References

1. “Investors Don’t Care About Sustainability ...,” Bloomberg Businessweek November 9, 2010, www.bloomberg.com.

2. G. Serafeim, E. Kaiser, J. Linder, I. Naranjo, K. Nguyen-Taylor, and J. Streur, “The Role of the Corporation in Society: Implications for Investors,” September 2015, www.calvert.com.

3. R.G. Eccles, I. Ioannou, and G. Serafeim, “The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Process and Performance,” working paper 12-035, Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, November 2011, http://hbswk.hbs.edu.

4. G.L. Clark, A. Feiner, and M. Viehs, “From the Stockholder to the Stakeholder: How Sustainability Can Drive Financial Outperformance,” March 2015, www.arabesque.com.

5. U.S. SIF, “Report on U.S. Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact Investing Trends 2014,” n.d., www.ussif.org.

6. N. Robins, “2016, the Year of Green Finance: The View From London,” January 15, 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com.

7. U.S. SIF, “Report on U.S. Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact Investing Trends 2014.”

8. United Nations Global Compact, “Implement the Value Driver Model,” n.d., www.unglobalcompact.org.

9. “Global Investment Universe,” n.d., www.arabesque.com.

10. “A Quantitative Approach,” April 22, 2015, www.arabesque.com.

11. Arabella Advisors, "Report: Measuring the Growth of the Global Fossil Fuel Divestment and Clean Energy Investment Movement," September 2015, www.arabellaadvisors.com.

12. Ibid.

13. Ibid.

14. Ibid.

15. Associated Press, “Allianz to Cut Investments in Companies Using Coal in Favour of Renewable Energy,” The Guardian, November 24, 2015, www.theguardian.com.

16. T.A.A. Heaps, “What Kind of World Do You Want to Invest In?,” November 16, 2015, www.corporateknights.com.

17. C. Cohn, “Investors Put Pressure on Miners to Respond to Climate Change,” December 16, 2015, http://sustainability.thomsonreuters.com.

18. CBS News/AP, "Mattel Apologizes to China for Toy Recalls," September 21, 2007, www.cbsnews.com.

19. A. Cooper, “Lumber Liquidators,” March 1, 2015, www.cbsnews.com.

20. E. Terazono, “Mitsubishi Seeks Olam’s Sustainable Approach,” October. 28, 2015, www.ft.com.

21. J. Blas and J. Koh, “Mitsubishi to Buy 20% in Grain Trader Olam For $1.09 Billion,” August 27, 2015, www.bloomberg.com.

22. “Volkswagen Is World’s Most Sustainable Automotive Group,” news release, September 11, 2015, www.volkswagenag.com.

23. M. Hower, "Could Sustainability's 'Survey Fatigue' Launch a $1 Billion Industry?," April 2, 2015, www.greenbiz.com.

24. R.G. Eccles, “In This Corner, DJSI; and in This Corner, Materiality. Ding!,” July 2015, www.materialitytracker.net.

25. “Atlas Copco Annual Report 2015” (Stockholm, Sweden: Atlas Copco, 2015), 127.

26. M. Khan, G. Serafeim and A. Yoon, "Corporate Sustainability: First Evidence on Materiality," Working Paper 15-073, Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, March 2015, http://hbswk.hbs.edu.

27. G. Ruddick, “BP Reveals $6.3bn Quarterly Loss Owing to Deepwater Horizon Bill,” Guardian, July 28, 2015, www.theguardian.com.

28. D. Schorn, “The Explosion at Texas City: 2005 Refinery Explosion in Texas Killed 15, Injured 170,” October 26, 2006, www.cbsnews.com.

29. F. Barringer, “Large Oil Spill in Alaska Went Undetected For Days,” New York Times, March 15, 2006.

30. D. Kiron, N. Kruschwitz, K. Haanaes, M. Reeves, S.-K. Fuisz-Kehrbach, and G. Kell, “Joining Forces: Collaboration and Leadership for Sustainability,” January 12, 2015, www.sloanreview.mit.edu.

31. D. McHugh and P. Pylas, “Volkswagen Is Paying a Hefty Price for Scandal,” October 6, 2015, www.usnews.com.

32. More results from this survey can be found on the NIRI website. See NIRI Analytics, "Corporate Sustainability Communications Practices Report — 2015 Report," January 15, 2016, www.niri.org.

33. M. Santisteve, "The IR Opportunity to Communicate Sustainability," November 24, 2014, www.irmagazine.com.

34. “GE Ecomagination: Powering the Future,” brochure, n.d., www.gesustainability.com.

35. Source: Florida Ice and Farm Financial and Sustainability reports 2010-2014; http://www.florida.co.cr/website/SocialResponsibility/index/37.

36. This example is cited in Esty and P.J. Simmons, “The Green to Gold Business Playbook” (Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2011), 53.

37. Johnson & Johnson, “2013 Citizenship and Sustainability Report” (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Johnson & Johnson, 2013), 83.

38. The 79% figure is derived from the company’s EBITDA margin (34%) and industry average EBITDA margins (19%). The data is sourced from the company’s website and BCG analysis.

39. P. Ziobro, “Al Gore Fund to Pour $30 Million Into Seventh Generation,” Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2014, www.wsj.com.

40. S. Ng, “Seventh Generation Picks Up Bobble Brand,” Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2014, www.wsj.com.

41. “Gamila Product Line Acquired by Seventh Generation,” news release, July 15, 2014, www.gamilacompany.com.

42. A. Field, "More About Seventh Generation's $30M Infusion From Al Gore," October 12, 2014, www.forbes.com.

43. M. Reeves, K. Haanaes, and J. Harnoss, "Tomorrow Never Dies: The Art of Staying On Top," November 19, 2015, www.bcgperspectives.com.

i. J. Fallows, “The Planet-Saving, Capitalism-Subverting, Surprisingly Lucrative Investment Secrets of Al Gore,” Atlantic, November 2015, 84-94.

ii. Ibid.

About the Authors

Gregory Unruh is the Arison Group Endowed professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

David Kiron is the executive editor of MIT Sloan Management Review’s Big Ideas Initiative. He can be reached at dkiron@mit.edu.

Nina Kruschwitz is a senior editor and senior project manager with MIT Sloan Management Review. She can be contacted at ninakru@mit.edu.

Martin Reeves is a senior partner and managing director in the Boston Consulting Group’s New York office and head of BCG’s Henderson Institute. He can be contacted at reeves.martin@bcg.com.

Holger Rubel is a senior partner and managing director in the Boston Consulting Group’s Frankfurt office and global sustainability lead. He can be contacted at rubel.holger@bcg.com.

Alexander Meyer zum Felde is an expert project leader for sustainability in the Boston Consulting Group’s Hamburg office. He can be contacted at meyerzumfelde.alexander@bcg.com.

Contributors

Knut Haanaes, senior partner and managing director, BCG

Matthew Clark, global marketing director, strategy, BCG

Elena Corrales, lead knowledge analyst, sustainability, BCG

Kati Fuisz-Kehrbach, team manager, knowledge experts sustainability, BCG

Olivier Jaeggi, managing director, ECOFACT

Edward Ruehle, writer

Acknowledgments

Antoni Ballabriga, global head of responsible business, BBVA; David Blood, senior partner, Generation Investment Management; John Buckley, global head, corporate social responsibility, BNY Mellon; Robert Eccles, professor of management, Harvard Business School chairman, Arabesque Partners; Olivier Jaeggi, founder and managing partner, ECOFACT; Patricia Jurewicz, director, Responsible Sourcing Network; Cary Krosinsky, adjunct lecturer, Brown University; Richard Liroff, executive director, Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN); Chris Pinney, president, The High Meadows Institute; Jeff Senne, corporate responsibility operations leaders, PwC; Dave Stangis, vice president of public affairs and corporate responsibility, Campbell Soup Company; Pamela Styles, principal, Next Level Investor Relations; Sarah Teslik, senior vice president, communications, public affairs and governance, Apache Corporation.

About the Sustainability & Innovation Project

MIT SMR’s Sustainability & Innovation project is an exploration, in partnership with BCG, of how sustainability pressures are transforming the ways we all work, live, and compete. S&I’s research, reporting, and community help managers to better understand the new forces that will affect their organizations, to navigate through the overwhelming mass of information about sustainability, and to fend off the threats and capitalize on the opportunities that sustainability issues present.

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About the Boston Consulting Group

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To cite this report, please use: G. Unruh, D. Kiron, N. Kruschwitz, M. Reeves, H. Rubel, and A.M. zum Felde, “Investing For a Sustainable Future,” MIT Sloan Management Review, May 2016.