Ensure Honest Accounting http://www.ceres.org Current accounting systems fail to value environmental and social factors in business decision-making. Investors and companies too often “externalize,” or ignore, the ecological and human impacts from their activity. As a result, companies are able to exploit finite water resources at minimal cost and emit carbon freely. We must ensure that capital markets integrate the full costs of environmental and social factors in business strategies, risk management and public disclosure. Achieving this will ensure companies are rewarded for strong sustainable performance. daily 1 2010-04-05T17:23:55Z Disclosure Framework for Water & Sewer Enterprises http://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/disclosure-framework-for-water-sewer-enterprises In its Report on Municipal Securities Market, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission recommends the development of best practices in disclosure to improve the fairness and efficiency of the municipal market. Given the heightened attention to credit analysis across the municipal market, and the shifting operating environment facing issuers within the water and sewer sector, Ceres is issuing this disclosure framework to ensure that all material information is provided to investors in the primary and secondary markets. Given the heightened attention to credit analysis across the municipal market, and the shifting operating environment facing issuers within the water and sewer sector, Ceres is issuing this disclosure framework to ensure that all material information is provided to investors in the primary and secondary markets.

This framework was created through outreach to stakeholders on the buy- and sell-sides of the market, including large water and wastewater systems and more than a dozen institutional investors with $40 billion in assets under management.

The framework entails six key areas of disclosure:

  • Supply Security
  • Demand Management
  • Asset Management
  • Water Quality
  • Energy Use and Generation
  • Rates
]]> No publisher Megan Doherty 2013-04-02T12:50:00Z Resource Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Survey 2012 http://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/naic-report This report summarizes responses from insurance companies to a survey on climate risk developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). In 2012 insurance regulators in California, New York and Washington required insurers that write in excess of $300 million in direct written premiums, and are licensed to operate in any of the three states, to disclose their climate-related risks using this survey. The aim of the survey and Ceres’ analysis of the responses is to provide regulators with substantive information about the risks to insurers posed by climate change, as well as steps insurers are taking in response to their understanding of climate change risks. This report summarizes responses from insurance companies to a survey on climate risk developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). In 2012 insurance regulators in California, New York and Washington required insurers that write in excess of $300 million in direct written premiums, and are licensed to operate in any of the three states, to disclose their climate-related risks using this survey. The aim of the survey and Ceres’ analysis of the responses is to provide regulators with substantive information about the risks to insurers posed by climate change, as well as steps insurers are taking in response to their understanding of climate change risks.

]]> No publisher Brian Sant 2013-03-06T18:35:00Z Resource Investor Expectations for Improving Environmental & Social Performance in Canadian Oil Sands Development http://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/investor-expectations-for-improving-environmental-social-performance-in-canadian-oil-sands-development A group of 49 investors with $2 trillion in assets under management are calling on Canadian oil sands developers to dramatically reduce the environmental and social impact of their operations. A group of 49 investors with $2 trillion in assets under management are calling on Canadian oil sands developers to dramatically reduce the environmental and social impact of their operations by lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, managing water use, promoting land reclamation and consulting fully with First Nations and other communities affected by oil sands projects. The investors argued that these performance improvements “should be prioritized ahead of unmitigated growth ambitions for oil sands development.”

Oil sands development is significantly more resource-intensive than traditional oil development, creating environmental and social concerns that investors argue may threaten the sector’s long-term viability and growth.

In their statement, investors specifically called on Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) to:

  • Set goals and timelines for reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of oil sands production to at least that of conventional oil production, while also providing greater disclosure on research and development efforts and supporting provincial and federal regulations that would lead to significant reductions in GHG emissions.
  • Manage water risk by setting goals and timelines for minimizing net surface and groundwater withdrawals, and keeping withdrawals within science-based ecosystem limits.
  • Reduce the rate of land disturbance and increase reclamation, provide disclosure of liabilities, establish wetlands and biodiversity offsets and accept limits to the amount of land available to oil sands development at any given time.
  • In cooperation with government authorities, fully incorporate the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent in their responsibilities to First Nations, Metis, Inuit and other communities affected by oil sands operations.
]]> No publisher Megan Doherty 2012-10-22T12:50:00Z Resource Incorporating Environmental, Social and Governance Factors into Investing: A Survey of Investment Consultant Practices http://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/incorporating-environmental-social-and-governance-factors-into-investing-a-survey-of-investment-consultant-practices This report shows that investment consultants retained by major asset owners such as pension funds, foundations and endowments have generally not considered environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) risks and opportunities as they advise their investor clients on their portfolios. A new Ceres report shows that investment consultants retained by major asset owners such as pension funds, foundations and endowments have generally not considered environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) risks and opportunities as they advise their investor clients on their portfolios. Of the 13 U.S. and international consulting firms surveyed for the report, few have developed expertise in ESG investing, fewer than half believe environmental and social factors can impact long-term financial risk and reward, and only one integrates ESG into its risk/return and asset allocation modeling.

The report, Integrating Environmental, Social and Governance Factors Into Investing: A Survey of Investment Consultant Practices, was prepared by the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a group of 100 institutional investors with more than $10 trillion in assets under management, and the nonprofit group Ceres, which advocates for sustainable business and investment practices.

]]> No publisher Megan Doherty 2012-10-05T07:00:00Z Resource Stormy Future for U.S. Property/Casualty Insurers: The Growing Costs and Risks of Extreme Weather Events http://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/stormy-future This Ceres report examines how extreme weather trends may be a harbinger of significant challenges ahead for a sector in which many companies are already confronting profitability and growth challenges. This analysis is based on a careful review of U.S. property/casualty insurance industry financial results as reported by A. M. Best Company in early 2012. This Ceres report examines how extreme weather trends may be a harbinger of significant challenges ahead for a sector in which many companies are already confronting profitability and growth challenges. This analysis is based on a careful review of U.S. property/casualty insurance industry financial results as reported by A. M. Best Company in early 2012.

]]> No publisher Brian Sant 2012-09-20T14:35:00Z Resource