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  • 1.  Sustainability and financial statements

    Posted 01-15-2007 15:43
    Hello all. I have developed a tool that shows how sustainability metrics
    can be embodied in traditional income statements and balance sheets. I used
    the new Global Reporting Initiative - Sustainability Reporting Guidelines
    metrics and linked them line by line to the complete revenues/expenses and
    balance sheet statements. It took a while but it's quite productive and
    various finance people who have seen it like a lot - it puts sustainability
    in their language.

    I want to write this up and am looking for any previous references or
    efforts that are similar. Has anyone a reference to a publication that
    explores specifically how traditional financial statements can reflect
    environmental / social performance metrics? I have not found any but I am
    not doing a deep academic literature search either.

    This comes about because I have a small project developing a tool for
    bankers to use to help their existing and prospective clients think about
    sustainable performance. Since bankers start with financial statements,
    that's where I started (instead of trying to explain sustainablity to a
    banker - I tried that - don't.).

    Once our project contract is done the tool will be available and I'll let
    y'all know about it.

    Thanks for any leads you can provide.

    Oh and Happy New Year, belatedly!

    Burton Hamner
    Cleaner Production International LLC
    5534 30th Ave NE
    Seattle, WA 98105
    206-491-0945
    wbhamner@cleanerproduction.com


  • 2.  Sustainability and financial statements

    Posted 01-17-2007 06:27
    Hi Burton,

    Have you looked at the Sustainable Value Added by Frank Figge and Tobias
    Hahn? They have published a paper on it in Ecological Economics in 2004.
    It's quite interesting since they try to use financial concepts to show
    financial managers in businesses what the opportunity costs is to society of
    their use of resources or their production of pollution. It's kind of the
    way an investment banker looks at the stock market, but then applied to
    sustainability issues.

    Figge, F. & Hahn, T. (2004): "Sustainable Value Added. Measuring Corporate
    Contributions to Sustainability Beyond Eco-Efficiency", Ecological
    Economics, 48(2), 173-187

    You can check out some of their work on http://www.sustainablevalue.com/.

    Best regards,

    Jan

    Jan Lepoutre
    PhD Researcher UGent - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
    Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
    Hoveniersberg 24
    B-9000 Ghent
    Belgium
    jan.lepoutre@ugent.be tel:
    fax:
    mobile: +32 9 264 79 26
    +32 9 264 78 88
    +32 479 26 90 08

    Add me to your address book... Want a signature like this?


    P Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this
    e-mail


    -----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
    Van: Organizations and the Natural Environment Discussion
    [mailto:ONE-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU] Namens Burt Hamner
    Verzonden: maandag 15 januari 2007 21:43
    Aan: ONE-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
    Onderwerp: Sustainability and financial statements


    Hello all. I have developed a tool that shows how sustainability metrics
    can be embodied in traditional income statements and balance sheets. I used
    the new Global Reporting Initiative - Sustainability Reporting Guidelines
    metrics and linked them line by line to the complete revenues/expenses and
    balance sheet statements. It took a while but it's quite productive and
    various finance people who have seen it like a lot - it puts sustainability
    in their language.

    I want to write this up and am looking for any previous references or
    efforts that are similar. Has anyone a reference to a publication that
    explores specifically how traditional financial statements can reflect
    environmental / social performance metrics? I have not found any but I am
    not doing a deep academic literature search either.

    This comes about because I have a small project developing a tool for
    bankers to use to help their existing and prospective clients think about
    sustainable performance. Since bankers start with financial statements,
    that's where I started (instead of trying to explain sustainablity to a
    banker - I tried that - don't.).

    Once our project contract is done the tool will be available and I'll let
    y'all know about it.

    Thanks for any leads you can provide.

    Oh and Happy New Year, belatedly!

    Burton Hamner
    Cleaner Production International LLC
    5534 30th Ave NE
    Seattle, WA 98105
    206-491-0945
    wbhamner@cleanerproduction.com


  • 3.  Sustainability and financial statements

    Posted 01-17-2007 08:56
    Burt, Jan and colleagues,

    Figge and Hahn published a follow-on paper as well:
    Figge, F. and T. Hahn. 2005. The cost of sustainability capital and the creation of sustainable value by companies. Journal of Industrial Ecology 9(4): 47-58. < www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/108819805775247936>
    Best regards,
    Reid


    At 06:26 AM 1/17/2007, Jan Lepoutre wrote:
    Hi Burton,

    Have you looked at the Sustainable Value Added by Frank Figge and Tobias
    Hahn? They have published a paper on it in Ecological Economics in 2004.
    It's quite interesting since they try to use financial concepts to show
    financial managers in businesses what the opportunity costs is to society of
    their use of resources or their production of pollution. It's kind of the
    way an investment banker looks at the stock market, but then applied to
    sustainability issues.

    Figge, F. & Hahn, T. (2004): "Sustainable Value Added. Measuring Corporate
    Contributions to Sustainability Beyond Eco-Efficiency", Ecological
    Economics, 48(2), 173-187

    You can check out some of their work on http://www.sustainablevalue.com/.

    Best regards,

    Jan

    Jan Lepoutre
    PhD Researcher <x-tab> </x-tab>UGent - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
    Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
    Hoveniersberg 24
    B-9000 Ghent
    Belgium <x-tab>        </x-tab>
    jan.lepoutre@ugent.be <x-tab>  </x-tab>tel:
    fax:
    mobile: <x-tab>        </x-tab>+32 9 264 79 26
    +32 9 264 78 88
    +32 479 26 90 08 <x-tab>       </x-tab>
    <x-tab>        </x-tab>
    Add me to your address book...<x-tab>  </x-tab>Want a signature like this?<x-tab>     </x-tab>
     
     
    P Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this
    e-mail


    -----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
    Van: Organizations and the Natural Environment Discussion
    [ mailto:ONE-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU] Namens Burt Hamner
    Verzonden: maandag 15 januari 2007 21:43
    Aan: ONE-L@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
    Onderwerp: Sustainability and financial statements


    Hello all.  I have developed a tool that shows how sustainability metrics
    can be embodied in traditional income statements and balance sheets.  I used
    the new Global Reporting Initiative - Sustainability Reporting Guidelines
    metrics and linked them line by line to the complete revenues/expenses and
    balance sheet statements.  It took a while but it's quite productive and
    various finance people who have seen it like a lot - it puts sustainability
    in their language.

    I want to write this up and am looking for any previous references or
    efforts that are similar.  Has anyone a reference to a publication that
    explores specifically how traditional financial statements can reflect
    environmental / social performance metrics?  I have not found any but I am
    not doing a deep academic literature search either.

    This comes about because I have a small project developing a tool for
    bankers to use to help their existing and prospective clients think about
    sustainable performance.  Since bankers start with financial statements,
    that's where I started (instead of trying to explain sustainablity to a
    banker - I tried that - don't.).

    Once our project contract is done the tool will be available and I'll let
    y'all know about it.

    Thanks for any leads you can provide.

    Oh and Happy New Year, belatedly!

    Burton Hamner
    Cleaner Production International LLC
    5534 30th Ave NE
    Seattle, WA 98105
    206-491-0945
    wbhamner@cleanerproduction.com
    <x-sigsep>

    ================================================================
    Reid J. Lifset, Assoc. Dir.<x-tab>     </x-tab><x-tab>         </x-tab><x-tab>         </x-tab> School of Forestry & Env. Studies
    Industrial Environmental Mgmt. Program<x-tab>  </x-tab>Yale University
    Editor, Journal of Industrial Ecology<x-tab>   </x-tab><x-tab>         </x-tab>205 Prospect Street
    203-432-6949 (tel)  -5912 (fax)<x-tab> </x-tab><x-tab>         </x-tab><x-tab>         </x-tab>New Haven, CT   06511-2189  USA
    reid.lifset@yale.edu

    </x-sigsep>


  • 4.  Sustainability and financial statements

    Posted 01-18-2007 09:29
    Burt - I don't have any good references for you (I vaguely recall that
    Schmidheiny's "Financing Change" discussed this, albeit not in a
    rigorous way, I think), but I would love to see the outcome when you get
    something. I was a commercial lender before getting my Ph.D., and we
    were charged with 'environmental assessments' on assets that we were
    contemplating financing - but we had no way to link the simple
    assessment to the real effect on the company's profit. This could be
    very valuable.

    Happy New Year,

    Glen

    Burt Hamner wrote:

    >Hello all. I have developed a tool that shows how sustainability metrics
    >can be embodied in traditional income statements and balance sheets. I used
    >the new Global Reporting Initiative - Sustainability Reporting Guidelines
    >metrics and linked them line by line to the complete revenues/expenses and
    >balance sheet statements. It took a while but it's quite productive and
    >various finance people who have seen it like a lot - it puts sustainability
    >in their language.
    >
    >I want to write this up and am looking for any previous references or
    >efforts that are similar. Has anyone a reference to a publication that
    >explores specifically how traditional financial statements can reflect
    >environmental / social performance metrics? I have not found any but I am
    >not doing a deep academic literature search either.
    >
    >This comes about because I have a small project developing a tool for
    >bankers to use to help their existing and prospective clients think about
    >sustainable performance. Since bankers start with financial statements,
    >that's where I started (instead of trying to explain sustainablity to a
    >banker - I tried that - don't.).
    >
    >Once our project contract is done the tool will be available and I'll let
    >y'all know about it.
    >
    >Thanks for any leads you can provide.
    >
    >Oh and Happy New Year, belatedly!
    >
    >Burton Hamner
    >Cleaner Production International LLC
    >5534 30th Ave NE
    >Seattle, WA 98105
    >206-491-0945
    >wbhamner@cleanerproduction.com
    >
    >

    --
    Glen Dowell, Ph.D.
    Assistant Professor, Department of Management
    263 Mendoza College of Business
    University of Notre Dame
    Notre Dame, IN 46556
    Ph: (574) 631-9372
    Fax:(574) 631-5255

    In the end, you know, we are very minor blips in a cosmic story. Aspirations for importance or significance are the illusions of the ignorant. All our hopes are minor, except to us; but some things matter because we choose to make them matter. What might make a difference to us, I think, is whether in our tiny roles, in our brief time, we inhabit life gently and add more beauty than ugliness.
    James March