Research & Reports

The world is inhabited by eight billion people. In the next 30 years, there will be two billion more people who will need to be fed. Today, already 30% of all land globally is considered degraded with 28% of crop land in water-stressed regions, malnutrition is endemic, and climate change is accelerating. There is a growing and urgent need for fertile farmland.

Legg Mason celebrates 10 years of connecting employees, communities and stakeholders with the publication of its annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) report.

Abbott recently launched a new digital site – Abbott.com/Responsibility – to better communicate its work to deliver positive social and environmental impact through sustainable business.

In partnership with the Erb Institute, Innovation Forum recently hosted a conference in Detroit that delved into the best ways to assess materiality, build a business case and deliver impact at scale.

These are exciting times, when technology is creating a new platform for innovation. There's a bridge between every barrier and breakthrough, every challenge and its solution.

Two years ago, the sustainability business community elected me to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Stakeholder Council (SC). Thank you, it has been an honor to represent you. I recently traveled to Amsterdam to attend the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Council. I thought our readers might like to hear some of what we discussed and learned.

Today, Points of Light opens The Civic 50 survey, an annual initiative that recognizes the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States. Now in its seventh year, The Civic 50 serves to recognize stronger corporate commitment to community through engagement, volunteerism, and social impact strategies.

I’m particularly cognizant of this today as we launch our 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility Report. This is a big change from the first CSR Report that I stewarded and co-authored in 2005. Like any first-generation product, there was a great room for improvement. However, every year as we meet a goal and work towards the next, as we expand existing partnerships and establish new ones, as we uncover new ways our technology can be leveraged to benefit our world, we have a stronger story to tell. Here are highlights of where we’ve come, and where we are going.

Governance & Accountability Institute today announces the release of its year-long, comprehensive "Sector Study on Sustainability Materiality of the SDG Targets & GRI Indicators." This research project was designed to examine sector trends in the ESG materiality decisions of 1,387 GRI reporters across 40 sectors on each of the 91 GRI G4 Specific Standard Disclosure Indicators.