It’s becoming an all too familiar refrain: Investors need better data on companies’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. And that refrain is typically followed by the litany of problems that exist with the current sources of ESG data. A recent Wall Street Journal article — “Providing Timely ESG Information Is Becoming More Crucial for CFOs” — […]
The top 5 takeaways from BlackRock head Larry Fink’s 2021 letter to CEOs
What the giant investment management firm is looking at in 2021: “The climate transition presents a historic investment opportunity.” It has become an annual tradition. For years now, investment management company BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink writes a letter an annual letter, aimed at other business leaders that is eagerly anticipated by investors, companies—and increasingly—the global […]
Can we finally standardize ESG standards?
Most GreenBiz readers are well aware of the complex sustainability reporting landscape. It seems like every year new reporting standards or frameworks are added to the overstuffed workload of the corporate sustainability professional. As the former chief executive of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), I had a role in the ongoing movement to “standardize the […]
Why I joined a carbon management startup
As the former Chief Executive of GRI, I worked on establishing global ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) disclosure standards. After stepping down, I have joined a carbon management startup company – Persefoni AI. While I continue to be active across a broad range of sustainability issues, this move requires some explanation. Startups are fun and can be […]
We mustn’t miss this crucial moment to create a global Sustainability Standards Board
The same degree of rigour is needed as standards for reporting on a company’s financial performance, argue Tim Mohin and Bob Eccles The time has come for mandated reporting of a company’s sustainability performance based on a common set of global standards that have the same degree of rigor as standards for reporting on a […]
COVID crisis reinforces need for governments to go green
In the early months of 2020 we heard much from the European Commission about the ‘Green Deal’ – an ambitious package of measures for the EU to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Yet in just a few short weeks, priorities in Europe and around the world have necessarily shifted to combating the coronavirus pandemic. Against this […]
Supply and demand: the business case for full transparency
The expectations on companies to be transparent about their ways of working are greater than ever before. Nowhere more so than in the area of supply chain management. In our globalized economy, how businesses outsource as well as purchase often determine the majority of their impacts on people and the planet. There have been recent […]
If capitalism wants to match the ‘reboot’ rhetoric, it must become transparent
David Dodwell’s article, “Capitalism is in crisis. It cannot be business as usual for very much longer” (September 23), put forward that capitalism needs a “painful reset” to change focus from economic growth to improving livelihoods.This followed an editorial in the Financial Times in August on why major companies have committed to “explicitly elevating broader interests such […]
It’s Time for Business Leaders to Take off the Blinders
By Tim Mohin, Chief Executive, Global Reporting Initiative The pledge by 181 CEO members of the Business Roundtable that their companies will now serve all stakeholders, not just shareholders, has ignited fierce debate. But, in my humble opinion, it is largely a false debate. At first glance, the development seems revolutionary. After all, it reverses the long-held […]
Businesses commit to act fairly and sustainably— and the hard work starts now
A welcome development this week was the declaration from 181 chief executives of US companies to operate in a way that values and recognizes all their stakeholders. The signatories to the Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, organized by Business Roundtable, includes commitments to: Respect communities and the environment by embracing sustainable business practices; Deal […]