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Ceres |
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In 1989, a major environmental disaster shook public confidence in corporate America—the Exxon-Valdez oil spill. 10.8 million gallons of oil poured into Alaskas Prince William Sound, devastating one of the world's most pristine habitats. Suddenly, the environmental cost of doing business became painfully clear and it was apparent that companies werent doing enough to account for the environmental and social impacts of their operations.
Just 6 months after the spill, a group of investors launched an organization to tackle this problem: a small nonprofit called Ceres.
At its founding in 1989, Ceres introduced a bold new vision to the business community. That vision is of a world in which business and capital markets promote the well being of human society and the protection of the earth’s biological systems and resources. Ceres advances its vision by bringing investors, environmental groups and other stakeholders together to encourage companies and capital markets to incorporate environmental and social challenges into their day-to-day decision-making. By leveraging the collective power of investors and other key stakeholders, Ceres has achieved dramatic results, among those: •Recipient of numerous awards including the 2006 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the Fast Company/Monitor Group Social Capitalist award, and was named one of the 100 most influential players in the corporate governance movement by Directorship Magazine. •Launched the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), now the de-facto international standard used by over 1300 companies for corporate reporting on environmental, social and economic performance. •Joined with Yale University and insurance firm, Marsh, to create the Sustainable Governance Forum on Climate Risk, a unique leadership development program designed to help corporate leaders address the problem of climate risk. •Spearheaded dozens of breakthrough achievements with companies, such as Nike becoming the first global apparel company to disclose the names and locations of its 700-plus contract factories worldwide in 2005, Dell Computer agreeing in June 2006 to support national legislation to require electronic product recycling and “takeback” programs, and Bank of America announcing a $20 billion initiative in March 2007 to support the growth of environmentally sustainable business activity to address global climate change. •Brought together 500 investor, Wall Street and corporate leaders at the United Nations in 2005 to address the growing financial risks and opportunities posed by climate change. •Launched and directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a group of more than 70 leading institutional investors with collective assets of more than $7 trillion. •Published cutting-edge research reports to help investors better understand the implications of global warming.
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