Sustainability Reporting
DJSI Services: Real Impact from Benchmarking
The demand from investors and institutions for ESG information increasingly puts pressure on companies. However, reporting activities often take up much time at the expense of creating real impact. As a European expert we see a lot of value in actively engaging in the leading ESG-benchmarks such as Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and CDP, but at the same time the struggle that companies have to leverage all the efforts they have put into filling out the (sometimes very demanding) questionnaires.
Get Ready and Prepare for the 2018 DJSI Questionnaire
On Thursday the 5th of April, RobecoSAM will once again open its annual Corporate Sustainability Assessment: the basis for selecting the best-performing companies for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). This year, more than 3,500 eligible companies have received an invitation to participate in the 2018 DJSI assessment. Avoid surprises by checking out our summary of announced changes for this year's methodology, and start your required preparations now.
Don’t Get Snowed In This Reporting Season
In 2017, the WBCSD’s Reporting Exchange initiative identified over 1,750 reporting requirements and resources across 60 countries and 70 sectors, with a steep increase on climate disclosures since 2015. While transparency is necessary, one of the unwelcome consequences is that sustainability departments end up spending too much of their time on reporting at the expense of generating real impact.
Creating Impact through Acceleration of Lean Reporting
The last two years have been defining for corporate non-financial reporting in Europe. The introduction of the EU Directive on the disclosure of non-financial and diversity information (Directive 2014/95/EU) has set a roadmap that is to lead to increased business transparency and accountability on social and environmental issues. And the 28 EU Member States have been turning the Directive into national legislations so companies are now expected to comply with the new disclosure requirements when reporting over fiscal year 2017.
Webcast on Human Capital Development & Eco-Efficiency
On November 30th, the last out of 5 webinars on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2017 results was broadcasted by RobecoSAM. The webcast covered the criteria of Human Capital Development and Operational Eco-Efficiency. Both criteria play an important role in the 60 industries addressed by RobecoSAM's questionnaire. As in line with the general trend of the sustainability assessment, those two criteria have shifted towards quantitative questions. Therefore, companies are required to have a data-driven perspective in order to accelerate its performance. In the download section of this article, you can find our summary of the webcast.
Key insights from CSA specialists and learn from top-level experts in Barcelona
DJSI Expert Training in Collaboration with RobecoSAM
After our successful training in Amsterdam last March, Finch & Beak once again hosted a DJSI Expert Training in collaboration with RobecoSAM. This time, the training took place on 27-28 November in Barcelona. Global practitioners on ESG benchmarking came together to learn and exchange best practices with top level DJSI peers. During the training four experts from leading DJSI companies presented their approach on selected criteria, while specialists from RobecoSAM and Finch & Beak provided insights and guided interactive discussions with participants. For the key takeaways of the training, please refer to the download below.
Dow Jones Sustainability Index Industry Leaders 2017: Pearson, Inditex, and KPN
On the 7th of September 2017, RobecoSAM and S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the results of the annual Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) review. This year’s industry group leaders include Pearson, SGS, Inditex, Metro, Grupo Argos and Henkel. Companies that were newly added in this year’s Indices are CRH, Carrefour, Solvay, Saipem, Philips Lighting and TechnipFMC, whereas Rio Tinto and Reckitt Benckiser Group have been deleted from the index. LANXESS re-entered the European Index within the chemicals sector.
SDG Business Forum 2017
On July 18 2017, the SDG Business Forum will take place at the United Nations in New York. The forum will bring together leaders from business and government, as well as heads of UN agencies, key international organizations, and civil society groups to discuss the role of business in delivering the 2030 agenda. Amongst many others, participants include United Nations Global Compact, International Chamber of Commerce, Global Business Alliance for 2030 and Novozymes.
Liberty Global’s Quest for Leaner Sustainability Reporting
As a major company with over $19 billion in revenues, a workforce of 45,000 employees and 29 million customers in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, it can be easy to get lost in ambiguity when you talk about your role in society. Not at Liberty Global. The company recently released its compact Corporate Responsibility Report 2015, showing that even large, publicly listed companies do not need hundreds of pages to tell their sustainability story in a convincing manner.
