Tag Archives: ESG

Ready For Their Close-Up: Corporate Secretaries and “The Shape of Things to Come”

Part One of Three The TakeAway: The recent annual conference of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals focused on “The Shape of Things to Come”—that is, key issues and trends affecting corporate accountability and sustainable prosperity. In so … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Corporate Political Activity, Corporate Reporting, Corporate Sustainability, Ethics and Values, Interactive Technology, Politics, Proxy Voting, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Valentine’s Bouquet: Twelve for 2012

The TakeAway: The blooms of sustainable prosperity and justice are fed by at least twelve currents that will get stronger throughout 2012. They involve the maturation of corporate social responsibility and corporate governance; rethinking the meaning of “fiduciary”; balancing internationalism … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Corporate Political Activity, Corporate Reporting, Corporate Sustainability, Human Rights, Interactive Technology, Investor Governance, Natural Disasters, Proxy Voting, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainable Investing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Stepping Toward Corporate Sustainability Footprinting

Guest Commentary by Bill Baue, Contributor and Curator, The Murninghan Post The TakeAway: Corporate sustainability ratings and reports don’t really tell us if a company is sustainable, but sustainability footprinting takes a step in the right direction. I challenge you: … Continue reading

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Scaling Pains at AccountAbility

The TakeAway: AccountAbility Standards Board resigns en masse, while the UK standard-setter for sustainability assurance and stakeholder engagement pledges to stay true to its mission. Last week, the voluntary Standards Board (SB) at AccountAbility resigned en masse in a letter … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Reporting, Corporate Sustainability, Stakeholder Engagement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Both/And: The Big Tent of Socially Responsible Investing

Commentary by Murninghan Post Editor Bill Baue The TakeAway: Seeming dichotomies thrive side-by-side as complementary strategies at the SRI in the Rockies Conference. Attire at the SRI in the Rockies Conference last week in San Antonio ranged from tie-dye to … Continue reading

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The $3 Trillion Socially Responsible Investing Market

The TakeAway: Nearly one out of every eight dollars professionally managed in the US employs sustainability criteria, according to the Social Investment Forum SRI Trends Report. As the US economy slumped into the worst recession since the ‘30s over the … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Corporate Sustainability, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainable Investing | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sustainability News Roundup

The TakeAway: CalPERS to factor ESG issues in all its funds by mid-2011; GRI announces work on fourth generation reporting guidelines; and a BSR poll shows increased support for CSR/sustainability. Three developments this week demonstrate the rising acceptance of incorporating … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Corporate Reporting, Corporate Sustainability, Interactive Technology, Sustainable Investing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Social Materiality: A New Lens for Sustainable Investing

Guest Commentary by Liz Umlas As the concept of ESG – addressing environmental, social, and governance factors in business and investment considerations – gains traction, the focus often seems more firmly on the first and last than on the middle … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, Corporate Governance, Corporate Sustainability, Human Rights, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainable Investing | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Fiduciary Failure: Closing the ESG Disclosure Gap

The TakeAway: Flex your muscles, report tells investors, to get better environmental, social, and governance reporting (and practice) from companies. What’s the secret to good corporate governance?  Good investor governance.  That’s why we were delighted by a recent report from … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Corporate Reporting, Investor Governance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Rebirth of Wisdom

The TakeAway: Revived British Initiative May Strengthen Board Role in Social and Environmental Oversight We were pleasantly surprised to learn that the UK’s new Coalition Government has quietly exhumed the Operating and Financial Review (OFR), a policy for expanding corporate … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Corporate Reporting, Public Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

Posted in Proxy Voting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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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