Source: flickr.com; (CC BY 2.0)
Dailycsr.com – 21 April 2019 – Three decades have gone by since one of the massive oil tankers of Exxon Valdez had spilled oil into the “pristine Prince William sound” which is located off the Alaskan coast, whereby it released “nearly 11 million gallons of oil” which affected a stretch of “1,300 miles” along the coastline, wrote the President as well as the chief executive officer of Ceres, Mindy Lubber.
The above mentioned spillage was the worst one recorded in the U.S. history, as it devastated the local eco-system and claimed the lives of “hundreds of thousands of birds and fish” while the company had to pay off over “a half billion dollars” as liabilities.
However, it is only a year ago that the citizens of the U.S. got to heart from a “congressional testimony” about the threatening CO2 and other greenhouse gases generated from industrial discharge is causing a gradual global warming as we witness drastic climate change. Many people from various cities in the U.S. have been complaining of air pollution and smog which are damaging their lungs and affecting visibility.
In order to cope with the situation, the congressional leaders have come out with amendments for strengthening its Clean Air Act. As the news of devastation spread across, a “small group of investors” realise that there has to be “a better way of doing business”. Joan Bavaria stood at the helm of these investors’ group and started to operate “as a coalition”. As they went, they brought “other investors and environmentalists” on board for re-evaluating the corporate “role and responsibility” as environment stewards as well as “agents of economic and social change”.
Initially, the coalition was recognised by the names of “Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies”, while later it came to be known as Ceres. The founding investors of the group started working with “environmental groups” and designed the “a groundbreaking code of conduct for companies called the Ceres Principles”.
Following this, Ceres was the co-founder of “Global Reporting Initiative”, in short GRI, which sets the standard for “corporate sustainability reporting”, followed nearly by “13,400 companies”. The reporting framework underscores the “risks and opportunities” and provides tools to measure the impact of companies on the environment, society and the governance at large, besides laying out an action plan.
In the words of Mindy Lubber:
“As we mark 30 years since the ground-breaking investor response to the Exxon oil spill, and Ceres’ founding, we must take stock of how far we have come, and how much we have achieved in tackling some of the greatest sustainability challenges. Investor action on sustainability is no longer a sideline endeavor. Investors working with Ceres have made real inroads shifting capital market systems and incentives to promote sustainability, including by addressing climate-related risks such as those associated with fossil fuels”.
However, Lubber sees much work still remaining to be done in this line. If the world has to attain the goals set by the Paris Agreement, there needs to be a “transformation at a pace and scale the world never has seen before”. Furthermore, Lubber added:
“We must all recognize the power of our investable dollars to accelerate the transition to a just and sustainable global economy that ensures a livable planet for all of us. Going forward, we need investors to step up their efforts and join an all-hands-on-deck effort by all economic sectors, all governments, and all segments of society”.
References:
3blmedia.com
The above mentioned spillage was the worst one recorded in the U.S. history, as it devastated the local eco-system and claimed the lives of “hundreds of thousands of birds and fish” while the company had to pay off over “a half billion dollars” as liabilities.
However, it is only a year ago that the citizens of the U.S. got to heart from a “congressional testimony” about the threatening CO2 and other greenhouse gases generated from industrial discharge is causing a gradual global warming as we witness drastic climate change. Many people from various cities in the U.S. have been complaining of air pollution and smog which are damaging their lungs and affecting visibility.
In order to cope with the situation, the congressional leaders have come out with amendments for strengthening its Clean Air Act. As the news of devastation spread across, a “small group of investors” realise that there has to be “a better way of doing business”. Joan Bavaria stood at the helm of these investors’ group and started to operate “as a coalition”. As they went, they brought “other investors and environmentalists” on board for re-evaluating the corporate “role and responsibility” as environment stewards as well as “agents of economic and social change”.
Initially, the coalition was recognised by the names of “Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies”, while later it came to be known as Ceres. The founding investors of the group started working with “environmental groups” and designed the “a groundbreaking code of conduct for companies called the Ceres Principles”.
Following this, Ceres was the co-founder of “Global Reporting Initiative”, in short GRI, which sets the standard for “corporate sustainability reporting”, followed nearly by “13,400 companies”. The reporting framework underscores the “risks and opportunities” and provides tools to measure the impact of companies on the environment, society and the governance at large, besides laying out an action plan.
In the words of Mindy Lubber:
“As we mark 30 years since the ground-breaking investor response to the Exxon oil spill, and Ceres’ founding, we must take stock of how far we have come, and how much we have achieved in tackling some of the greatest sustainability challenges. Investor action on sustainability is no longer a sideline endeavor. Investors working with Ceres have made real inroads shifting capital market systems and incentives to promote sustainability, including by addressing climate-related risks such as those associated with fossil fuels”.
However, Lubber sees much work still remaining to be done in this line. If the world has to attain the goals set by the Paris Agreement, there needs to be a “transformation at a pace and scale the world never has seen before”. Furthermore, Lubber added:
“We must all recognize the power of our investable dollars to accelerate the transition to a just and sustainable global economy that ensures a livable planet for all of us. Going forward, we need investors to step up their efforts and join an all-hands-on-deck effort by all economic sectors, all governments, and all segments of society”.
References:
3blmedia.com