While more and more companies see assurance as something
of a magic bullet that lends credibility to disclosures of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, the assurance business is ill-equipped
to meet the growing demand for its services. Is assurance
really worth the effort?

Read the article (PDF), published in the December issue of Ethical Corporation magazine.

Read how integration can help to address the disconnect between sustainability efforts and communications in this “by invitation” article, published in the July/August edition of Ethical Corporation.

This post, from Cam Hoang, Counsel and Assistant Secretary, General Mills,  is the sixth in a six-part series based on Where Sustainability Lives, a new study that indicates that organizational structure matters to sustainability performance.

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The study confirmed many of my suspicions about the correlation between organizational structure and external recognition of sustainability performance – I agree with the authors that more work is needed.  Beyond the question of where leadership for sustainability resides in an organization, I would be curious about how various departments in the horizontal structure collaborate to make sustainable practices happen.

To drive innovation and brand value, companies should elevate responsibility for managing sustainability. Read my guest column in yesterday’s Environmental Leader.

by Kathee Rebernak, Ethical Corporation, April 2009, Link

In a letter to the New York Times, published March 8, I suggest that the antitrust laws consider disallowing acquisitions that would result in companies that are considered “too big to fail”. Click here to read the letter.

United Technologies Corporation (UTC) recently announced its 2008 Annual Report, becoming one of the few companies embracing combined financial and corporate responsibility reporting (Novo Nordisk is a well-known pioneer in this space).

From the perspective of today’s economic climate, it’s a shrewd move. UTC is telling investors that sustainability is here to stay as a core element of the company’s business strategy—and showing them how the environmental characteristics of its products is helping to maintain sales. UTC is likewise demonstrating to stakeholders that environmental and social issues are being considered on a daily basis throughout the company’s operations with attendant emphasis on accountability for sustainability performance.

Both the integrated approach and the report theme of “More with Less” is right in line with current public sentiment. A Harris poll conducted in late January finds that 51 percent of Americans say that environmental and economic goals can be aligned (without trading off one for the other). At the same time, efficiency and cost-cutting are again being viewed as a hallmark of both personal and corporate responsibility.

UTC’s choice to combine reports is but another sign of how sustainability is becoming an indispensable management tool—and source of competitive advantage. When companies strip away the hype and start providing sustainability metrics as part of their financial narratives… now we’re really getting somewhere.

Last week I served as guest editor for Andrew Winston’s Eco-Advantage Strategies newsletter. In this issue I explore climate reporting: who cares and how some companies are communicating their efforts to their key stakeholders.

In last week’s edition of Sustainable Life Media’s Climate Management Weekly, Kathee Rebernak offers tips for effective reporting on your climate impacts.

by Kathee Rebernak and Kyle Whitaker, Ethical Corporation, October 2008 Link