Key Insight 

Large companies around the world are highlighting sustainability as part of their core values.

What You Need To Know

Until recently, sustainability was little more than a buzzword and an afterthought. But we are now starting to see real change. In his January 2020 annual letter to CEOs, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink wrote that climate change has brought us to “the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance” and “in the near future…a significant reallocation of capital.” In the future, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, with more than $7 trillion under management, will vote against management and board directors when companies are not “making sufficient progress on sustainability-related disclosures and the business practices and plans underlying them.”

Why It Matters

Many companies see corporate environmental responsibility as a value-add for all of their key stakeholders. Other companies can follow suit by developing long-term strategy, vision, and R&D plans to create new business opportunities that create value for shareholders while also helping the planet.

The Impact

Corporate environmental responsibility is a growing concern among consumers and investors alike, who hope to see both economic value and good-faith efforts to mitigate the impact of business on climate change.

Watchlist

Adobe, Allergan, Amazon, Apple, BlackRock, Carbios, Chevron, Evian, Facebook, Google, Infarm, Innventia, Microsoft, MIT Media Lab, Morrisons, Origin Materials, Patagonia, Port Liner, Recycling Technologies, Saltwater Brewery, Shell Oil, Silverstream Technologies, Starbucks, Tomorrow Machine, Unilever, United Nations, University of Hawaii, University of Minnesota, University of Portsmouth.

More Trends in this Section

• Sustainability as Corporate Identity
• Corporates Adopt Net-Zero Energy
• Sustainable Shipping
• Corporate Meteorologists
• Reducing Corporate Reliance on Plastics