Transparency

Communicating new topics to investors often requires new operational processes, personnel, and data; disclosure can work as an organizational forcing function. Corporations are wrestling with this in the context of sustainability and long-termism.

The interest from the investment community in ESG disclosures is growing at a rapid pace, with no sign of slowing down. The shift is requiring more parts of the organization to be involved, with levels of transparency being asked that simply wasn’t before. What do investors expect and how do all stakeholders push ESG disclosure forward?

“Sustainability is about the actions we take to fulfil our purpose so Landsec prospers far into the future. We want customers to prefer our spaces. We want communities to be pleased it’s us operating in their area. We want partners to share our priorities. And we want employees to invest their energy and ambition here. When we get all this right, we create value for our investors.” Robert Noel, Chief Executive, Landsec

Our long-standing commitment to environmental leadership helps us achieve efficiency, reduce costs, and respond to the needs of our customers and community stakeholders. We invest in conservation projects and set company-wide environmental targets, seeking to drive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, water use, and waste generation. We also work with others to apply Intel® technology to environmental challenges such as climate change and water conservation.

Smithfield Foods strengthened its commitment to sustainability through a new zero-waste-to-landfill initiative. The company will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills by 75%, and turn 75% of their facilities into zero-waste-to-landfill operations by 2025. Currently, one quarter of Smithfield Foods' facilities are certified as zero-waste-to-landfill, and reuse or recycle at least 50% of all waste generated.

In August 2018, we hosted a Diversity and Inclusion Summit with more than 200 guests from companies and organizations throughout Michigan. During the opening session, more than 15 Consumers Energy coworkers shared personal and not immediately visible details about themselves to demonstrate the value of including everyone using #IncludeMe.

Congratulations to all the companies that made the 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking from CR Magazine. It is truly an accomplishment and making this list means that these companies are recognized for their outstanding environmental, social and governance transparency.

With more than 500,000 plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) on California’s roads,1 and millions more to come, many local officials understand that getting their communities EV-ready is not only a sustainability best practice but also an economic development opportunity. California is leading the EV adoption trend within the United States, with approximately half of all EVs on the road in the U.S. registered here.