This presentation was given by Dr. Matthew Kiernan, Chief Executive, Innovest Strategic Value Advisor at the 2008 Tomorrow's Company Annual lecture. In it he powerfully brought together the arguments for the importance of recognising the link between the management of environmental, social and governance factors as an indicator of business performance, sustainable value creation and long-term investment returns. You can read Tony Manwaring's blog about the event here.

Innovest Strategic Value Advisors carried out this analysis of how Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues effect the financial performance of companies.  The literature review looks at 88 studies published between 1996 and 2006, concluding "that in 90% of cases there is evidence from the studies to suggest that good ESG performance can be linked to good financial performance, and vice versa".

Tomorrow’s Corporate Reporting: A critical system at risk focuses on the systems architecture and the behaviours and values of its stakeholders. Not on the content of the ‘ideal corporate report’. By corporate reporting we mean all the mechanisms by which companies communicate their performance and activity to their stakeholders, with a particular emphasis on the flow of information into the investment community.The study looked at:What aspects of the system are preventing or supporting the effective development of corporate reporting? And what changes are needed to make the system fit for purpose for the future? During the research, 145 individuals provided evidence, were interviewed or engaged through roundtable discussions, representing 118 organisations from 22 countries across five continents. The report explains the components of the current system and highlights that very few, if any, stakeholders see it as a system – rather they see particular pieces of the jigsaw. The...