NGOs welcome reforms to IFC sustainability policies

NGOs have welcomed updates to the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC’s) guidelines for sustainable investment, which they say increase transparency.

Last week, the IFC released details of its new Sustainability Framework, which will come into effect in 2012.

The framework includes the Performance Standards, which set the environmental and social standards projects must meet to receive financing from the institution.

Al Gore says capitalism can save the world Commentary: Former Veep says it’s time for sustainable investing

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (MarketWatch) — In a keynote speech last week for the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment, former Vice President Al Gore urged people to radically shift markets toward a more sustainable form of capitalism.

Gore, of course, is famous for his environmentalism, less so for his capitalism. But he has a track record there, too. As chairman of Generation Investment Management, Gore has sought to leverage financial capital to effect social and environmental change among the business community.

Generation Investment Management says its investment approach is based on the idea that sustainability factors—economic, environmental, social and governance criteria — will drive a company’s returns over the long term.

Investments in Green Energy on the Rise

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Making the decision to invest in green companies can be intimidating. There's a lot of information in cyberspace - some of it encouraging investment and some of it weary of the ROI on sustainable investments. I've offered some do's and don't's for would-be green investors and in this post, we'll take a look at the factors that make green investing a wise decision in 2011.

The Think-Tank CSR Asia announced yesterday that, despite the recession in 2010, investments in green energy reached nearly $200 billion, up from $162 billion in 2009. Most of the new investors are coming from places outside the United States. Brazil, China, and India have the most number of new green investors. CSR Asia notes that these non-OECD countries have recognized the climate change threat and are investing in green energy in efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

PUMA becomes Industry Leader in DJSI

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The Sportlifestyle company PUMA AG has been rated the sustainability leader within its sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), one of the most recognized indexes for sustainable investment worldwide.

Having been a component of the Dow Jones World Index and the Dow Jones Europe Index since 2006, PUMA was ranked the leading company with regards to its sustainability program in the DJSI Tex Clothing Accessories and Footwear sector for the first time in 2010.

PUMA achieved a company score of 86 points, while the average score in the industry amounted to 54 points. The scores reflect the company’s performance across economic, environmental and social criteria compared to its industry peers and range on a scale from 0 to 100%. SAM, an investment boutique focused exclusively on Sustainability Investing, together with Dow Jones Indexes, rated PUMA’s economic dimension at 86, the environmental dimension at 100 while the social dimension was given a score of 80 in the year 2010.

Through PUMAVision, PUMA’s sustainability concept, the Sportlifestyle company has launched numerous initiatives to drive PUMA to cleaner, greener, safer and more sustainable systems and practices. PUMA’s longstanding work and efforts to improve social, labour and environmental standards throughout its operations date back to 1999.

From that time, the company has continuously incorporated environmentally-friendly practices to reduce its impact on the planet and realized several successful large-scale initiatives such as sourcing of raw materials through the Cotton made in Africa campaign to building the capacity of its suppliers as well as the offsetting the company’s CO2 emissions as of 2010.

EU sets sustainable recovery as top priority for 2011

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BRUSSELS, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission adopted on Wednesday its strategic priorities for 2011, with a special focus on sustainable recovery.
"The work program adopted today will ensure that recovery is sustained into the new year and beyond," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso declared early this week.
The work program adopted by the commission for 2011 will cover five main areas, ranging from finance to foreign affairs, and from citizen's rights to growth.
As a first priority, EU will work on sustaining the social market economy out of the crisis and beyond, through regulation of the financial sector and protection of consumers. >>>

US Sustainable Business Spending 2009-14

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Verdantix Critical Moments® is a globally-scalable model that sizes, forecasts and describes the future direction of sustainable business spending. This report, focused on the addressable US market, provides sustainability leaders in market-facing and corporate roles with a fact-based analysis of sustainable business budgets, market size and forecast data. Based on real financial data from 1,833 firms with US revenues of more than $1 billion in 2008/09, the analysis finds that spending on 29 sustainability initiatives will grow from $28 billion in 2010 to $60 billion in 2014. Over the 2009 to 2014 period the US sustainable business market will experience a 19% compound annual growth rate. The sustainable business market forecast finds that growth of 11% in 2010 will increase to 16% in 2011 and 24% in 2012. Growth in spending is driven by improved economic growth, risk drivers, competitive dynamics, innovation diffusion, higher oil prices, state-level GHG regulations and renewable energy policies. The study covers all industries and all sustainability initiatives from energy efficiency to spending on strategy, risk and brand.

Revolutionary economics for evolutionary policy

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Sustainable economics aims to explain how economies can thrive within the earth’s ability to provide the resources necessary for life. Despite multiple and sometimes divergent visions of sustainable economy, macroeconomic models that sufficiently conceptualize and test assumptions about sustainable economy are rare. Yet, policies that enable sustainable economies are urgently needed, as there is now strong evidence supporting arguments.

Currently, economic growth, defined as an increase in the quantity of goods and services produced, is a primary government goal considered essential for human well-being. Although some people argue that economic growth, at least in wealthier countries, may be the wrong focus for policy, the search for solutions is particularly challenging.

Traditionally, investment in new technology is considered to be one of the main economic growth drivers, but short-term technological fixes are no longer adequate for solving today’s pressing environmental problems. One thing we do know is that governments with a strong long-term vision achieve better results, but the vision needs to be positive. In addition, governments need to understand the end game and then devise ways to get there. To be revolutionary, they need to figure out the evolution.