Research & Reports

Before corporate social responsibility (CSR) was a generally accepted term, our guiding principles of service, expertise and integrity laid the groundwork for our organizational culture. Celebrating our 125th anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect on how these principles have deepened Northern Trust’s longstanding CSR commitment.

Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a wide variety of fiber-based products, including communication papers, specialty and packaging papers, and absorbent hygiene products. The foundation of our business is a network of world-class wood fiber-converting assets that produce papergrade, fluff and specialty pulp.

As regulators, industry representatives and advocates discuss power sector challenges at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ (NARUC) annual meeting, Ceres today releases a report outlining a pathway to align the electric utility business model with increased clean energy deployment and long-term financial viability amid growing climate change concerns. The rapid pace of technological change, falling renewable energy prices, increased energy efficiency, and policymaker focus on low-carbon energy and customer choice are increasingly challenging the traditional utility business model – yet as the report lays out, there are win-win solutions.

Wynn Resorts released its annual Social Responsibility Report highlighting the company’s ongoing initiatives to enrich the lives of its employees and the betterment of its surrounding communities.

The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), an independent standard-setting body created by GRI, approved plans to transition the GRI G4 Guidelines to GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards).

Slavery is typically a problem that is thought to be in areas that are not close to us, when in reality these issues are closer then people realize. As companies begin to grow their operations into other markets and work with suppliers and distributors from across the world, knowing what type of labor is going into your expanding supply chain has been top of mind. The idea that modern day slavery does not exist in supply chains is quickly fading as more accounts of this unethical practice are being uncovered. Not all countries are immune to this problem, as slavery has been found in operations here within the United States. There are several levels of slavery that can plague a company and many times those areas where it penetrates is directly into the supply chain.

The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) issued new guidance on sustainability disclosures. Thirty-three specific KPI's are included in the recommendations. Mindy Lubber, President of the advocacy organization Ceres, issued a statement on the WFE launch.

T. Rowe Price’s 2014 Corporate Social Responsibility Report describes the firm’s progress on its commitment to reduce environmental impact. Between 2010 and 2014, the firm cut landfill waste by 49%, expanded recycling by 79%, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 3%, all while the associate population grew 30%.