A powerful rationale for sustainable development is enlightened self-interest, fed by the prospect of increased revenue, markets, and profits. Savings are good; revenue growth is exciting. Business strategy is often driven by bolstering revenue more than by cutting costs. Over time, societal expectations change. Companies should anticipate those changes and develop new practices, new products, new services, and new markets in advance. Doing this before competitors do is the key to revenue growth and to profits. Read more
https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/15614101_s.jpg338450Bob Willardhttps://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SustAdvLogoblue-fullsize.pngBob Willard2011-08-09 07:27:062015-05-09 11:39:383 Sustainable Ways to Rev-Up Revenue
In my last blog, I outlined three concerns that lending institutions have about companies with poor environmental, social, and governance (ESG) track records. First, environmental practices may expose borrowers to expensive legal, reputational, and regulatory risks that could jeopardize their solvency. Second, lenders want to ensure they are not stuck with the borrower’s current and past environmental liabilities if the borrower defaults on the loan. Third, lenders are wary of risks to their own reputations if the public perceives they are abetting the borrower’s irresponsible corporate behavior.
For these three reasons, laggard companies with poor ESG track records may find they pay a higher rate for their borrowed capital. The Social Investment Forum’s 2010 Moskowitz Prize for scholarly research on socially responsible investing was awarded to Rob Bauer and Daniel Hann for their paper, “Corporate Environmental Management and Credit Risk.” In it, they analyzed 1996 to 2006 data on the environmental profiles of 582 U.S. public companies and their associated cost of debt. They found: Read more
https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/bank3.png1044727Bob Willardhttps://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SustAdvLogoblue-fullsize.pngBob Willard2011-07-26 06:53:412015-05-25 22:12:234 ESG-Friendly Findings about Borrowing Rates
How lenders respond to a company’s request for financial assistance is somewhat driven by the applicant’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) track record. Borrowers require financial capital in order to purchase equipment or new premises in which to produce its goods or services. Some of these capital improvements may be for pollution prevention equipment to comply with tougher environmental regulations, with energy-saving retrofits, for water conservation and treatment, or for new green production lines. Some of the loans may have nothing to do with green projects. Regardless, one cold reality applies to any loan request: Your ESG track record can be a stumbling block. Read more
https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/iStock_000008212713XSmall.jpg395304Bob Willardhttps://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SustAdvLogoblue-fullsize.pngBob Willard2011-07-12 08:06:192015-05-09 11:42:013 Reasons Banks Fear ESG Laggards
There are only two reasons a company changes: to avoid risks and / or to capture opportunities. They go for the upside, and / or run from the downside. They are attracted to the carrot, and / or want to duck the stick; the yin and / or the yang. Trying to convince a company to fully embed sustainability into its strategies and operations requires a very compelling business case. The standard business case is made up of these same two parts, shown in the figure below. Read more
https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/yinandyang.jpg300300Bob Willardhttps://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SustAdvLogoblue-fullsize.pngBob Willard2011-06-28 07:20:252015-05-09 11:45:24Aligning ESG Benefits with the Standard 2-Part Business Case
Executives are continuously looking for ways to make the company’s value chain more robust and resilient. Smart environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies and programs can help. Read more
https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/bigstock-Large-Chain-Over-Rock-2278232.jpg598900Bob Willardhttps://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SustAdvLogoblue-fullsize.pngBob Willard2011-06-14 08:21:482015-05-09 11:48:00Aligning ESG Benefits with the Value Chain
We need to make it easy for CEOs, CFOs, and others in the C-suite to see how embedding sustainability strategies into the company’s strategies and operations will contribute to the firm’s success. That is, we need to connect the dots between typical financial statements and the benefits that can be realized from smart environmental, social, and governance (ESG) approaches and programs. Aligning ESG benefits with income statement elements helps executives see the relevance of sustainability initiatives to their current financial priorities. Read more
https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Planet-Dot2Dot.gif658700Bob Willardhttps://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SustAdvLogoblue-fullsize.pngBob Willard2011-05-29 22:42:182015-05-25 22:10:30Aligning ESG Benefits with the Income Statement
What is the secret of selling executives on using sustainability strategies? Show how the benefits of those strategies help them achieve their existing priorities on which they are already being measured. Executives are juggling way too many key focus areas to welcome adding another one like “sustainability” to the batch. That means sustainability champions need to align the set of benefits that are yielded by smart environmental, social, and governance (ESG) / sustainability strategies with executives’ top priorities. Read more
https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bigstock-Business-Juggler-9625400.jpg900600Bob Willardhttps://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SustAdvLogoblue-fullsize.pngBob Willard2011-05-17 05:26:152015-05-09 11:53:01Aligning ESG Benefits with Executives’ Top 10 Priorities
How would we recognize a sustainable enterprise if we saw one? That question has been nagging at me for years. When we celebrate companies ranked as being the most sustainable (see my April 5, 2011, blog: 5 Lists of the Most Sustainable Companies), are they really just the best of a bad lot? When a company is certified as making significant progress towards its aspirational sustainability-related goals (see my April 19 blog: 5 Reasons ULE 880 is a Bellwether Sustainability Standard), are those goals setting the bar high enough?Are we ready for a more rigorous assessment of where Mother Earth would position a company on its journey toward being a truly sustainable enterprise? I think so, for four reasons. Read more
https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/tes_one_mother_earth1.jpg450450Bob Willardhttps://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SustAdvLogoblue-fullsize.pngBob Willard2011-05-03 06:58:092015-05-09 11:54:564 Reasons It’s Time to Raise the Standards Bar for Companies
What if a company wants to be branded as a sustainable company, to improve its reputation with businesses, customers, employees, and investors? In my recent blog, 5 Lists of the Most Sustainable Companies, I showed the need for a standardized process for assessing and rating organizations as sustainable enterprises. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were certification process for sustainable companies, as there is now for some products and buildings? ULE 880 intends to fill that vacuum for manufacturing companies. There are five reasons it could be a bellwether sustainability standard. Read more
https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ul_logo_a21.gif269269Bob Willardhttps://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SustAdvLogoblue-fullsize.pngBob Willard2011-04-20 15:52:242015-05-09 11:57:355 Reasons ULE 880 Is a Bellwether Sustainability Standard
Who’s the most sustainable company?” I am asked that “mirror-mirror-on-the-wall …” question a lot. The winner depends on who the judges are, their assessment criteria, and the intended audience for their selections. Lists that are done for investors identify companies that are doing the best at avoiding sustainability-related risks and capturing sustainability-related opportunities. Based on publicly available data, here are five lists of the most attractive sustainable companies for investors to consider. Read more
https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mirror.jpg387312Bob Willardhttps://sustainabilityadvantage.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SustAdvLogoblue-fullsize.pngBob Willard2011-04-05 06:11:402015-05-09 12:01:535 Lists of the Most Sustainable Companies
3 Sustainable Ways to Rev-Up Revenue
/by Bob WillardA powerful rationale for sustainable development is enlightened self-interest, fed by the prospect of increased revenue, markets, and profits. Savings are good; revenue growth is exciting. Business strategy is often driven by bolstering revenue more than by cutting costs. Over time, societal expectations change. Companies should anticipate those changes and develop new practices, new products, new services, and new markets in advance. Doing this before competitors do is the key to revenue growth and to profits.
Read more
4 ESG-Friendly Findings about Borrowing Rates
/by Bob WillardIn my last blog, I outlined three concerns that lending institutions have about companies with poor environmental, social, and governance (ESG) track records. First, environmental practices may expose borrowers to expensive legal, reputational, and regulatory risks that could jeopardize their solvency. Second, lenders want to ensure they are not stuck with the borrower’s current and past environmental liabilities if the borrower defaults on the loan. Third, lenders are wary of risks to their own reputations if the public perceives they are abetting the borrower’s irresponsible corporate behavior.
For these three reasons, laggard companies with poor ESG track records may find they pay a higher rate for their borrowed capital. The Social Investment Forum’s 2010 Moskowitz Prize for scholarly research on socially responsible investing was awarded to Rob Bauer and Daniel Hann for their paper, “Corporate Environmental Management and Credit Risk.” In it, they analyzed 1996 to 2006 data on the environmental profiles of 582 U.S. public companies and their associated cost of debt. They found: Read more
3 Reasons Banks Fear ESG Laggards
/by Bob WillardHow lenders respond to a company’s request for financial assistance is somewhat driven by the applicant’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) track record. Borrowers require financial capital in order to purchase equipment or new premises in which to produce its goods or services. Some of these capital improvements may be for pollution prevention equipment to comply with tougher environmental regulations, with energy-saving retrofits, for water conservation and treatment, or for new green production lines. Some of the loans may have nothing to do with green projects. Regardless, one cold reality applies to any loan request: Your ESG track record can be a stumbling block. Read more
Aligning ESG Benefits with the Standard 2-Part Business Case
/by Bob WillardThere are only two reasons a company changes: to avoid risks and / or to capture opportunities. They go for the upside, and / or run from the downside. They are attracted to the carrot, and / or want to duck the stick; the yin and / or the yang. Trying to convince a company to fully embed sustainability into its strategies and operations requires a very compelling business case. The standard business case is made up of these same two parts, shown in the figure below.
Read more
Aligning ESG Benefits with the Value Chain
/by Bob WillardExecutives are continuously looking for ways to make the company’s value chain more robust and resilient. Smart environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies and programs can help.
Read more
Aligning ESG Benefits with the Income Statement
/by Bob Willardclick on image to enlarge
We need to make it easy for CEOs, CFOs, and others in the C-suite to see how embedding sustainability strategies into the company’s strategies and operations will contribute to the firm’s success. That is, we need to connect the dots between typical financial statements and the benefits that can be realized from smart environmental, social, and governance (ESG) approaches and programs. Aligning ESG benefits with income statement elements helps executives see the relevance of sustainability initiatives to their current financial priorities.
Read more
Aligning ESG Benefits with Executives’ Top 10 Priorities
/by Bob WillardWhat is the secret of selling executives on using sustainability strategies? Show how the benefits of those strategies help them achieve their existing priorities on which they are already being measured. Executives are juggling way too many key focus areas to welcome adding another one like “sustainability” to the batch. That means sustainability champions need to align the set of benefits that are yielded by smart environmental, social, and governance (ESG) / sustainability strategies with executives’ top priorities.
Read more
4 Reasons It’s Time to Raise the Standards Bar for Companies
/by Bob WillardHow would we recognize a sustainable enterprise if we saw one? That question has been nagging at me for years. When we celebrate companies ranked as being the most sustainable (see my April 5, 2011, blog: 5 Lists of the Most Sustainable Companies), are they really just the best of a bad lot? When a company is certified as making significant progress towards its aspirational sustainability-related goals (see my April 19 blog: 5 Reasons ULE 880 is a Bellwether Sustainability Standard), are those goals setting the bar high enough?Are we ready for a more rigorous assessment of where Mother Earth would position a company on its journey toward being a truly sustainable enterprise? I think so, for four reasons.
Read more
5 Reasons ULE 880 Is a Bellwether Sustainability Standard
/by Bob WillardWhat if a company wants to be branded as a sustainable company, to improve its reputation with businesses, customers, employees, and investors? In my recent blog, 5 Lists of the Most Sustainable Companies, I showed the need for a standardized process for assessing and rating organizations as sustainable enterprises. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were certification process for sustainable companies, as there is now for some products and buildings? ULE 880 intends to fill that vacuum for manufacturing companies. There are five reasons it could be a bellwether sustainability standard.
Read more
5 Lists of the Most Sustainable Companies
/by Bob WillardWho’s the most sustainable company?” I am asked that “mirror-mirror-on-the-wall …” question a lot. The winner depends on who the judges are, their assessment criteria, and the intended audience for their selections. Lists that are done for investors identify companies that are doing the best at avoiding sustainability-related risks and capturing sustainability-related opportunities. Based on publicly available data, here are five lists of the most attractive sustainable companies for investors to consider.
Read more