2011 Ceres Conference Roundup: Partnerships and Commitments

By Tilde Herrera of GreenBiz.com

OAKLAND, CA — The 2011 Ceres Conference wrapped up today in Oakland, just down the road from GreenBiz Group’s new headquarters. 

In case you missed it, a slew of news and announcements came out of the event.

Below is a roundup of commitments made by members of the just-launched Investor-Business Roundtable for a Sustainable Economy, which combines investment, industry and labor interests.

• The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), with $236 billion under management, will use environmental, social and governance criteria in all investment decision-making, and use the Ceres 21st Century Roadmap for Sustainability for its company engagement efforts.

• The California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS), which manages $152.9 billion in assets, will speed up a program aimed at getting its outside fund managers to incorporate environmental, social and governance criteria in their decision-making.

• CalPERS and CalSTRS will send letters to all Russell 1000 companies calling on them to address sustainability in their boardrooms, operations and supply chains.

• This quarter, SAP will release new and enhanced energy management solutions for companies.

• The AFL-CIO will work to create financing mechanisms to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy retrofits and investment. The group will work with the Clinton Global Initiative, Taft-Hartley and other pension funds to drum up investment.

• Jones Lang LaSalle committed to developing new tools to help property owners and investors assess, benchmark and manage the energy and environmental impacts of their holdings.

• PG&E pledged to delve deeper and quantify the impacts of its program to integrate sustainability into its supply chain.

• The Skoll Foundation will make sustainable capitalism a key focus on the Skoll World Forum next year.

• Levi’s unveiled a program to not only improve the working conditions of its factories, but also “make a material difference to the people and communities” across its supply chain.

• Separately, Sprint Nextel, Intuit and Brown Forman joined the Ceres Network of Companies, committing to improve sustainability performance and disclosure.

Article originated at GreenBiz.com