Tag Archives: Bob Massie

Civic Virtue as the Animating Ideal

Fourth in a Series: Time to Talk About the Public Interest The TakeAway: Despite the great strides made toward incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into economic decision making, these ideas are untethered from a moral paradigm or ethos … Continue reading

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Gift Xchange: Giving, Investing, and Grantmaking for Good

Part One of Two The TakeAway: Charitable requests are a constant, but the end of the year brings a blizzard of appeals. In addition to our donor dollars, there’s a vast amount of untapped money power held by nonprofit institutions, … Continue reading

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Song of Sorrow or Call to Arms? Four Stratagems to Improve Our Politics

The TakeAway: While extremist politics dominate Washington, financial markets continue to seize, and US credit-worthiness takes a beating, advocates of sustainability and good governance need to stop moping and get off the bench. Here are four stratagems to reverse the … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Corporate Governance, Corporate Reporting, Corporate Sustainability, Human Rights, Politics, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainable Investing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Sustainability Ratings Industrial Complex: Breaking the Hold

The TakeAway: The recent launch of the Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings seeks to bring some order, quality, and accountability to the diverse and booming growth industry of sustainability ratings and rankings—also a topic of the online “SustyChat3” among experts, … Continue reading

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Passing It On: Joan Bavaria’s Legacy

Over at Ceres, nominations are still open – through next Tuesday, March 8th – for the Joan Bavaria Awards, so it’s a good time to reflect on this extraordinary woman who gave so much to what is now a large … Continue reading

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Bob Massie for U.S. Senate

The TakeAway: Our friend and colleague Bob Massie announced his candidacy today to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate—an extension of his lifetime commitment to service. Bob Massie, co-founder of The Murninghan Post and publisher emeritus, today announced his candidacy … Continue reading

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Tone at the Top: Rebooting Democracy’s Dialogue

The TakeAway: We must hold lawmakers accountable to high standards of statecraft, just as we hold ourselves accountable when engaging on ‘hot button’ issues such as corporate accountability, sustainability, and human rights. It was a high-minded day.  Following a Native … Continue reading

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Integrated Reporting: The Future of Corporate Financial and Sustainability Disclosure

Part One of Two The TakeAway: New Harvard Business School eBook provides insights from first global conference on integrated reporting Last week, Harvard Business School published its first free eBook, featuring contributions by participants at the recent global consultation on … Continue reading

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Welcome to the USA, GRI!

The TakeAway: The Global Reporting Initiative, with the support of the global Big Four audit firms, launches “Focal Point USA”. Good news for sustainability in the US!  Today, the Amsterdam-based Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) announced that it’s opening an office … Continue reading

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Integrated Reporting: Off to A Strong Start

The TakeAway: International Integrated Reporting Committee Launches to Blend Financial Reporting with Sustainability Reporting Good news for proponents of sustainability reporting:  On Tuesday, the Global Reporting Initiative and the Accounting for Sustainability project (A4S) sponsored by the Prince of Wales … Continue reading

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Multiple Networks Syndrome: Diminishing Sustainability Impact

Commentary by Bob Massie The Take-Away: Partitioning ESG Activism Undermines Sustainability As A Holistic Concept Many thanks to those who commented on my first post on “silo” thinking.  Here are some additional thoughts on necessary improvements to sustainability activism. It … Continue reading

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Sustainability: When Will the Exception Become the Rule?

Commentary by Bob Massie The TakeAway: Silo Thinking by Corporations, Activists, Investors, and Others Slows Progress of Sustainability Those who have been working to advance the concept and practice of sustainability in the United States over the last decade can … Continue reading

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Environmental & Social Policy Resolutions Receive Record Levels of Support

Part Two of Three Parts For more than forty years, shareholder activists and large investors have expressed their concerns to corporate boards through the proxy resolution process.  For them, this past season was the best ever. Proxy resolutions are proposed … Continue reading

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Voting Matters: Record-Breaking Proxy Season

Part One of Three Parts It’s been a banner year for U.S. capital market reform:  on Wednesday President Obama is expected to sign the Dodd-Frank Act, while the SEC is receiving comments on its Concept Release for improving the process … Continue reading

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Sustainability Disclosure and Sector Sensibility

Now that the experimental cap seems to be holding on BP’s blown-out well in the Gulf, it’s time to step back and take a wider view of the company and the industry it occupies.  While we need to keep the focus … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Reporting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Future of Good Governance

July is the month to celebrate democracy’s journey—Independence Day in the US,  Bastille Day in France ten days later.  Too bad democracy’s core values aren’t enacted, even though they’re embedded in our corporate governance system of checks and balances.  Fortunately … Continue reading

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The Murninghan Post Launches!

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Murninghan Post, which we’re creating as a gathering place for information, ideas, deliberation, and strategic action on matters pertaining to the reform of our corporate structures and capital markets. The aim is bold … Continue reading

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