place in the world’s largest retailer.
Perhaps more significantly for CSR managers everywhere, Wal-Mart is making sustainability a priority throughout its supply chains. Moving beyond its own operations, Wal-Mart merchandise buyers are being encouraged by incentive plans to find and select environmentally preferable products. Across identified key issue areas (sustainable packaging, cotton, wood, fish, produce and electronics) Wal-Mart is setting up networks of key stakeholders to find practical short and long-term solutions to sustainability.
Another long-time target of civil society campaigns, Coca-Cola, has joined the UN Global Compact, adding to the current list of only 125 US Compact signatories (a paltry 4% of the total global members). One in five of the world’s 500 largest companies by market capitalisation are now Compact participants. The economic and social impact of this group of companies is immense, with direct employment of close to 10m employees, market capitalisation of approximately $4.8 trillion, and revenues of approximately $3.5 trillion in 2005.
While only 45% of US companies are reporting on sustainability, social or environmental impacts (compared to a whopping 87% in the UK), the North American leaders are setting global standards. Nike, HP and Gap took the top awards for sustainability reporting at CERES’ ACCA North American Awards this year. HP’s 2005 Global Citizenship Report was praised by the judges for communicating strategic alignment between core business and sustainability initiatives, and for presenting global reach and performance, unlike many US reporters that stick to North America operations. Nike and Gap’s reporting is world-class in transparency and candour, sharing details on progress and challenges in implementing standards throughout the manufacturing supply chain. Both companies include input from independent stakeholders.
Corporate Citizenship Briefing issue number 87: April/May 2006
Michelle Dow heads up The Corporate Citizenship Company’s US office.
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