CSRHub Blog Research on ESG metrics and comments on sustainability best practice

Join us for part 2 of our two part webinar series on January 20^th, 2016 with two of the field's foremost sustainability practitioners – ‘internal’ strategic advisors to the CSR reporting for many of North America's most well-known companies – and designers of the world’s largest database of ‘external’ Sustainability/ESG ratings. Lorinda Rowledge, PhD, Cofounder of EKOS International, and Cynthia Figge, COO and Cofounder of CSRHub and Cofounder of EKOS, provide practical advice and succinct "lessons learned” on CSR reporting.

During Webinar 401: Using Your Sustainability/ CSR Report for Real Market Advantage on January 20^th, 2016: 

Participants will learn how to increase the positive impact of their Sustainability Report -- improving environmental performance, increasing brand value, connecting with customers, engaging employees, and accelerating a culture of continuous improvement.

If you have been publishing a Sustainability/CSR Report for several years and wonder how to improve it and reach more stakeholders who really care, this webinar will address:

• Trends in Sustainability/CSR reporting in the US and globally
• Amping up the benefits of CSR reporting to various stakeholder groups including customers, investors, employees, communities and partners
• Managing ESG and mainstream investor expectations for reporting
• Ways to leverage your public reporting to improve your ESG analyst ratings
• New reporting standards including GRI G4 and SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board)
• Evolving software platforms for reporting your metrics and KPIs
• Comparative CSR ratings and benchmarking your progress
• Resources and recommendations

Register for Part Two here.

Miss Part 1, Creating a Winning First Time Sustainability/CSR Report? See the slides or watch the webinar here.

Cynthia Figge is a forerunner and thought leader in the corporate sustainability movement who co-founded EKOS International in 1996, one of the first consultancies integrating sustainability and corporate strategy. Cynthia is COO and Cofounder of CSRHub. Cynthia has worked with major organizations including BNSF, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Dow Jones, and REI to help craft sustainability strategy integrated with business. She was an Officer of LIN Broadcasting/McCaw Cellular leading new services development, and started a new “Greenfield” mill with Weyerhaeuser. She serves as Advisor to media and technology companies, and served as President of the Board of Sustainable Seattle. Cynthia has an MBA from Harvard Business School. Cynthia is based in the Seattle area.

Lorinda Rowledge is Partner and Co-founder of EKOS International, and Founding Provost Bainbridge Graduate Institute. Lorinda has for over 20 years helped executives of leading global companies integrate sustainability and business strategy. She co-authored Mapping the Journey: Case Studies in Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies. Prior to co-founding EKOS, from 1986 to 1994, Lorinda was one of four partners managing the Deltapoint Corporation, a consulting and publishing firm leading in advanced Japanese management systems. Lorinda has led 5 Executive Study Missions to Europe and Japan, Lorinda holds a Ph.D., specializing in Organizational Psychology, from the University of Oregon.

Join our two part webinar series on both November 18^th, 2015 and January 20^th, 2016 with two of the field's foremost sustainability practitioners – ‘internal’ strategic advisors to the CSR reporting for many of North America's most well-known companies – and designers of the world’s largest database of ‘external’ Sustainability/ESG ratings. Lorinda Rowledge, PhD, Cofounder of EKOS International, and Cynthia Figge, COO and Cofounder of CSRHub and Cofounder of EKOS, provide practical advice and succinct "lessons learned” on CSR reporting.

During Webinar 101: Creating a Winning First Time Sustainability/ CSR Report, on November 18^th, 2015:

Participants will learn how to increase the positive impact of their Sustainability Report -- improving environmental performance, increasing brand value, connecting with customers, engaging employees, and accelerating a culture of continuous improvement.

Whether you are tackling your first or evolving your nascent sustainability/ corporate social responsibility report, this webinar will help you improve your reporting. They will address:

• The strategic context for sustainability/CSR reporting
• Benefits of CSR reporting to stakeholder groups
• Evolving investor and market expectations for reporting
• Report content: determining what to report
• Metrics, key performance indicators (KPIs) & measurement
• Pitfalls typical for first time reporters
• Creative direction and storyboard
• Insights in CSR report project planning
• Communicating your report to stakeholders
• Company CSR ratings & benchmarking
• Lessons learned & recommendations
• Resources for creating your CSR report

Register for Part One here.

During Webinar 401: Using Your Sustainability/ CSR Report for Real Market Advantage on January 20^th, 2016: 

Participants will learn how to increase the positive impact of their Sustainability Report -- improving environmental performance, increasing brand value, connecting with customers, engaging employees, and accelerating a culture of continuous improvement.

If you have been publishing a Sustainability/CSR Report for several years and wonder how to improve it and reach more stakeholders who really care, this webinar will address:

• Trends in Sustainability/CSR reporting in the US and globally
• Amping up the benefits of CSR reporting to various stakeholder groups including customers, investors, employees, communities and partners
• Managing ESG and mainstream investor expectations for reporting
• Ways to leverage your public reporting to improve your ESG analyst ratings
• New reporting standards including GRI G4 and SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board)
• Evolving software platforms for reporting your metrics and KPIs
• Comparative CSR ratings and benchmarking your progress
• Resources and recommendations

Register for Part Two here.

Although this webinar is a two part series, it is not required to sign up for both. Choose the webinar best suited to your needs.

Cynthia Figge is a forerunner and thought leader in the corporate sustainability movement who co-founded EKOS International in 1996, one of the first consultancies integrating sustainability and corporate strategy. Cynthia is COO and Cofounder of CSRHub. Cynthia has worked with major organizations including BNSF, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Dow Jones, and REI to help craft sustainability strategy integrated with business. She was an Officer of LIN Broadcasting/McCaw Cellular leading new services development, and started a new “Greenfield” mill with Weyerhaeuser. She serves as Advisor to media and technology companies, and served as President of the Board of Sustainable Seattle. Cynthia has an MBA from Harvard Business School. Cynthia is based in the Seattle area.

Lorinda Rowledge is Partner and Co-founder of EKOS International, and Founding Provost Bainbridge Graduate Institute. Lorinda has for over 20 years helped executives of leading global companies integrate sustainability and business strategy. She co-authored Mapping the Journey: Case Studies in Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies. Prior to co-founding EKOS, from 1986 to 1994, Lorinda was one of four partners managing the Deltapoint Corporation, a consulting and publishing firm leading in advanced Japanese management systems. Lorinda has led 5 Executive Study Missions to Europe and Japan, Lorinda holds a Ph.D., specializing in Organizational Psychology, from the University of Oregon.

Say yes! Turning ‘we don’t report’ into ‘we do’

Why more U.S. companies are publicly reporting on their environmental performance and what you can do to stay ahead of the trend.

Webinar: April 10, 2013
11am – 12 noon EST

“It used to be that only firms at the leading edge of sustainable business released environmental reports, but by 2012 a third of American firms had begun disclosing these facets of their operations, along with nearly 40 percent of companies globally.” State of Green Business 2013

The link between financial performance and sustainability reporting is growing ever stronger; companies that disclose their performance frequently outperform those which don’t. A rapidly growing number of companies are reporting on their sustainability efforts, if you are a business which doesn’t disclose you will soon be in the minority amongst your peers.

If you are thinking about preparing a sustainability report, this briefing will help jumpstart your efforts by explaining key issues you should consider, things not to do when reporting, and important benchmarking tactics. This webinar is especially aimed at medium and smaller sized enterprises that are looking to build internal capacity for preparing sustainability reports.

Click here now to sign up

Agenda

11:00        The State of Sustainability Reporting

Bahar Gidwani: CEO and Co-Founder, CSRHub

• Who is reporting and why?
• Overview of key reporting frameworks

11:10        Sustainability Reporting Success Strategies

Lorinda Rowledge: Co-founder, EKOS International

• Trust & Transparency
• Trends
• Essential elements to consider in preparing your first sustainability report
• Lessons learned and tips for success

11:30        Benchmarking:  Find your focus and unlock best practices

James Salo, PhD.  Sr. Vice President Research, North America

• Why benchmark and what can you learn by doing it?
• Fast, cost effective approaches and case study examples

11:45        Discussion, Audience Q & A

12:00        Close          

About the Speakers:

Bahar Gidwani, CFA.  Bahar co-founded CSRHub in 2007.  Its goal is to increase access to corporate sustainability information.  He has built and run large technology-based businesses and has experience building a multi-million visitor Web site.  He worked on Wall Street with Kidder, Peabody, and with McKinsey & Co. Bahar holds both a CFA and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Lorinda Rowledge, Ph.D.  From a foundation of expertise in world-class management systems and lean production, Lorinda has focused for the last 15 years on helping companies use Sustainability/Corporate Social Responsibility as a key platform for business advantage, innovation, and positive impact in the world.  She partners deeply with executives, mid-managers, and cross-functional teams to design and implement strategy-driven programs that achieve performance breakthroughs and innovative solutions.  Lorinda co-leads EKOS Sustainability Reporting services, helping companies engage with stakeholders and communicate the story of their CSR impact and progress.

James Salo, Ph.D.  James is the senior member responsible for Trucost's research efforts in North America and coordinates Trucost's Advisory Panel. James has been the research lead for Newsweek's Green Rankings and many of Trucost’s environmental performance benchmarking projects.   James will review why companies benchmark and what value and insights companies gain from benchmarking their performance.

CSRHub provides access to corporate social responsibility and sustainability ratings and information on 7,000+ companies from 135 industries in 91 countries. Managers, researchers and activists use CSRHub to benchmark company performance, learn how stakeholders evaluate company CSR practices and seek ways to change the world.