CERES is a coalition of investor, environmental, labor and public interest groups working together to increase corporate environmental responsibility worldwide. IRRC is an independent research firm that is the leading source of high quality, impartial information on corporate governance and social responsibility issues affecting investors and corporations. IRRC wrote and prepared this report for informational purposes. Although IRRC exercised due care in compiling the information contained herein, IRRC makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of this information, nor does it assume, and expressly disclaims, any liability arising out of the use of this information by any party. Changing circumstances may cause this information to be obsolete. Recent corporate scandals point to the high price paid by everyone – investors, employees, pension beneficiaries – for inadequate corporate governance practices. The front pages of newspapers have offered us many arguments for moving away from " business as usual " corporate governance to a new governance framework characterized by long-term vision on the part of corporate directors and CEOs. Social and environmental issues fall squarely into this new corporate governance context. The evidence is increasingly compelling: companies' performance on social and environmental issues does affect their competitiveness, profitability, and share price performance. And climate change, arguably one of the world's most pressing issues, exemplifies the challenge better than most. A company's response to threats and opportunities of climate change – or their lack of response – can have a material bearing on shareholder value. In this era of reform, investors, the SEC and Congress alike are pressing companies to address " off-balance sheet " risks that have the potential to affect shareholders' returns. In the face of overwhelming scientific evidence, investor and business leaders are concluding that climate change presents such a risk. In 2002 CERES, a coalition of investors and public interest groups representing over $300 billion in assets, released the Value at Risk report that found climate change poses significant financial risks to a wide range of industry sectors. The report asserted that the failure to address the risks of climate change could represent a breach of fiduciary responsibility. This year CERES is releasing the Corporate Governance and Climate Change report, prepared by the Investor Responsibility Research Center, to understand how 20 of the world's biggest corporate emitters of greenhouse gases are factoring climate change risks and opportunities into their governance practices. Among many …
[1]
F. Robins.
THE ‘CRISIS’ IN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
,
2003
.
[2]
M. Varilek,et al.
THE EMERGING INTERNATIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS MARKET
,
2002
.
[3]
P. Bhatia,et al.
The greenhouse gas protocol : a corporate accounting and reporting standard
,
2001
.
[4]
What Every Executive Needs to Know about Global Warming
,
2000
.
[5]
K. Shine,et al.
Intergovernmental panel on Climate change (IPCC),in encyclopedia of Enviroment and society,Vol.3
,
2007
.
[6]
J. Overpeck,et al.
Abrupt climate change: Inevitable surprises
,
2002
.
[7]
R. Monks.
The New Global Investors: How Shareowners can Unlock Sustainable Prosperity Worldwide
,
2001
.
[8]
Organización de las Naciones Unidas.
United Nations framework convention on climate change
,
1992
.
[9]
Charles O. Holliday,et al.
Walking the Talk: The Business Case for Sustainable Development
,
2002
.