The 25 best-performing CEOs in the world, according to the Harvard Business Review
The Harvard Business Review has released its list of the 100 best-performing CEOs on the planet with CEO of healthcare company Novo Nordisk, Lars Rebien Sørensen, topping the list. To compile the ranking, HBR considered total shareholder return and the change in each company’s market capitalisation. This year, HBR also added a measurement of each company’s environmental, social, and governance performance (using ESG scores from investment research firm Sustainalytics). Long-term financial results were weighted at 80 percent and ESG performance at 20 percent for each CEO/company. Notably absent from the top is Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, last year’s No. 1 CEO, who fell 87 spots this year due to the addition of the ESG measure. HBR also notes that ex-Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who resigned amid the emissions scandal as the list was going to press, is ranked No. 20 based on the company’s financial data up to April 30th and a strong ESG score that has since been downgraded by Sustainalytics. (Business Insider)
Sustainable Development
GSK and Save the Children submit product for umbilical cord infections in new-born babies
GSK announced it has submitted a regulatory application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for its antiseptic chlorhexidine gel for the prevention of umbilical cord infections in new-born babies. Regulatory submission marks a major milestone in the GSK and Save the Children partnership which combines expertise and resources to help save the lives of children in developing countries. GSK’s work to develop the gel began in response to a call from the United Nations in 2012 for manufacturers to make a high quality chlorhexidine product suitable for new-born infants in low income settings. The EMA has granted the application an accelerated assessment, a process open to medicinal products of major public health interest. The antiseptic gel is intended exclusively for use in developing countries and, if approved for use, GSK will offer it at a not-for-profit price and will share its manufacturing knowledge with others to enable it to be made locally. (GSK)
Climate Change
Universities, colleges and students mobilise for Paris climate action
COP21 Secretary General, Pierre-Henri Guignard, will be handed an Open Letter, at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, strengthening the academic role in the climate change debate, on behalf of a global alliance of networks and associations representing more than 6,000 universities and colleges worldwide. The Open Letter has been signed by major tertiary and higher education sustainability and student networks and associations on every continent. In the letter to COP21 Ministers and negotiators, governments are urged to acknowledge and strengthen the research and education role that universities and colleges play in finding and implementing solutions towards climate change mitigation and adaptation. The letter also proposes specific measures to be implemented, such as showcasing universities and colleges as living laboratories for climate change adaptation and mitigation, increasing support for transdisciplinary learning, teaching and research approaches, and using university and college campuses and operations as a leverage agent to accelerate the transition to clean energy sources. (Blue and Green Tomorrow)
Corporate Reputation
Nestlé lawsuit claims food and beverage giant is illegally bottling California water
A consortium of environmental advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the US Forest Service. The consortium alleges that the federal agency has allowed food and beverage giant Nestlé to illegally pump millions of gallons of water, to use in its Arrowhead bottled water brand, from California’s San Bernardino National Forest. The Story of Stuff Project, along with co-plaintiffs the Center for Biological Diversity and the Courage Campaign Institute, claim that Nestlé is breaking federal law by operating on a permit that expired nearly 20 years ago. The organisations are asking the US Forest Service to immediately turn off the water spigot and conduct a permit review, assessing the environmental impact of Nestlé’s operations. “They are taking water from a national forest that desperately needs that water,” said Michael O’Heaney, executive director at the Story of Stuff. Nestlé says it isn’t breaking any laws, and insists that its permit hasn’t expired. (Guardian)
Gender Equality
New report shows huge gap remains for women’s representation in politics
Sex and Power 2015, a major new report by a coalition of democracy organisations reveals that despite progress in the May elections, there is still a long way to go before women are equally represented in British politics. The report finds that, to date, there have been just 450 women MPs in Britain’s history – below the number of male MPs who currently sit in the House of Commons (459). The research has further found that women make up under a third of government Cabinet members, and 24 percent of junior government posts. Nan Sloane, report author and Director of the Centre for Women & Democracy says “The outcomes for women in Parliament at this year’s election are largely encouraging, but they also demonstrate how far we have to go, not just in terms of women MPs per se, but also when it comes to the nitty gritty of government and, in particular, to the House of Lords, which remains both undemocratic and unrepresentative.” (Blue and Green Tomorrow)
Image Source: The Mamoni Project by Shafiqul Alam Kiron/Save the Children / CC BY 2.0
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