Corporate Strategy

Nearly half of ASX100 companies exposed to human rights risks

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 30 SEP 2011  |  NEWS
Nearly half of ASX100 companies are exposed to human rights risks in their overseas operations, and almost all of those companies have inadequate management systems in place to mitigate those exposures, a study by Net Balance has found.

DEXUS profits up, water, energy and GHG intensity down

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  WEDNESDAY, 28 SEP 2011  |  NEWS
DEXUS Property Group reported a net profit for the 2011 financial year of AU$553m, an increase of AU$521.6m over last year, while decreasing energy, greenhouse gas and water intensity across its entire portfolio.

Regulatory barriers slowing cogeneration technology usage

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  WEDNESDAY, 28 SEP 2011  |  NEWS
Cogeneration - combined heat and power - and trigeneration - combined cooling, heat and power - offer "significant" environmental and economic benefits to the Australian building industry. But "a complex and burdensome connection process and regulatory ...

Apparel industry exposed to social risk in supply chain

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 23 SEP 2011  |  NEWS
Eds note: article has been revised to include comment from Ian Woods of AMP Capital.

Sustainability measures decline in information technology

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 23 SEP 2011  |  NEWS
A survey of seven countries evaluating the maturity of information and communication technology (ICT) sustainability practices has found that Australia is a midrange performer and that its performance in implementing and institutionalising sustainable ...

GRI release reporting standards for construction and real estate

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 23 SEP 2011  |  NEWS
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has released standards specific to the construction and real estate sectors, demonstrating how companies can report carbon emissions, management and remediation of contaminated land, and sub-contracted labour issues ...

Integrated reporting discussion paper released

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  WEDNESDAY, 21 SEP 2011  |  NEWS
Business reporting must evolve to account for the changed realities brought about by globalisation and its resulting interdependencies, and increased population growth and increasing global consumption, according to a discussion paper by the International ...

Carbon price an "entry point" for sustainability discussion

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 16 SEP 2011  |  NEWS
The proposed price on carbon is proving a "entry point" for discussing environmental, social and governance risk with CFOs and other financial executives who don't currently report on sustainability, according to Aaron Magner, director of sustainability ...

CDP finds 68% of global corporates embed climate change strategies

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 16 SEP 2011  |  NEWS
More than half of the world's largest public corporations have embedded climate change strategies into wider business strategy, according to the 2011 edition of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Global 500 report.

Companies increasing remuneration report transparency

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 9 SEP 2011  |  NEWS
More companies are increasing their transparency and engagement to explain remuneration practices, a result of the government's new "two strikes and you're out" test empowering shareholders to dump a board of directors, according to AMP Capital Investors.