Unilever is the top Food & Beverage company on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Through Bullfrog Power, Unilever recently became the largest commercial purchaser of renewable energy in Canada at 59,000 MWh per year. What is Unilever’s sustainability strategy and why do they do it? To find out, I took a tour of their Brampton plant and talked to John Coyne, Vice President and General Counsel of Unilever Canada.
A new environmental reporting guidance was released by the Canadian Securities Administrators for companies listed on Canadian stock exchanges, including the Toronto Stock Exchange which ranks third in North America and eighth in the world. What is involved and how should public and private companies respond? Let’s take a look.
At the summit in Toronto that drew senior executives from Canada and around the world, one common thread emerged: Capital favours sustainable businesses. Deutsche Bank have more confidence investing in companies that disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. Investors see climate change issues as material to their investment decisions. Accountants see environmental information as an integral part of a company’s full performance picture.
Would a BP style disaster happen to a company you invest in? That’s a question increasingly asked by Canadian investors. A range of proposals and resolutions has been filed in the past two years by shareholders to management of Canadian companies in various industries. What do shareholders want? How does management respond? What are the trends? Let’s take a look.
In developing climate change initiatives for your Canadian business, it is advisable to take a 360 degree look at your stakeholders and anticipate how they may respond. Five main stakeholder groups are generally applicable to climate change initiatives by Canadian businesses: (1) Consumers & Community, (2) Investors & Risk Assessors, (3) Business Partners & Competitors, (4) Rulemakers & Watchdog, (5) Idea Generators & Opinion Leaders.