How companies structure sustainability for success

From BrownFlynn’s monthly GreenBiz.com column, “Shift Happens,” here is the latest article:

Effectively structuring your organization can create the ideal atmosphere for higher employee engagement, adoption of your company’s sustainability vision, and an overall environment that thrives on positive change.  Here are some insights from BrownFlynn’s Barb Brown that highlight a few ways companies have embraced this type of organization structure for sustainability. (Full article here)

(GreenBiz.com) In last month’s column, we reviewed three ways sustainability is typically organized. The three ways – Centralized, Integrated, and Embedded – morph as a company progresses on its sustainability journey. While many companies have elements of all three types in particular divisions or countries, best practices within a company’s own culture and sustainability organization gradually emerge.

The benefits of elevating sustainability in organizations are well documented. No matter where in the journey your company is now, there are a few structural tips to follow to make sustainability take hold faster, easier, and with more enthusiasm. To continue with the keys to making sustainability central to success, here are three examples for guidance and ideas.

Read the full article here…

Carbon Disclosure Project names global leaders for carbon performance & disclosure

Responsible-Investor reported yesterday that the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) released its new Carbon Performance Leadership Index (CPLI), along with its 2010 Global 500 report. The top five companies (four of which are German) are: Siemens, Deutsche Post, BASF, Bayer and Samsung (Korea); each scored a 95 or better out of 100 for carbon disclosure and performance.

48 companies are recognized by the CPLI, including Lafarge, News Corp., Philips and Praxair. On the flip side, notable companies who didn’t respond are Berkshire Hathaway and Amazon.com. The CDP commented that only 19% of the Global 500 companies are showing significant reductions in their emissions; they monitor 4,700 companies worldwide.

“We need the benchmarking tools provided by the CDP and other actors to guide investment choices, increase investment flows, and align corporate incentives for low-carbon growth,” says World Bank President Robert Zoellick (Responsible-Investor).

According to the CDP, almost 9 out of 10 companies identified “significant opportunities’ in 2010 stemming from climate change, as a result of either regulatory, physical or commercial drivers. To read the full article, please click here.

It’s interesting to note that only 19% of the Global 500 companies are showing significant reductions in their emissions – why do you think this is? Could these companies be doing more to reduce emissions? Tell us your thoughts!

WNSF 7th Annual Businesswomen’s Sustainability Leadership Summit

The Women’s Network for a Sustainable Future is holding it’s 7th Annual Businesswomen’s Sustainability Leadership Summit on October 5, 2010 at IIE in New York City. The summit will host speakers such as Ray Anderson, Charlene Wall-Warren, North American Sustainability Manager, BASF Corporation and Alicin Williamson, SVP, Corporate Responsibility and Public Affairs, MTV Networks.

Click here for more info on the summit!

The Future of CSR Reporting: Integrated Reports

The corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting community is now calling for standardized Integrated Reports – reports that combine the financial information of annual reports with the environmental, social and governance (ESG) data traditionally included in CSR reports.

Companies already producing integrated reports include American Electric Power, Philips, Novo Nordisk, BASF, Anglo Platinum and Natura.  These “one report” companies note that, among other things like supporting a sustainable society and creating a consistent internal and external message, these combined reports reduce complexity and costs.

To learn more about how putting all this corporate information into one report could help the majority of stakeholders, take a look at these articles written by several attendees of the Amsterdam Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency, held in The Netherlands from May 26 to 28.