Ceres (organization)
Encyclopedia
Ceres is a non-profit, American
network of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working with companies and investors to address sustainability
challenges, such as global climate change.
Founded in 1989, its core mission is integrating sustainability into capital market
s.
In 2007, Ceres was named one of the 100 most influential players in corporate governance by Directorship magazine. Ceres was a recipient of the Skoll Foundation
Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2006, as well as a recipient of the Fast Company
Social Capitalist Awards in 2008.
Ceres is based in Boston
, Massachusetts
. As of 2010, its president is Mindy S. Lubber.
That same year, following the Exxon Valdez oil spill
, CERES announced the creation of the Valdez Principles (later renamed the CERES Principles; see [www.ceres.org/principles]), a 10-point code of corporate environmental conduct to be publicly endorsed by Ceres companies.
In 1993, following lengthy negotiations, Sunoco
became the first Fortune 500
company to endorse the Ceres Principles. Since then, over 50 companies have endorsed the Ceres Principles, including 13 Fortune 500 companies that have adopted their own equivalent environmental principles.
In 2003, the organization dropped the CERES acronym and rebranded itself as "Ceres".
. It is the largest coalition of its kind in North America
. It focuses on areas such as accountability, disclosure, and improvement of environmental and social performance.
Ceres Companies: Companies that work with Ceres to improve their environmental and social performance and integrate environmental and social factors into their business strategies.
Investor Network on Climate Risk
(INCR): Is a network of investors and financial institutions coordinated by Ceres that promotes better understanding of the financial risks and investment opportunities posed by climate change.
Industry: Ceres works with oil companies, insurance companies, and companies in the electric power sector to address climate change, protect biodiversity, and assess environmental risks.
Engagement and Disclosure: Includes the Global Reporting Initiative, the creation of the facility-reporting pilot project, and the Ceres-ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards.
Business For Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP): BICEP is a co-operative group of consumer facing businesses coordinated by Ceres whose primary goal is to call on the U.S. government to pass progressive energy and climate legislation. BICEP currently has 20 members.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
network of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working with companies and investors to address sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
challenges, such as global climate change.
Founded in 1989, its core mission is integrating sustainability into capital market
Capital market
A capital market is a market for securities , where business enterprises and governments can raise long-term funds. It is defined as a market in which money is provided for periods longer than a year, as the raising of short-term funds takes place on other markets...
s.
In 2007, Ceres was named one of the 100 most influential players in corporate governance by Directorship magazine. Ceres was a recipient of the Skoll Foundation
Skoll Foundation
The Skoll Foundation is a social entrepreneurship foundation based in Silicon Valley, California, with a mission to drive large-scale change by investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs and other innovators dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing problems...
Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2006, as well as a recipient of the Fast Company
Fast Company (magazine)
Fast Company is a full-color business magazine that releases 10 issues per year and reports on topics including innovation, digital media, technology, change management, leadership, design, and social responsibility...
Social Capitalist Awards in 2008.
Ceres is based in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. As of 2010, its president is Mindy S. Lubber.
History
Ceres was founded in 1989 when Joan Bavaria, then-president of Trillium Asset Management, formed an alliance with leading environmentalists with the goal of changing corporate environmental practices. She named the organization the "Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies", or CERES, after the Roman goddess of fertility and agriculture.That same year, following the Exxon Valdez oil spill
Exxon Valdez oil spill
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled of crude oil. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused...
, CERES announced the creation of the Valdez Principles (later renamed the CERES Principles; see [www.ceres.org/principles]), a 10-point code of corporate environmental conduct to be publicly endorsed by Ceres companies.
In 1993, following lengthy negotiations, Sunoco
Sunoco
Sunoco Inc. is an American petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formerly known as Sun Company Inc. and Sun Oil Co. ....
became the first Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
company to endorse the Ceres Principles. Since then, over 50 companies have endorsed the Ceres Principles, including 13 Fortune 500 companies that have adopted their own equivalent environmental principles.
In 2003, the organization dropped the CERES acronym and rebranded itself as "Ceres".
Ceres Principles
First published in the fall of 1989, the Ceres Principles are a 10-point code of corporate environmental ideals to be publicly endorsed by companies as an environmental mission statement or ethic. The 10 Ceres Principles are:- Protection of the biosphere
- Sustainable use of natural resources
- Reduction and disposal of wastes
- Energy conservation
- Risk reduction
- Safe products and services
- Environmental restoration
- Informing the public
- Management commitment
- Audits and reports
Key accomplishments
- Launched the Global Reporting InitiativeGlobal Reporting InitiativeThe Global Reporting Initiative produces one of the world's most prevalent standards for sustainability reporting - also known as ecological footprint reporting, Environmental Social Governance reporting, Triple Bottom Line reporting, Corporate Social Responsibility reporting...
(GRI), now the de facto international standard used by over 1,200 companies for corporate reporting on environmental, social and economic performance.
- Founded and directs the Investor Network on Climate RiskInvestor Network on Climate RiskThe Investor Network on Climate Risk is a network of investors and financial institutions that promotes better understanding of the financial risks and investment opportunities posed by climate change...
(INCR), a group of more than 70 leading institutional investors with collective assets of over US$6 trillion. Its members include Deutsche Asset Management, State Street Global Advisors, and TIAA-CREF, as well as the pension funds of California, Florida, and New York.
- Coordinated the 2008 Investor Summit on Climate Risk, which brought together over 450 investor, financial and corporate leaders at the United Nations in February 2008 to address financial risks and opportunities posed by climate change. Nearly 50 leading U.S. and European institutional investors managing over US$1.75 trillion in assets released a 9-point climate change action plan that will increase investments in energy efficiency and clean energy technologies and require tougher scrutiny of carbon-intensive investments that may pose long-term financial risks.
- Publishes a series of reports each year geared toward helping investors understand the implications of global warming.
Programs
Ceres Coalition: A coalition of investors, environmental organizations and public interest groups with the shared goal of increasing corporate responsibilityCorporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model...
. It is the largest coalition of its kind in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It focuses on areas such as accountability, disclosure, and improvement of environmental and social performance.
Ceres Companies: Companies that work with Ceres to improve their environmental and social performance and integrate environmental and social factors into their business strategies.
Investor Network on Climate Risk
Investor Network on Climate Risk
The Investor Network on Climate Risk is a network of investors and financial institutions that promotes better understanding of the financial risks and investment opportunities posed by climate change...
(INCR): Is a network of investors and financial institutions coordinated by Ceres that promotes better understanding of the financial risks and investment opportunities posed by climate change.
Industry: Ceres works with oil companies, insurance companies, and companies in the electric power sector to address climate change, protect biodiversity, and assess environmental risks.
Engagement and Disclosure: Includes the Global Reporting Initiative, the creation of the facility-reporting pilot project, and the Ceres-ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards.
Business For Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP): BICEP is a co-operative group of consumer facing businesses coordinated by Ceres whose primary goal is to call on the U.S. government to pass progressive energy and climate legislation. BICEP currently has 20 members.
Current Ceres Reports
- Climate Risk Disclosure in SEC Filings: An Analysis of 10K Reporting by Oil and Gas, Insurance, Coal, Transportation and Electric Power Companies: June 2009http://www.ceres.org/Document.Doc?id=473
- Water Scarcity & Climate Change: Growing Risks for Business & Investors: February 2009 http://www.ceres.org/Document.Doc?id=406
- Managing the Risks and Opportunities of Climate Change: A Practical Toolkit for Investors: April 2008 http://www.ceres.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Document.Doc?id=332
- Corporate Governance and Climate Change: The Banking Sector: January 2008 http://www.ceres.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Document.Doc?id=269
- Risk to Opportunity: Insurer Responses to Climate Change: November 2007 http://www.ceres.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Document.Doc?id=225
See also
- Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR)Investor Network on Climate RiskThe Investor Network on Climate Risk is a network of investors and financial institutions that promotes better understanding of the financial risks and investment opportunities posed by climate change...
- Corporate Social ResponsibilityCorporate social responsibilityCorporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model...
- SustainabilitySustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
- Sustainable businessSustainable businessSustainable business, or green business, is enterprise that has no negative impact on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy—a business that strives to meet the triple bottom line. Often, sustainable businesses have progressive environmental and human rights policies...
- Global Reporting InitiativeGlobal Reporting InitiativeThe Global Reporting Initiative produces one of the world's most prevalent standards for sustainability reporting - also known as ecological footprint reporting, Environmental Social Governance reporting, Triple Bottom Line reporting, Corporate Social Responsibility reporting...
- Climate RiskClimate riskClimate risk means a risk resulting from climate change and affecting natural and human systems and regions.In the course of increasing global temperature and extreme weather phenomena...
- Sustainability ReportingSustainability ReportingCorporate sustainability reporting has a long history going back to environmental reporting. The first environmental reports were published in the late 1980s by companies in the chemical industry which had serious image problems...
- Business For Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP)
Further reading
- Philipp Pattberg, 2005, The Institutionalization of Private Governance : How Business and Nonprofit Organizations Agree on Transnational Rules, Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions, Vol. 18, No. 4, October 2005, 589–610)
External links
- New York Times article on Ceres Global Warming report
- New York Times article on Ceres partnership with Marsh and Yale University
- Washington Post article on insurance and climate change