A new study of water companies’ ESG disclosure finds that, with some exceptions, utilities in developing nations “disclose far more performance data” than their EU and US counterparts. The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) reviewed water suppliers’ reporting of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics. “Liquid Assets: Responsible Investment in Water Services” also surveyed a representative sample of 12 major global water utilities, scoring them on 21 “key disclosure issues.”

In the report’s executive summary, ICCR notes that control of the global water supply is a sensitive topic, but also says that “it is not the purpose of this report to debate the merits of public versus private ownership.” Instead, “Liquid Assets” explores how well utilities – whether investor- or government-owned – communicate with stakeholders. In calling for better disclosure of comparative ESG data, ICCR says: (read more…)

Institutional investors may have a fiduciary duty to consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, according to a new study from the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). In reporting on “Fiduciary Responsibility,” Social Funds’ Robert Kropp expressed the uncertainty that still surrounds the question of ESG-related fiduciary responsibilities:

“The report argues that consultants may well have a legal duty to proactively raise ESG issues with their clients. The report also recommends that ESG issues be embedded into legal contracts between asset owners and asset managers.”

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The socially responsible investing (SRI) market is poised to grow dramatically, predict the authors of a new report from Robeco and Booz & Company. According to Responsible Investing: A Paradigm Shift, socially responsible investments will reach $26.5 trillion assets under management (AUM) by 2015—over 15% of the global total.

Responsible Investing Grows Faster than the Overall Market

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Environmental Leader, along with most major news outlets, reports that Walmart is preparing to develop a sustainability index for its suppliers and products. The index will try to account for the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of Walmart suppliers “in such a way that consumers [can] easily discern the sustainability of one product over another.” Marc Gunther at The Big Money writes: “For the [Walmart] index to work, consumer-goods makers will need to understand the origins of everything they put into their products.”

Recent news about the global supply chain has made me think about my own origins.

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As the Senate deliberates over the House’s Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, Politico has presented a debate on the bill’s potential impact on the US economy. Mindy S. Lubber, of the environmental coalition Ceres, argues that Waxman-Markey “deserves our support.” In response, William L. Kovacs of the US Chamber of Commerce tells why he believes the economy will be harmed by the bill’s provisions.

Their discussion is a useful summary of pro- and anti-Waxman-Markey arguments. It also shows that a productive public policy debate depends on data. While both sides marshal projections and estimates to make their case, neither can present hard numbers on the cost of carbon emissions by American business. Many companies disclose some data, but without standardized, economy-wide reporting, no one can know the real costs or benefits of a cap-and-trade scheme.

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