Research & Reports

How many times have you been tasked with charting a new course, only to be overwhelmed by the number of choices when picking a direction? Already there is a lengthy list of “S in ESG” metrics that relate to people and community initiatives. Each company is on a journey of narrowing its focus on those most critical for the company’s strategy, which will, of course, be different from corporate peers. However, if our collective goal is to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges, we need to find a way to measure the whole picture.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is illustrating how it’s helping customers build a better world in the company’s recently published 2017 Annual Report and Sustainability Report.

Learn more about Smithfield’s industry-leading approach to keeping its animals safe, comfortable, and healthy in its 2017 Sustainability Report.

Today, Smithfield Foods, Inc. released the Animal Care section of its 2017 Sustainability Report focusing on the company’s industry-leading practices to keep animals safe, comfortable, and healthy. Starting today, Smithfield will issue its 17th Sustainability Report in segments organized by the pillars of its comprehensive sustainability program each week during the month of May.

American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) issued its 12th annual Corporate Accountability Report to provide a comprehensive view of AEP’s progress as a business and community partner.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) released a new Reporting Exchange case study on Vietnam, showing that sustainability and economic ambitions are shaping the country’s corporate reporting patterns.

The Pro Bono Sweet Spot framework asks companies to consider four key factors – unique at each company – that will affect their programs’ impact. A company’s pro bono sweet spot is the area where the social impact they want to have, their available skills and expertise, the business objectives that matter most to them, and any contextual information or constraints overlap. This approach has the power to take corporate pro bono to the next level.

We’ve learned a lot over the years about what makes a corporate pro bono program successful, and one thing has been proven true time and again: the most impactful programs are those that are uniquely tailored to fit a given company. With this in mind, we’ve developed a handy framework for helping companies hone in on their own unique opportunities to make an impact in the social sector through pro bono service.

The Pro Bono Sweet Spot is a framework that recognizes that the corporate sector is rich with diversity across a variety of characteristics, such as organizational culture, skills and expertise, attitudes towards volunteering, and more. Long story short, each company is unique, and therefore needs a tailor-made pro bono program in order to maximize its opportunity for impact.

WBCSD’s annual Liaison Delegate Meeting is a truly global event, with sustainability leaders from across the world visiting Montreux, Switzerland from 16-19 April for this year’s event.

Duke Energy's renewable energy capacity grew by almost 20 percent in 2017, according to the company's newly posted Sustainability Report. One of the company's sustainability goals is to own, or have under contract, 8,000 megawatts (MW) of wind, solar and biomass capacity by 2020. Over the past year, the company has made strong progress toward that goal, growing its renewable energy capacity from 5,400 MW to more than 6,400 MW, which can power more than 1 million homes at peak production.